Kyros' Secret (Greek Myth Series Book 1) (5 page)

Seven

Thera followed the man up the hill, not at all sure why he seemed so angry all of a sudden. She sensed confusion and aggravation on his end, though she couldn’t decipher the reason behind it.

“My name is Thera.” The bag weighted her down and she became winded following him so fast. “What is yours?”

He stopped for a second and looked at her. His eyes were dark and she wasn’t sure what he was thinking. “What does it matter?” He turned around and continued up the hill.

“I was just wondering who the father of my child is, that’s all.”

She sensed the man was disturbed about something. If she wasn’t mistaken, he wasn’t happy that she carried his child.

“I’m no one,” he answered without turning to look at her.

“But surely that’s not so. Everyone is someone.”

“I’m no one that matters. You’re better off not knowing.”

When they reached the top of the hill, his horse awaited them. A welcome sight for a pregnant woman whose body ached. Maybe he’d give her a ride somewhere. Anywhere where she could get away from her father and think this whole thing through.

“If you don’t want to tell me your name then just tell me where you come from.”

He fiddled with his horse’s saddle bag, then he turned his head slowly and stared at her for a second before answering.

“My name is Kyros.” He looked at her almost as if he were expecting some kind of a reaction on her part. One which she couldn’t give him since she’d never heard of him.

“Kyros,” she repeated. “It’s a nice name. And where are you from?”

He turned away and petted his horse on the nose. “I’m from nowhere … and everywhere. Where I’m from doesn’t matter. It’s where I’m going that truly counts.”

She liked that answer for some reason. Instead of being angered that he was being so secretive, she saw him as a deep thinker. One who could change the world with his thoughts and probably his dreams as well.

“Well, Kyros from nowhere, where are you going then?”

Before he could answer, a war-like cry came from behind the bushes and the sound of trampling hooves across the earth brought to their attention that they were under attack by a small group of centaurs. Thera screamed and dropped the saddlebag she carried. Kyros pulled his sword from the scabbard and held it up in the air.

“Get on the horse, Thera. Ride out of here as fast as you can.”

She was moving before he’d stopped talking. Her boot was in the stirrup, but the horse was large and it was awkward mounting with her bulging stomach. An arrow whizzed by her head. She’d felt it coming and moved out of the way just in time, losing her balance and falling to the ground.

“Damn,” she heard Kyros grind out.

He grabbed her arm and hauled her to her feet. The centaurs were closing in on them but Kyros did nothing to defend them.

“Do something!” she screamed and tried once again to mount the spooked horse but with little luck. She did all she could just to hold on to the reins to keep it from running. “Kill them!”

How easily the words came from her mouth now. Kill. It was almost natural to her, now that she was a killer herself. She hated the way it felt, but fear was consuming her and she only wanted this all to end.

He flashed her a glance that said a thousand words. He seemed shocked and appalled that she’d ordered him to kill them. It was almost as if it had never even entered his mind. Here a group of angry centaurs were shooting arrows all around them, and he seemed to dodge the damned things instead of defending her. Sure, he was outnumbered six to one but he was a warrior and should fight no matter what the odds. What good was that huge sword if he didn’t know how to wield the thing? If she’d had her bow and arrows right now she’d show him how to handle the situation. But instead, she’d been so eager to leave the scene of her crime that she’d jumped on the horse and left her weapon behind.

He replaced his sword in the scabbard and she felt her heart sink. He wasn’t going to fight for her. He wasn’t going to protect her after all. He stepped in front of her and pulled himself into the saddle. Doom overcame her as she realized he was running and she’d be left to face the centaurs by herself.

“You coward! You don’t deserve that sword if you can’t even use it.”

He turned his skittish horse in a full circle and his muscled arm came down toward her. He was going to hit her, she thought, and now regretted calling him a coward.  At the same time, she heard the hooves right behind her from one of the centaurs. He was so close she could smell the gamy aroma and feel the anger that pumped through its veins. She knew who it was and jumped away just as he approached. Fire licked his eyes and he reached his hand out to grab her. It was the rugged centaur who was supposed to mate with her. The one who had made the deal with her father.

She closed her eyes for a mere second, the huge arm grabbing her around her waist and lifting her up high. But when she opened her eyes, she realized it was Kyros who was lifting her in the air, not the centaur. Kyros pulled her up into the saddle in front of him and shielded her in the warmth of his arms.

“Hold on to me,” he commanded.

She gripped his arm that cradled her unborn child. His other arm held tight to the horse’s reins. He urged the horse forward, dodging the flying arrows and maneuvering his way skillfully through the attacking centaurs. He tried to outrun them, but it was too late. They were too close and there was nothing they could do to escape.

An outburst from the forest brought her attention to an old centaur leading a group of about ten other of his kind. They burst through the forest and distracted the attackers long enough for them to escape.

It worked. The distraction saved their lives. Kyros didn’t slow down until he was deep into the forest near a brook. Stopping the horse, he dismounted, taking the warmth of his protective hold with him.

“What happened?” Thera looked down at him. He scanned first the land and surroundings and then tied the horse to a tree.

“We were being attacked by centaurs,” came his calm answer.

“No doubt. I could see that.” His reluctance to tell her more disturbed her. “Why didn’t you fight back?”

The look on his face said it all. She saw the confusion in his eyes, felt his own anger at her words pumping through her very blood.

“Fighting isn’t always the answer. But then again, I don’t suppose the daughter of the god of war could understand such a thing.”

He turned from her and stared out at the water. A raw feeling of emptiness engulfed her. That would have been her answer at one time. Before this all happened to her. But now the thought of running never even entered her mind. Her war-like abilities had been triggered ever since she’d killed her father’s damned raven.

