Pherenike - Chapter 144

“How… how can there be a lion here…?”

“That damned bow on your back—do you plan to take it with you to the grave? Why are you just standing there instead of shooting the beast?”

“How can I possibly kill the king’s lion?”

“That’s not the king’s lion!”

Everyone in the courtyard knew there was no such thing as a lion roaming the palace grounds that wasn’t the king’s. Yet the soldiers didn’t even know the old man’s true status—and they understood that if the lion harmed him, they could be next.

The soldier who’d just been taking orders from the woman to beat the dog, hesitated in confusion before finally drawing his arrow. At the same moment, Atalanta twisted her body, keeping a wary eye on both the armed soldier and the old man.

Noticing how the beast, far from being wild, was carefully watching their every move, another soldier grabbed his companion’s bow and asked the old man in a low, urgent voice,

“What if we actually kill the king’s lion? Who will take responsibility? That noble beast probably just slipped out of the royal garden. And we don’t even know who you are…”

“You fools! Have you already forgotten the queen had a lioness?”

“I don’t know anything about that.”

“There was some big cat the queen kept a long time ago, I think.”

By now, Pyra—shielding herself behind the soldier with the drawn bow—was watching the trembling dog and the lion, her expression almost idle.

“Oh, right. Didn’t that lion end up in Paetusa?”

Her elegant fingers pointed toward the dog’s head as she carefully observed Atalanta, who was glaring as if she would shred her hand.

“If that’s so, then it must have returned to its old mistress with its new master. Indeed… If Lord Talon is right, then this isn’t the king’s lion anymore.”

“…Are you saying that man is one of the king’s most loyal retainers?”

“Pyra Lavrentios!”

When the old man, dressed in rags like a runaway slave, shouted the royal cousin’s name, the soldiers turned in surprise.

“Is he truly Lord Talon?”

“Even if you are ignorant, is now really the time for idle chatter? Can you not see the beast? Make those men kill the lion, now!”

“And have me, a woman, beg for my life before the beast and those with swords and bows?”

Pyra replied coolly, ignoring the old man’s outburst.

“If she’s your mistress, why not ask her for mercy instead of shouting at us?”

“You idiots! Why are you just standing there!”

“If I were you, I wouldn’t be yelling at the ones holding the weapons. If anything, I’d try running or beg for my life instead.”

“Is she your mistress now?”

“You’d be better off using your breath to run from the lion, or beg those with swords and bows to spare your life.”

Pyra stood and lightly tapped the dog’s forehead with her knuckles.

“Well then, would you care to beg for your life?”

Backing away slowly from the lion, the old man’s voice trembled.

“Pyra Lavrentios. You are the one who owes the Thasos family a debt. I must kill this lion—the queen’s lion. What harm can come from ridding the world of the queen and the prince’s beast…?”

“Does sharing an enemy always make one a friend?”

“…”

“Old men should know their place.”

“How dare you—!”

“Everyone else is busy doing their duty even in the midst of war, Lord Talon. Why are you wandering around here so leisurely?”

The old man’s face twisted with indignation.

“Are you trying to survive alone by discarding your noble bearing? Did you judge the king would lose and choose this disgrace?”

“The queen knocked me out in the sanctuary!”

“And how could a praying, delicate woman manage such a thing?”

“How should I know! Who knows what trickery she used—maybe she bewitched the captain of the guards, just as she warmed the king’s bed!”

“A single blow to the head would take down an old man like you, don’t you think? The queen has better things to do than seduce the guards. Maybe she used that silver tongue of hers to earn the soldiers’ hatred.”

“When I came to, I was here! She made me look so pitiful no one would recognize me, and tied me up to a tree! I spent the whole day there, and only near sunset did one of Teophanis’ men come to release me. Damn it, someone—anyone, please—just shoot the lion! For the honor of Talon, one of the king’s five confidants, let the Talon name be known for killing the lion—”

But Pyra, having lost interest in the old man’s pleas, busied herself fiddling with the dog’s leash. Another soldier narrowed his eyes.

“Then, is that spear of yours ours now? Where is our soldier?”

“I killed him! He deserved it for siding with that filthy traitor. Do you know how much the queen loves that beast—maybe more than her own daughter. When you kill this lion, toss its carcass before the traitor woman—let her see the insides spilled like that of a goddess’ pet—”