Outrun the Wind by Elizabeth Tammi

Author:Elizabeth Tammi
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: YOUNG ADULT FICTION / Legends, Myths, Fables / Greek & Roman / LGBT YOUNG / Romance
Publisher: North Star Editions
Published: 2018-10-03T13:46:11+00:00

What feels like hours later, the musicians finally stand and bow to the crowd. They beckon to the kitchens, where the dinner is paraded out. My jaw almost hits the floor; this is more food than I’ve seen in my entire few months at Arkadia—platters of brisket, baskets of bread, and trays of honeyed cakes are placed across the long table. For once, every seat is taken. There’s still not enough room, and another hastily assembled wooden table is dragged in from the courtyards for them.

The suitors push and shove to sit as close to the head of the table as they can, though Iasus assures them they will each have their time to make their appeals to the princess throughout the week. My head throbs as the scraping of chairs fills the room. It must be the middle of the night by now.

Atalanta takes her seat after her father sits, who’s beaming brighter than the torches. This must be more than he’d dreamt of. But then Zosimos slides into the seat to Atalanta’s left. I open my mouth to tell him to move, but why would he listen to me? Iasus would fire me on the spot. Atalanta’s fingers drum impatiently on the table. She twists around in her chair and beckons to me. My heart slams, but I approach, much to the confusion of the suitors. She gives a curt smile to her assembly. “I’m sorry. Where is Kahina’s chair?”

“Atalan—”

“Where is it?”

My face burns. I normally sit to her left when we take meals, but that was before . . . this. Iasus glares at us, but then a chair is dragged to Atalanta’s side and she pats it twice. Everyone stares at me. I swear each of my steps echoes through the hall. The hairs on my neck tingle as I carefully sit down, and if it was anyone other than Zosimos beside her, I’d be gone.

After an awkward beat, Iasus tells the suitors to dig in. I grab a slice of bread and immediately shove it in my mouth. Hunger and nerves together do not bode well for ladylike behavior. The man across from Atalanta introduces himself as Lysander from Mycenae. He’s overly eager, but one of the younger men I’ve seen so far. His hair is a mess of chestnut curls, his eyes a muddy green. “Sorry, princess. Who’s this?”

This. I rip the crust of my bread into tiny pieces, wondering if I could get away with throwing them at him. “This is Kahina,” Atalanta answers. Her teeth are clenched. “My closest companion.”

The bread falls from my hands.

“Ah,” he replies, clearly uninterested. “So how have you been adjusting to life in Arkadia?”

Iasus clears his throat. Everyone knows of Atalanta’s dangerous past—the intrigue is probably the reason half the men are here right now. The intrigue is what we’re counting on, if we want to pull this off.

“She has been adjusting very well,” Iasus replies. “She’s picking up on female arts quite quickly.”

“And what makes them female?” Atalanta asks.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.