Chapter 4: For Love

"Tell your father I'll be there," Theron said to Phaedon at the temple gate. "Early."

Phaedon laughed and rode away.

The next morning I tried to talk him out of it.

"Don't swear," I said. "Withdraw. Tell the King you've changed your mind, and I'll find another way."

Theron was oiling a spear at the long table, and he didn't look up.

"No," he said.

"Your hand will be black to the wrist in front of the whole court."

"It won't."

"It will. You can't swear for love. You've known me two days."

"Then it's a good thing I'm not swearing on how long I've known you."

Around us, the Iron House had gone mad.

Eudora had taken it over at first light, with my twenty priestesses and a cart of flowers she'd stolen from the Sun House gardens.

There was asphodel on the war map.

In the kitchen doorway, Eudora and the one-eyed housekeeper were nose to nose over a tray of honey cakes.

"Those are for the procession," Eudora said.

"They're for whoever's standing closest when they come out of my oven."

"I am standing closest."

"Then step back, girl."

While they glared at each other, the bigger dog reached up and took a whole cake off the tray.

The smaller dog took the tray.

Eudora shrieked.

The housekeeper laughed so hard she had to sit down on a flour sack.

I turned back to Theron.

"Explain it to me," I said.

"No."

"Why not?"

He set the spear down and finally looked at me.

"Because you'd have to believe me," he said. "And you won't, yet."

Before I could answer, the dogs went stiff in the doorway with cake on their whiskers.

A soft voice came down the hall.

"Sister? I've brought you something."

Ismene walked in with a long box in her arms and two Sun House maids behind her.

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