Page 67 of The Shadows Between Us
I look up to his eyes, only to find him watching a drop of water slide down my shoulder.
He coughs. “Now it’s my turn for questions. Tell me of the men lucky enough to receive your favors. Was there more than one?” And then his voice changes. “Do you have a beau waiting for you now?”
The question seems to dawn on him with horror.
“I have no one right now. But as I said, I grew up receiving little attention from my family. So I sought it elsewhere.”
“Oh, Alessandra. If only I’d known you sooner. I would never ignore you.”
“Such a gallant king.”
“How many men?” he wants to know.
Dozens.
Instead of answering, I shoot back, “How many women?”
Somehow, I think our answers might be similar.
“All right. Keep your answer, and I’ll keep mine,” he says.
“Fair enough. Now may I swim?”
“Certainly. But if I reach the other side of the lake before you do, you owe me an answer to any question I ask.”
“Deal,” I say at the same time I spring for the other side.
Damn him. He wins.
“I want to hear about the first boy,” he says. “How did it start and end?”
The only thoughts of Hektor Galanis I have are when I reminisce upon his death. The beginning of our relationship is something I haven’t thought on much.
“He was the fifth son of a baron,” I start. And I realize that perhaps I shouldn’t use the past tense when speaking about him. I’m practically admitting that I know he’s dead, and an investigation is being conducted. I need to take better care with my words.
“My father had business with his father,” I continue. “He came over to our estate with the rest of his brothers. The older ones all chased after Chrysantha the moment they arrived. But Hektor singled me out. And I was drawn to him because of that fact alone. I was fifteen.
“I didn’t have any experience with men at the time. I’d hardlyseenany, sequestered at home as I was. I devoured Hektor’s compliments. I relished in his nearness. And the second time his father came to call, he led me to a quiet corner of the house and kissed me. The next time, he undressed me.”
Kallias is perhaps the best listener I’ve ever encountered. He can be so still, his shadows stilling with him.
“It went on for two months. During that time, I thankfully had a maid who taught me how to prevent pregnancy. I learned the ways of the bedroom. Hektor was more than happy to instruct and pleasure me. Until he found someone new. Someone else fresh and inexperienced and willing to bed him. So then it ended.” I pause, thinking I’m done here, but then I feel prompted to add, “And then I vowed I would never fall in love again. So every man after Hektor was used and discarded once I became bored with him.”
I find a cold spot in the water, and I shift back over a few feet. I don’t know if Kallias is disturbed by what I told him, or if he doesn’t know how to respond, but I ask, “Have you ever been in love?”
“No,” he says. “Not ever. What’s it like?”
“Horrible.”
The silence grows, but not in an unpleasant way. I feel closer to Kallias than I’ve ever been before. Exposed in a way that has nothing to do with my nakedness.
A spot of movement catches my attention.
“Who’s that?” I ask, looking over Kallias’s head. “Is that one of your guards?”
Kallias turns in place, looking back toward the shore and the hefty remains of our lunch still left there.
“No,” he says. “Alessandra, stay where you are.”
