Omega (29 page)

“
A dress?” I
grumbled.

“
You’re on the same level
as the Queen. She only wears dresses. So do you.”

It was weird to see even Leandra accepting
all this. The nymphs made fun of me my whole life. If anyone was
going to be more surprised than I was, I expected it to be her. But
she appeared fine with circumstances I was having trouble
swallowing.

“
Towel off,” she told me.
“This will be like wrestling a pig into an oven.”

“
Gee, thanks.” I tugged
the towel off and let her wrestle the dress into place. It was
light and airy, layers of silks so sheer, they were transparent.
The bodice was wrapped in a gold rope that hugged my body and moved
and stretched when I breathed. “This isn’t bad. I can still fight
in it.”

“
No fighting! This dress
is worth a fortune,” Leandra chided.

“
You never know when
you’ll run into a monster that shouldn’t exist.”

“
I saw you on television.
You and the SISA chief in the arena.” Her hands paused from tugging
the layers straight. “You did really good, Lyssa. Herakles trained
you well.”

“
I didn’t die,” I agreed.
I played with the ruched portion over my breasts. The square
neckline was low but not indecent, and the gem Mismatch had given
me glowed just above the seam. The thought of Adonis made my sad
confusion return. “Have you heard from him?”

“
Not directly. One of the
girls heard he went underground. He might be waiting it out until
SISA isn’t looking for him anymore.”

Was he serious about
helping me if I got stuck with SISA
?
Before my memories, I never would’ve entertained such a thought.
“Do you know what’s going on? For real?” I asked
quietly.

“
You’re meant to return us
to the Old Ways, according to the priests.”

“
Is that really possible?”
I met her gaze.

“
Yes. You’re the Oracle,
Lyssa.” She believed what she was saying. “No one else can stand up
to the gods.”

“
But am I
supposed
to?”

Her hands dropped.

“
I mean, they’re the
gods.”

“
They’re destroying the
human world for material gain,” she answered.

“
Not all of them. The
priests said some were good.”

“
The gods created this
world. They did their part. Now they need to leave us alone,” she
reasoned. “Artemis and the Titan Lelantos agree and have protected
us for this reason.”

“
Hmm. Really? Or is this
the latest alliance in territorial gods?” I challenged.

“
It’s possible, I
suppose.”

We gazed at one another. I didn’t have
answers. I never really did. Leandra knew what we were taught, and
I suspected both of us were going to learn more about the truth of
the world before we understood how we were going to convert it to
the Old Ways.

“
Sit down. I need to do
your hair,” she said.

Neither of us was satisfied with the
discussion, but I obeyed. She primped, curled, dried, gelled and
gods knew what else to my hair until it shone and the plump curls
stayed in place. I admired her work in the mirror. I had always
wanted to spend time on my hair like the nymphs did, but Herakles
usually had other plans.

“
Now for shoes.” She was
cheerful again. She went to the wall of shoes and selected delicate
high heels.

“
No way I’m wearing
those,” I said instantly. “I can’t fight monsters in
heels.”

“
You’re going on a tour,
not to fight monsters.”

“
No heels!”

She sighed noisily. “Fine. Your fat feet
would look funny in them anyway.”

“
My feet aren’t fat.” I
glanced down.

“
How about these?” She
held up strappy sandals with an inch heel.

“
Okay.”

She dropped them near me. I slid them on.
They were comfortable.

“
I’ll carry a shawl and
satchel for you.”

“
You’re going with
me?”

“
Yep.”

I was relieved. I didn’t realize how nice it
was to be around a familiar face until I thought about leaving her
here to tour with strangers. “Am I presentable?” I whirled,
grinning at the layers of silk that swirled around my legs.

“
Until you
speak.”

Ignoring her, I left the closet.

“
You can’t let anyone know
we know one another,” she warned me as I started towards the
door.

“
I won’t.”

She trailed me out of the bedroom. I
marveled at skylights of the hallway. Natural light poured into the
house from every angle. I wasn’t certain I’d ever get used to
living here, but I could admit secretly that I loved the idea of
trying.

Cleon waited in a sitting room near the
foyer. He rose as I approached. He didn’t acknowledge Leandra at
all as she took up her station nearby.

“
Hard to believe you faced
down a monster or two,” he said, gaze going over me.

Not fully at ease in the fancy dress,
despite its comfort, I crossed my arms self-consciously. His gaze
returned to my features, and he held out an arm towards the
entrance.

I began walking, and he joined me. Servants
opened the doors for us to leave, and I paused outside the front
door, beneath a marble canopy shielding the sidewalks of the
compound from sun. A small entourage awaited us. It consisted of a
man with a bottle of wine and two glasses, a woman bearing delicate
hor d’oerves on a platter, Leandra, and four guards.

It was almost sundown, and I was
disappointed to realize that meant Adonis wouldn’t be at the
soiree. Not that I wanted to see him, but … ugh.

The Supreme Magistrate and I were handed a
glass of wine, and we began walking.

“
The Supreme compound
houses the White House, where I work on a daily basis, the
residences of the Supreme Magistrate and Priest and the Silent
Queen’s secondary court.” As we walked towards the Congress
building, Cleon began to point out residences, temples and official
offices, describe the benefactors behind the various gardens and
courtyards, whisper about the underground bunkers, and generally
orient me towards the most exclusive and well-guarded compound in
the world. At its center was a massive white temple to Zeus
surrounded by a dozen smaller temples dedicated to other
gods.

The wealth and beauty of such a place,
designed after an ancient Greek city, left me speechless. Cleon’s
general knowledge was underscored by the pleasant charm of a
servant fascinated with his world rather than the boastfulness of a
Supreme Magistrate.

