Page 53 of His Realm

“If she were ever to find herself in breach of the law of Ascalon, she would submit to the king’s justice. She’s as loyal to the rules that bind the Noreia as any other citizen.”

That made sense.

I was quiet, thinking about Zev and Leda.

“Is there a picture of Leda anywhere?”

Zev smiled at me. “When you enter the palace, on the left, there is the floor-to-ceiling painting of a woman holding a lyre and sitting on the edge of a fountain.”

“I’ve seen that.”

One of his eyebrows arched.

“That’s Leda?”

He nodded.

“She was luminous, with all her golden curls.”

“I don’t remember her like that,” Zev told me. “But others do.”

“It’s very close to her true visage,” Sabira said. “Very few liberties were taken.”

“I wonder why Decimus kidnapped her.”

“Because he wanted her,” Sabira said, squinting at me. “It’s an old story. Messina did the same with Isabella.”

This was news. “Messina seized her against her will?”

“Oh no. She felt sorry for him, saw his weakness, and so went with him so he wouldn’t be alone.”

“Then why do you say he kidnapped her? It was nothing like what Decimus did to Leda.”

“True. I misspoke. Forgive me.”

She looked stricken and I felt like crap. “No, it’s fine, I was just scared for a second.”

“I understand,” she said, and then added, “Messina did limit what Isabella could do though.”

“In what way?”

“Later, she wanted to visit her sisters, have communion with us, speak to the earth and the trees and the water.”

“And he wouldn’t let her.”

She shook her head. “It was years before he sent for us, for her sisters, the Dísir.”

“When did she retire to her island?”

“He returned from war with captives, slaves, that he made into concubines. There were already courtesans she’d had to stomach, and then he added a harem.”

I nodded. “Got it.”

“It’s his right,” Sabira cautioned. “One must never question him.”

“No,” I agreed, “of course not.”

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