Cassandra tapped her fingers on the table as she stared at Esdium, a wealthy landowner from Anora. He'd been droning on for what felt like an eternity about the extension of his wealth, his connection to Anora's king, and anything and everything under the sun he thought would impress her father.

It worked, or Priam led Esdium to believe he held him enthralled. It must have been a grueling task. Their visitor had a low, wearisome voice Morpheus would covet.

Cassandra had had to force herself awake a few times as the meal continued. How her father ignored the mind-fog Esdium's words conjured, she could only imagine.

Across the table from his father sat Esdium's son, Larciss—Cassandra's suitor. He mirrored his father: round, borderline boyish face, coarse black hair, a sturdy body going soft from indulgence, and an enormous nose.

Larciss' eyes, though, were the color of sea glass, unlike Esdium's dirt brown colored ones. He couldn't be called attractive, but he didn't resemble a gorgon.

Larciss sucked on his cheek while his father talked and turned his head to scan the room. He nodded when he spotted a pretty servant or slave girl.

More than once he caught Cassandra's glazed stare, winked, and mocked Esdium with tiny gestures no one else appeared to notice.

Cassandra would sigh and sip her water. Each time, she prayed for the gods to end the torture. She welcomed any means they saw fit, even if it involved the palace tumbling to pieces around them.

"Good, good," the King said after Esdium had finished his chronicle about preparing for his trip to Troy.

"You know, we had many upsets getting here," Esdium said.

Hecuba batted her eyelashes. "Oh, no! Nothing too dire I hope."

Cassandra fought a groan and cursed her mother for encouraging the old windbag.

"You and—"

"I need to stretch my legs," Larciss announced over the King. "I feel like I've been sitting forever."

Esdium's face darkened. "Boy!" His tone no longer dragged. "Apologize to the King, his queen, and daughter for your rudeness. May their hearts fill with mercy, and they spare you the good lashing you deserve."

The King smiled. "Oh, come now, Esdium. The boy is young and energetic. We're the fools, friend, for thinking our children could sit for long without fidgeting. He's bored. No harm has been done."

Esdium's face grew redder, and he glared at his son. "You're lucky, boy."

Priam turned to Cassandra, and her back straightened. "Show Larciss the gardens, especially the beautiful patch of flowers you tend."

"Yes, my King," Cassandra said and rose from her seat; grateful for the escape. She bowed to her father and Esdium, then approached Larciss.

She held out her hand and smiled wide for she knew the King watched her performance.

Larciss stood and placed her hand in the crook of his left elbow. He waved at their parents. "Enjoy yourselves."

"Isn't that so sweet?" the Queen called as the two left the room. "I think they're a lovely couple."

The King and Esdium muttered possible agreement, but Cassandra couldn't tell because all her focus was on the clamminess of Larciss' skin. She ached to jerk away from him, to wipe away the dampness coating her hand, but she had to play the part of a gracious princess.

Cassandra led her guest out of the palace. They exited from the back, like they planned to go to the stables, but hung a sharp right on the expansive patio and found the tiled alleyway that would take them to the enormous gardens Cassandra adored.

"Isn't this something?" Larciss' tone was neither appreciative nor awestruck.

Cassandra snuck a look at him.

He'd pressed his lips into a thin line. The way his eyes roamed over the beds of bright-colored flowers, exotic trees, and sweet-smelling bushes told her he'd already thought of multiple ways to destroy the carefully crafted beauty before them.

Her dislike for him solidified.

Cassandra removed her hand from his arm and marched past him to the route that wound around a statue of Aphrodite and continued through a small grove of apple trees. The few servants and slaves she passed bowed to her before they returned to tending the gardens.

Larciss trailed after her. "Whoa, Princess!"

Cassandra didn't respond.

She debated whether she should get him lost in the gardens and leave him for a servant to find. Cassandra wouldn't get in too much trouble if he disappeared for part of the day. She might get away with her actions if she declared it a juvenile mistake born from jubilance.

