Kushiel's Chosen

think I could guess that! You're enough to send the Goddess of Love running for her mirror." Setting his hands on his hips, the Archon surveyed Kazan, who bowed, eyes averted. "And you must be the Epidauran. Well, you two are an unlikely pair!"
    "I am Kazan Atrabiades, I," Kazan said stiffly in Caerdicci.
    The Archon raised his brows and switched languages without effort. "If that's so, you've a name for a pirate, Illyrian!"
    Kazan grinned wolfishly; I daresay he was pleased to find his reputation had preceded him. "It may be, eh? But I have undergone the thetalos, I."
    "So I am told." A shrewd look crossed Demetrios Asterius' face, and I remembered well what Pasiphae had said of him. Although he was slender and dark-complected, he had a look of her about the eyes; the deep-set eyes of the House of Minos, who call themselves the Kindred. "You have a letter, I believe?"
    Still kneeling, I handed it to him. His slim fingers closed hard about my wrist instead of taking the letter, and he drew me to my feet, laughing. "You need not kneel to me, Lady Phèdre, charming though it looks. Let us see what Pasiphae has written." Plucking the letter from my hand, he gave a sharp whistle in the direction of the gathered wrestlers. One raised his head, smiling in answer, and came over to join us. He was tall and well-made, with hair the color of darkened bronze and grey eyes that held a quiet amusement. "This is Timanthes," the Archon said absently, throwing an arm over his companion's shoulders as he scanned Pasiphae's letter. "He can beat me two falls out of three, too, although he never boasts of it. Here, Timanthes, see what you make of this."
    Timanthes read the letter silently, and their eyes met when he had finished. "You'll have to hear her out in a proper audience, Demetrios. This is too heavy to be decided here."
    "That's what I thought." The Archon clapped his hands together, turning to address the gathered Kritians, who clustered on their benches, staring and whispering. "Thank you for coming," he called to them. "I hope you have been well entertained!" They applauded again politely, and dispersed in short order, taking their retinues of servants with them, eyeing us sidelong as they went. In the background, the other wrestlers began sluicing each other down with buckets of water drawn from the well. Demetrios Asterius touched his fingers to his lips, brows drawn in thought. "You have a ship in the harbor, yes?" he asked Kazan in Caerdicci. "I am unclear what is your stake in this matter, pirate. The law of the Temenos protects you as a supplicant, but it does not extend to matters of state if you intend harm."
    Kazan looked down at him; he was a full head taller than the Archon. "What I came for, I have, son of Minos. Now I am here to see what you will do, eh, and what you will not, I will. Do you understand, you?"
    "I think so." The Archon nodded briskly. "Well and so, I will hear out this request of yours, Lady Phèdre, and your ... consort, is he?"
    "No," I said softly. "My lord Kazan Atrabiades and I are bound together by... mutual debts, you might say. He is not my consort."
    "No?" He raised his brows again and grinned. "That's well, then. Timanthes, does her hair not shine like stars caught in night's net?" They exchanged another glance and Timanthes shook his head, smiling. "Your sister would be wroth, to hear me say such things," the Archon concluded, sounding not at all put out. "But what am I to do, hmm, when the Kore herself sends one such as this to my door? Ah, well! My dear pirate," he said to Kazan, "I suggest you find lodgings for your men in the city. I am told there are a good many inns of quality, if you have coin to pay. For your part, we will honor the dues of a supplicant who has undergone the thetalos; here, you may stay. And you, my lady." He made me a bow, the Seal of Minos banging against his bare chest as he straightened. "You, we will surely house. Timanthes, will you see it done?"
    "Yes, Demetrios." Timanthes smiled at me. "It will be done."
    I do not think Kazan liked the arrangements-I do not think he liked the Archon overmuch-but so it was done, and Timanthes escorted me to pleasant quarters in the West Wing of the Palace.
    "The Archon will see you within the hour," he said gravely to me. "He will not keep one waiting overlong whom the Kore has sent."
    "Thank you, Timanthes." I considered him. "You are very fond of him, are you not?"
    One corner of his mouth rose in a smile. "Yes, my