Helios Crowns His Mistress. Michelle Smart

were the only people to successfully invade Agon, and when Ares the Conqueror, cousin of the King at the time, led the uprising in AD 1205, the first thing he ordered his men to do was build these pits. King Timios, who was the reigning King and whom the Agonites blamed for letting the Venetians in, was thrown into the cell to my left.’

      The children took it in turns to gawp through the iron railings at the tiny square stone pit.

      ‘The manacle on the right-hand wall is the original manacle used to chain him,’ she added.

      ‘Did he die in here?’ a young boy asked.

      ‘No,’ said a deep male voice that reverberated off the narrow walls before she could answer, making them all jump.

      A long shadow cast over them and Helios appeared. In the flickering light of the damp passageway in which they stood his large frame appeared magnified, as if Orion, the famously handsome giant, had come to life.

      What was he doing here?

      She’d seen him only an hour ago, standing in the gardens talking to the school parties, as at ease with the children as he was in every other situation. That had been the moment she had forgotten how to breathe.

      It will get better, she kept assuring herself. It’s still early days and still raw. Soon you’ll feel better.

      ‘King Timios was held in these cells for six months before Ares Patakis expelled him and, with the consent of the people, took the crown for himself,’ Helios said to the captivated children. ‘The palace was built over these dungeons so King Ares could have personal control over the prisoners.’

      ‘Did he kill anyone?’ asked the same bloodthirsty boy.

      ‘He killed many people,’ Helios answered solemnly. ‘But only in battle. Prisoners of war were released and sent back to Venice.’ He paused and offered a smile. ‘But only after having their hands chopped off. King Ares wanted to send a warning to other armies wishing to invade—Step on our shores and you will never wield a weapon again. That’s if they were lucky enough to live.’

      The deeper they went into the dungeons, which were large enough to hold up to three hundred prisoners, the more questions were thrown at him as the children did their best to spook each other in the candlelit dimness.

      It was with relief that Helios handled everything asked of him—his presence had made her tongue tie itself into a knot.

      ‘Have you ever killed anyone?’ an undersized girl asked with a nervous laugh.

      He shook his head slowly. ‘But since I could walk and talk I’ve been trained to use knives, shoot arrows and throw a spear. My brothers and I are all military trained. Trust me, should any other nation try to invade us, Agonites are ready. We fight. We are not afraid to spill blood—whether it’s an enemy’s or our own—to protect what’s ours. We will defend our island to the death.’

      Utter silence followed this impassioned speech. Twenty-three sets of wide eyes gazed up at Helios with a mixture of awe and terror. The teacher looked shell-shocked.

      It had had the opposite effect on Amy.

      His words had pushed through her skin to heat her veins. It had never so much been his looks, as gorgeous as he was, that had attracted her. It had been his passion. The Kalliakis family was a dynasty whose blood ran red, not blue. And no one’s blood ran redder than Helios’s. On the outside he was a true prince. Beneath his skin lay a warrior.

      ‘And that, children, proves that it’s not only Ares the Conqueror’s blood Prince Helios has inherited from his ancestor but his devotion to his homeland.’ Amy spoke quickly, to break the hush and to distract herself from the ache spreading inside her. ‘Now, who here would like to be adopted by the Prince? Any takers? No? Hmm... You surprise me. Come on, then, who wants to visit the museum gift shop?’

      That brought them back to life; the thought of spending their money on gifts for themselves.

      ‘It’s a good thing you’ll never have to be a tour guide as your day job,’ Amy couldn’t resist saying to Helios as she climbed the stairs a little way behind the school party. ‘They’ll all have nightmares.’

      He followed closely behind her. ‘They’re learning my family’s history. I was putting it into the context of the present day for them.’

      ‘Yes. They were learning about your history. There’s a big difference between hearing about wars and blood-spilling from centuries ago and having it put into the here and now, especially in the dungeons, of all places. They’re only ten years old.’

      ‘The world is full of bloodshed. That’s never changed in the history of mankind. The only way to stop it creeping to our shores is through fear and stability.’

      Her hand tightened on the railing as she carried on climbing. ‘But Agon is stable. You have an elected senate. You are a democracy.’

      ‘The people still look to us, their royal family, for leadership. Our opinions matter. Our actions matter even more so.’

      ‘Hence the reason you’re marrying Princess Catalina,’ she stated flatly.

      ‘We are a prosperous, stable island nation, matakia mou, and it’s the hard work of generations of my family that has made it so. Until the entire world is stable we are vulnerable to attack in many different forms. We lead by example, and as a people we are united as one. Stability within the royal family promotes stability for the whole island. My grandfather is dying. My marriage will bring peace to him and act as security to my people, who will be assured that the future of my family is taken care of and by extension their own families too. They know that with a descendant of Ares Patakis on the throne their country is not only ready to defend itself but able to weather any financial storm that may hit our isles.’

      Somewhere during his speech they’d both stopped climbing. Amy found herself facing him from two steps above, coming to eye level with him. His eyes were liquid, the shadows dancing over his features highlighting the strength of the angles and planes that made him so darkly handsome. Her fingers tingled with the urge to reach out and touch him...

      ‘I need to catch up with the children,’ she breathed, but her rubbery legs made no attempt to move.

      ‘They know where they’re going,’ he murmured, placing a hand on the damp wall to steady himself as he leaned in close.

      His other hand caught her hip, jerking her to him. Delicious heat swirled through her; moisture pushed out the dryness in her mouth. Her skin danced and her lips parted as she moved her mouth to meet his...

      She only just pulled away in time.

      Swiping at his hand to remove it from her hip, she said, ‘I haven’t said goodbye to them.’

      ‘Then say your goodbyes.’ His eyes were alight with amusement. ‘Keep running, matakia mou, but know you can’t run for ever. Soon I will catch you.’

      She didn’t answer, turning tail and racing to the top of the steep staircase, gripping tightly onto the rail, and then out into the corridor.

      At least in the corridor she could breathe.

      What had just happened? She’d been a breath away from kissing him. Did she have no pride? No sense of preservation?

      She wanted to cry with frustration.

      Whether Helios believed it or not, they were over. He was marrying someone else. It was abhorrent that she still reacted so strongly towards him.

      There was only one thing she could do.

      She had to leave.

      As soon as the exhibition was officially opened, to coincide with the Gala in just over a fortnight, she would leave the palace and never come back.

      * * *

      After a long day spent overseeing the arrival of artefacts from the Greek museum Amy should have been dead on her feet, but the email she’d just received