The Queen would believe her, and Priam would go along with it to please her romantic whimsy and to avoid insulting Esdium.

Larciss surprised her by keeping up with her quick steps. "I'm speaking to you."

Cassandra stopped in front of a stone bench nestled between two apple trees. "Yes?"

Larciss collapsed on the bench. His chest rose and fell in rapid session, and sweat dripped down his face, yet he threw her a hard glare.

"Are we going to have a conversation or are you going to continue to act like a pampered brat?"

"I could have your tongue for that."

"We both know you won't. You wouldn't dare risk your father's wrath, would you?"

Cassandra refused to feign fragility further and shoved her face in his. "I will not be spoken to like this."

Her hands shook with the passion of her rage, and she almost smiled at the thought of her fingers gouging his cheek.

Underneath her anger ran a river of frustration at herself.

How did Larciss affect her so?

Cassandra had a dozen brothers more annoying than Larciss. He hadn't even said anything terrible, yet she loathed him.

She checked her emotions, though. She couldn't let Larciss get the better of her.

"If you wish to make it out of Troy with a body that still functions, you'll keep such comments to yourself." Cassandra's voice had calmed but hardened.

Larciss scrutinized her, then threw back his head and laughed. His loud bark startled a bird from one tree.

"That's the wife you'll be." He wiped his eyes and grinned. "I like this version of you."

Cassandra distanced herself from him as a severe warning flared within her. He wasn't right. She wondered if she should end their time in the gardens and head back for the safety of the palace.

"I'm glad you dropped the righteous, virginal appearance."

Larciss' gaze fixed on her and seemed to encourage her to run so he could give chase. "It was almost believable, but I know someone of your beauty couldn't have gone all these years and not given into temptation."

"How dare you question my virtue?"

Larciss smiled again. "Don't worry, Princess. I won't tell anyone. I prefer you broke in. The first time is always terrible. I wouldn't want to taint my years with you."

"You talk as if the King has already agreed to our marriage."

"It's all but sealed."

"Unless I've had other suitors with better offers."

Glee lit his expression. "Have you?"

She fixed him with a glower. "The heat is getting to me. I wish to leave."

Larciss cackled and stood. "Oh, so soon? I was hoping to see those flowers of yours."

Cassandra shuddered.

Never, even under threat of death, would she show him something so dear to her. It would take her weeks to rid his presence from her part of the gardens, and even then, it'd never be the same for her.

"If you want to leave, Princess, I suppose we should."

Larciss gripped her arm harder than acceptable.

Cassandra tried to tug out of his grip, but he held fast.

"By the time we get back the preparations for our wedding will be well underway." He steered her in the direction they'd come.

With each step they took, Cassandra's dread mounted.

What if Larciss spoke the truth?

A strong, marriage-bound connection to Anora would be hard to resist.

Could I do it for Troy? Cassandra pondered as the pair left the gardens.

"I want only sons."

Cassandra tried to ignore him and the fear weighing on her, but her silence only encouraged him.

"Your father has too many daughters. You all take up space better spent on other, more important things."

I could always run, Cassandra thought; serious for the first time.

Reality reared its ugly head. She had nowhere to go, had been nowhere besides Troy, and she couldn't survive on her limited skills in the wild.

Cassandra had to face facts. Larciss would become her husband, and she had no power to change her situation.

They entered the palace, not too far from where all this had started. Cassandra stared at the doors ahead and wished she could think of a clever way to stop her future.

If she could get out of a terrible problem like shooting a god, this should be easy. Why didn't an idea come to her?

"I wonder where we'll live," Larciss proceeded. "Troy's fine, but Anora is dear to my heart. I don't think I could handle your family being around so much. There are a lot of you."

"The more, the better, right?" a pleasant, rough voice said from behind the pair.

Cassandra and Larciss jumped and turned.