She struggled with her inner thoughts, knowing Kyros was right for not wanting to hurt anyone, but still she couldn’t help but feel he should have killed every last one of those centaurs that wanted her own life.

“They could have killed us, you realize.” She put one foot in the stirrup and swung her other one around to dismount.

“Well, they didn’t. So don’t worry about what I did or didn’t do back there.”

The horse moved and she lost her balance. She screamed and fell.

He was there instantly. His protective arms wrapped around her, keeping her from hitting the earth below. She felt so safe in his presence, yet she didn’t know why. They almost died a few minutes ago and the man had done nothing to ward off their attackers. Yet, here he saved her from a short fall to the ground.

“You ought to be more careful.” He gently set her feet on the ground, yet his arms lingered around her as he steadied her. “You might hurt the baby in a fall like you almost took.”

The man didn’t make any sense. He was worried about a little fall, yet when the arrows were whizzing by her head, he refused to use his sword to defend them.

“I’m not used to the awkwardness of being pregnant, yet.”

She looked up into his soft, brown eyes and felt a hidden sadness behind the gaze. She wanted to ask him about it, but couldn’t. She couldn’t bring herself to say a word. His touch was strong, yet gentle. His body was warm and comforting as his hands rested on her shoulders for a mere second before he shook his head and stepped away.

“We’ll rest now. I need to water my horse.”

His voice went cold; the warmth and kindness she’d just sensed diminished as he grabbed his horse’s reins and led the animal to the water. She, too, was thirsty and took the time to kneel down at the water’s edge and drink. She splashed the cool water on her face trying to make sense of her sporadic emotions.

“So. You never told me where you were headed.”

She looked up and realized he no longer stood by his horse. She heard a small rustle in the bushes and figured he was relieving himself.

“Kyros? Where are we going from here?”

When she didn’t get an answer she became unnerved. If it wasn’t Kyros in the bushes, then who was it? And why didn’t Kyros answer her - wherever he was?

“Kyros?” She stepped toward the bush and screamed when she saw a pair of eyes staring back at her. It was a small centaur. The young boy’s eyes interlocked with hers before he took off into the thicket.

“You don’t need to fear him.”

She spun around and saw Kyros standing before her with a dead pheasant in his hand.

“His name is Nemos,” he continued. “He’s harmless. He just wants to see who you are.”

“How do you know this? How do you know he won’t come back with his friends and try to kill us again?”

Kyros stacked up some branches and started a fire. He sat down next to it and pulled out his dagger.

“He’s not one of the group that attacked us. He’s one of the centaurs that helped distract our attackers so we could get away.”

“How do you know so much about centaurs?”

Instead of using the dagger to scare off anyone lurking in the bushes as she’d hoped he would, he used it to prepare the fowl for their meal.

“You ask too many questions,” he answered without looking up. “Just trust me. Nemos and his friends won’t bother you.”

“You seem so sure of yourself.” She sat down across from him at the fire. “You can’t trust a centaur. They’re deceitful and thrive on killing humans just for the fun of it.”

His knife stopped in mid-motion and his gaze met hers. A muscle in his jaw twitched. His eyes narrowed.

“Well, now who seems so sure of themselves?”

“I know a lot about those creatures,” she reassured him.

“Oh, do you?”

“I’ve seen them join my father’s army and do many wicked things. They’re blood-thirsty animals and nothing more.”

He jabbed the pheasant onto a stick and placed it above the fire to cook.

“And what makes you think it is the Centaur race that’s so blood thirsty? It seems to me the gods are the ones who cause all the trouble.”

He was trying to protect the Centaur race. This was clear, yet she didn’t know why.

“I wouldn’t talk bad of the gods if I were you.”

“Why not?” He got to his feet and wiped his hands in his clothes. “Are you going to strike me down for saying something bad about your father? And by the way … you’re so fast to accuse me of not fighting our attackers today, yet you didn’t even think about using your own powers to save your hide.”

She stood also and met his gaze across the fire. The orange glow lit his face, the heat from the flames making a barrier between them. The fires of Hades come to consume her. Her own nauseous stomach made her break the gaze and she turned away and walked toward the creek.

“I’m not a goddess anymore.”

“What is that supposed to mean? Of course you are.”

She hugged her arms around the child within her and looked out across the creek to the open sky. The low sun melded into a swirl of blues and golds.

“It means my father and the other gods stripped me of my powers before … before.” A lump lodged in her throat and she couldn’t continue. She felt his presence directly behind her though she didn’t even hear his soft footsteps.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know. It must be hard for you.”

He was so close she could feel the heat of his breath on her neck as he spoke.

“Don’t be sorry.”

She turned to face him. Her cheek almost brushed his chest. She wanted more than anything for him to put his arms around her the way he did when they sat atop his horse. His hand came up and rested on her shoulder. Warmth traveled through her body and she reveled in the security of it all.

“I’m here for you and the baby, Thera. I won’t desert you. You can count on me.”

If only he knew how much those words really meant to her right now. She needed someone there with her. She was scared and felt so alone. But Kyros would be there for her and their child now. He told her so and she believed him. She had nothing to worry about and would sleep well tonight. Even if he wouldn’t fight the centaurs, she knew he would keep her and her unborn child safe from the wretched creatures.

She boldly rested her cheek on his chest and he gave her a quick half-hug. Slowly, she met his eyes, their gazes magically making time stand still. She wanted to kiss him. He wanted it too. She could feel the intent in his stare. She closed her eyes and his face came closer, but the kiss she expected never came.