Starcrossed (Starcrossed 1)

been able to hide so much from you?our relics, like the cestus?

even our very existence. You thought the House of Atreus was

extinct, but here I am. Open your eyes! Whether you want to believe

it or not, Pandora, Ajax and I saved each other?s lives that

night, and then we fell deeply in love.?

?Then the two of you ran away together?? Castor asked, shocking

everyone with his sympathetic tone.

?We had no choice. Even though I had paid my debt to the House

of Thebes, and I could be near any of you without inciting the Furies,

you all still wanted me dead,? Daphne replied with a shrug.

?Ajax said that if we could explain what had happened to Tantalus,

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he would take our side. He really believed your brother would help

us. We were so young, only seventeen.? A powerful emotion overwhelmed

her and she suddenly clenched her fists and her jaw, as if

she was refusing to cry.

?Finish your story,? Lucas said evenly.

??Jax and I were living on a sailboat, hiding at sea. Tantalus

rowed out to meet us because we were too frightened of an ambush

to come ashore. As soon as Tantalus saw my face he went mad.

They fought over me in the rowboat. I can?t swim?I swear, I

couldn?t get to them. Ajax lost,? Daphne said. She stared directly

into Lucas?s eyes. ?Tantalus claimed that he killed me that day, but

obviously that?s a lie. He has been chasing me ever since, maybe

because he wants me for himself, or maybe because he intends to

kill me and he doesn?t want anyone else coming after me for the

sake of a Triumph. I?m not entirely sure what he wants anymore.?

?I don?t believe it, no matter what you say, Lucas,? Pallas said,

shaking his head in denial. ?Tantalus loved Ajax.?

?Yes, he did. He loved his brother, and then he killed him,?