He, like Adonis, was nothing like what I
expected, especially after meeting the acid-mouthed Niko. My
fascination with this new world and the man beside me grew as wine
lifted some of the dread that had been following me around for days
now.

We watched the sunset from the private,
uppermost balcony in Zeus’ temple. The sky glowed with different
hues of orange, pink and red. I was even more mesmerized by the
reflection of those colors on the marble temples in the compound.
Several people were out in the quiet sidewalks and walking across
the greens. The scent of earth and flowers filled the air, combined
with incense from the altars on the temple floor. It was quiet,
calming.

Closing my eyes, I leaned against the
railing, unable to recall when I last felt this relaxed. It had
been since I was in the forest. Perhaps it was the wine and my
exhaustion, or the subtle personality of the charming man beside
me, but I was enjoying the peace of a compound I knew to be a
breeding ground for political dissension among the Triumvirate. I
suspected Cleon was the latest who wanted to manipulate me into
doing something.

But it was nice to take a breather.

“
You are enjoying it,”
Cleon observed, a warm note in his voice for the first time. He
stood beside me on the balcony.

“
Yeah,” I murmured. “I
know it’s not real. I wish it was.”

“
It’s real enough to
touch.”

My eyes cracked open, and I shifted my hip
against the railing to gaze up at him. He was handsome in a way as
subtle as his charm. Unlike Adonis, who had to have been chiseled
by the gods themselves, Cleon had a quiet beauty. Symmetrical
features, wide forehead and jaw, eyes that were well spaced, and an
aquiline nose. Nothing stood out as especially good looking about
his features but nothing to take away from them either. His
clothing was tailored and fit well, adding to the air of
stateliness.

Like the compound, he was outwardly
flawless.

“
It’s what’s beneath the
surface that bothers me,” I said.

“
You are troubled by what
you have learned since leaving the forest?”

“
You could say
that.”

“
Niko is a brash man but
he is my best, and I trust him. He obeys without thought. I sent
him there to protect you once word leaked of what SISA
planned.”

“
You? I thought the
priests hired him.”

“
The priests were naïve to
believe no one knew they were there. I knew. I didn’t know what
they were hiding, but I had a source providing me information. It
wasn’t hard to manipulate the situation so Niko was hired rather
than another mercenary.”

There it is.
The conniving was starting to emerge. More
secrets I was afraid to learn. More claims I’d never be able to
verify. The moment one of these people opened up to me, or my
memories shared new insight, I was tense. I clutched the railing,
gazing up at Cleon, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

“
I’ve worried you.” Cleon
rested a hand on my arm.

“
No. I’ve been waiting for
that. And worse.”

“
Your position is one of
political maneuvering. There is much of that on this
compound.”

“
It’s not my thing. Like,
it’s the farthest thing in the universe from my thing.”

“
How can I make you
comfortable talking to me?”

“
Give me a
knife.”

Without dropping my gaze, he motioned one of
the guards over and held out his hand. The guard removed a knife
and sheathe from around his thigh and gave it to him.

Cleon handed it to me.

Surprised by the gesture, I accepted it.
“Thanks.”

“
I want you to know you
can trust me on some level.”

I gripped the knife, and it helped ease some
of my tension. My response to him wasn’t going to be favorable, but
I owed him some level of politeness after he handed me a knife.

“
I have to ask. I know you
have a trial for me. What is it?” I asked and braced myself for the
response.

“
I am to task you last,”
he replied. “I made a deal with the Queen for the privilege. But,
honestly, I want only what is best for both men and
gods.”

“
That sounds
fair.”

Adonis was right about the unknown messing
with someone’s mind. What could a man this powerful task me to do?
The Supreme Priest had wanted to use my powers for his own personal
gain. Was it safe to assume everyone in power would do the
same?

I kept quiet and turned to face the sky once
more.

It was as I saw the last of the sun dip
below the horizon that it hit me why this was so awkward. Cleon was
the first person I’d ever met who treated me like an equal. He
didn’t talk down to me. Didn’t assume I was an idiot. Didn’t try to
control, cage or coerce me yet.

It made me want to be less hotheaded and
watch my tongue for once, to remain in a position where he thought
of me the way he seemed to at the moment. I wanted him to think me
his equal, because no one ever had. It was gratifying to be
considered such by someone at his level and wanted to try to live
up to the expectations of a stranger.

He really is a good politician.

“
Your guests await us,” he
said.

Blinking out of my thoughts, I walked with
him down the stairs, out of the temple and through a maze of
sidewalks. Before we reached the outdoor party, the sound of a harp
and low beat of drums reached us. Laughter and the scent of food
soon followed.

The soiree was teeming with close to a
hundred people with a small orchestra in one corner, servants with
trays of food and wine circulating among guests, and an area of
tables. At the center was a fountain, and torches lit the
perimeter. No one looked twice at us when we entered, for which I
was grateful. I was feeling more self-conscious in the clothing,
more afraid of making a mistake.

I don’t belong here.
Women were drenched in glittering jewels and
designer gowns.

A servant with a tray approached and held it
out. Cleon took the masks and handed one to me.

“
I thought you might be
more comfortable with a semi-anonymous event,” he said.

Busy ogling the biggest diamond I’d ever
seen, I hadn’t noticed everyone down to the servants were wearing
masks over the top halves of their faces. At Cleon’s words, I
started to relax. He was really, really good at keeping me
chill.

Leandra plucked it out of my hand and
carefully pinned it in place with hairpins. She wore one
already.

“
This is awesome,” I said,
gazing around at the masked strangers. “No one will notice if I eat
all the snacks.”