"No, our conversation was very brief, but I've seen a god, so I believe you could have seen Hera, Athena and Aphrodite. Was she really the most beautiful goddess?"
"Each one is beyond compare, but Aphrodite offered you and with that promise, I couldn't have chosen either of the others, although I worried about offending them."
He was such a sincere young man, but clearly had forgotten how mischievous the gods could be. "The gods love to play tricks on us. Am I to have no say in this? I was kidnapped once, with a very terrible result, and would not recommend it."
He leaned close to brush her cheek with a tender kiss. "I thought Aphrodite would have cast a spell so you'd want to be mine."
His breath was warm against her cheek, and suppressing a shiver, she looked up at the night sky. "Apparently she neglected to weave one."
"Then I'll have to convince you on my own."
Stifling a laugh, she turned toward him and unwittingly stepped into his kiss. His lips were soft and the pressure sweet rather than insistent. She raised her hand to stroke his hair and relaxed into his embrace. Perhaps it was only the beauty of the night, or maybe truly Aphrodite's magic, but the feel of him, and his taste were so familiar, she felt as though she were coming home. When he at last brought their first kiss to an end, she pulled him close for another and made it her own.
Growing breathless, he spread tender kisses along her jaw. "I've seen how sad you are, how unhappy your life is. Come with me. Let's sail the wine-dark sea to Troy."
"Impossible. I cannot sail the wine-dark sea with you to Troy."
"Why? Bring Hermione and all the servants you wish. We can sail at dawn and you need never look back. I have a swift royal ship awaiting us."
She rested her head on his shoulder. "Hermione adores her father, and I would never take her from him."
"Bring whomever you wish, but come with me. I'll never betray you or give you any reason to be sad."
Moving back a step, she found they were engulfed in a golden sphere of swirling, spinning fireflies. She was struck by the magical moment, but gathering her wits, she broke free of his relaxed embrace. "You mean that, but sorrow often overwhelms me without a reason. Ride with me in the morning, and we need not speak of tonight."
She left him to run down the stairway, entered her bedchamber and threw the bolt. Alexandros was filled with a young man's dreams of love, and she'd been wrong to encourage him. That it had felt so right was merely a cruel twist of fate. Menelaus would never let her go no matter how pretty Alexandros's promises were. She sat on the edge of her bed, as lonely as she'd ever been and wished the handsome Trojan prince had never heard her name.
* * *
As Paris turned, the fireflies spun around him, their path gradually widening until they'd all flown away. Aphrodite might have sent them, and while they'd been pretty, he wished she'd turned Helen's heart toward him instead. Maybe Hermes and the goddesses had all been laughing at him, teasing him with a prize he could never have. But if he hadn't been inspired to go to Troy, he'd not have discovered who he really was. If Menelaus hadn't visited King Priam, he wouldn't have known Helen's name.
He believed he'd been guided to her from the moment Aphrodite had won the golden apple. They were fated to be together, if only he could convince her he was her true husband. It couldn't be impossible, or he wouldn't have found her so easily. Inspired, he planned for the morning rather than sink into despair.
Chapter 19
Aethra stopped Helen as she prepared to leave the palace for her morning ride. "I sleep so poorly, I heard you pass by my chamber very late last night."
Theseus's mother missed nothing, but Helen made no attempt to fool her. "I went to the roof terrace for the comfort of the stars. I find their constancy endlessly reassuring."
The white-haired little woman regarded Helen with a narrowed glance. "Menelaus was a fool to leave you here with a young man as handsome as that Trojan Alexandros. He's clearly enamored of you. Could your husband have done it deliberately?"
Helen hadn't mentioned Alexandros, and wouldn't admit she'd spent time alone with him. "Menelaus isn't given to plotting intrigues."
"Perhaps he's lacked a reason." Aethra walked along with Helen into the courtyard with quick tiny steps.
Puzzled, Helen wondered aloud, "Are you saying he might have left hoping I'd behave horribly and have something to confess upon his return?"
Aethra raised her hands in a nonchalant wave. "It's merely a possibility. He'd be gracious and forgive you no matter what your indiscretion, but then you'd have to forgive his, wouldn't you?"
Helen looked down and smoothed her lavender-hued tiered skirt. "I'd rather not believe he'd even consider such a mean-spirited ploy."
"But what if he has? With forgiveness a certainty, why not behave any way you wish? When Alexandros is so eager to please you, why not allow him to do so?"
Helen laughed rather than reveal how appealing the prospect might be. "You're not usually so wicked, Aethra, and I'll not take what is purely conjecture as advice." She bid her a good day and walked out to the stable trying not to run.
She chose to ride the big bay gelding rather than the pretty gray mare. If she quickly tired of Alexandros's company, she'd be able to leave him on the path without having to worry he'd overtake her. She told herself it would make her safe, rather than reckless for riding with him in the first place.
Oron had known little about horses when she'd brought him there from Theseus's fortress, but over the years, he'd developed a real talent for handling their prized mounts with a warm word and cool hand. He helped her upon the bay's back.