In front of them stood a dashing man, only thirty, with poignant eyes that changed color like the ocean. His tanned skin had more scars than Cassandra remembered, and he wore his strawberry blonde hair longer than ever before (Priam would tease him for it).

A squeal escaped Cassandra as she wrenched herself from Larciss and ran to her eldest brother of Hecuba's children.

Hector held out his brawny arms, embraced her, and spun her around in the air.

Cassandra laughed. "I'm dizzy!"

Hector set her down and wrapped her in a firm hug. "I've missed you."

"Weren't you set to arrive tomorrow?"

"My eagerness got the better of me."

Cassandra kissed his cheek. "I'm glad."

Her brother squeezed her one last time and stepped back. He gazed at her. "Have you let your hunting skills get rusty in my absence?"

Cassandra flicked his shoulder. "Of course not." She smirked. "Much to Deiphobus' displeasure."

"I'll have a talk with him."

"Be nice to him. He's no bother to me."

Hector tapped Cassandra's nose. "You're taking away all my fun. Why else do I come home if not to harass him?"

"Well, there is the rest of the family. I've heard you say, once or twice, you couldn't live without us."

Hector smiled. "Once or twice." He took Cassandra's hands. "Gods, you're a breath of fresh air. The perfect balm to my battle weariness."

He kissed her forehead and dropped her hands. "I wish I could spend more time with you, but I want to surprise the King and Queen. Where are they?"

Cassandra pointed at the correct doors. "In there. They're entertaining a man from Anora."

Hector's eyes roamed to Larciss, who stood behind her. His lips formed a grim line. "I see."

He pulled Cassandra close again and whispered in her ear, "I'll talk to Father about this. I followed you two for some time and heard quite a lot. No sister of mine will marry someone like that pathetic excuse for a man. I promise you."

Relief loosened the knot in her chest. Priam trusted Hector's judgment.

The King wouldn't have named him successor if he didn't.

For the first time since she'd met Larciss, Cassandra allowed herself to consider the possibility of Larciss and his father leaving empty-handed.

"Thank you," Cassandra said.

Hector let her go. "I haven't hunted for some time. Will you join me tomorrow morning?"

Cassandra beamed. "Yes!"

"I look forward to it."

Hector passed her and hurried to the doors.

Cassandra watched him as he threw them open and stepped into the throne room. A heartbeat passed, and she heard Hecuba shriek.

Cassandra smiled.

"I get it now," Larciss said; burst Cassandra's happy thoughts.

She glared at him. "What?"

"Why you've been so cold to me. Why you'll probably be cold to any man who pursues you."

Cassandra didn't like the smile he wore. She didn't want to dive into his perverted psyche, but she knew he'd tell her regardless of how she felt. "What are you getting at?"

"You were so loving with your brother it was hard not to pick up on the obvious."

Horror filled Cassandra. "The obvious?"

Larciss laughed. "Do all your family members keep the bloodline 'pure' or are you just the first, Princess? Do the King and Queen know of your secret romance? Should I break the news to them?"

An emotion stronger than rage or hate filled Cassandra. Her blood boiled, and her vision turned red.

How dare he try to ruin the relationship she had with her brother? What right did he think he had?

On quick feet, Cassandra charged her suitor. Without a moment's pause, she balled her fist and sent it flying at him with as much force as she could muster.

Her knuckles met Larciss' nose with a satisfying crunch and knocked him on his ample backside.

Larciss wailed like a child, and Cassandra didn't mind the pain that flared in her hand.

She didn't admire her handiwork and fled the palace. Cassandra flew over the grounds, her destination the stables. She needed her bow in her hands and the comforting embrace of the forest.

To hell with the mess she'd created with Larciss.

What did it matter that she'd disgraced the King? Cassandra couldn't muster the will to care if she'd set off a fight between Troy and Anora.

Cassandra didn't even worry about the darkening sky. It warned against her decision, but she frowned at the gods' attempt to scare her.

"Let the storm come."