“You still have other family?” Cassandra asked, hoping the thought would cheer him. She was rewarded with a heart-stopping smile and he told her all about his mother and sisters, his nieces and nephews. His special fondness for the children came clear in his voice.
“And you?”
Cassandra shook her head. “Only Jordan. He’s my twin brother.”
“Your mother?”
“She died many years ago. It’s only been Father, Jordan and me. And now … ”
“Just you and Jordan,” Niko finished for her. But she didn’t know if she could even believe that. She felt as though it might just be herself now. She shook her head.
“I don’t know,” she whispered. “I don’t know if he’ll come back.”
“Of course he’ll come back. He wouldn’t leave you here alone. Would he? What kind of brother would do that?”
Cassandra wanted to defend Jordan, to say he was a good brother and would return to take care of her, but it would be too close to a lie. She lifted her chin.
“He has his own life to live, as do I. I don’t need him to take care of me.”
Niko eyed her for a moment, then lay down. He didn’t say all women needed a man to take care of them, as she’d expected, as Jordan had always told her. Was he different than Jordan, having grown up with a mother who’d raised her children on her own? Or was he just too ill to argue with her?
Cassandra knew she could take care of herself. She didn’t worry about that part of being alone. Her heart hurt from Jordan’s absence because he was all she had. They shared a long life of memories and now he was the only person in the whole world with whom she had any ties. Where was he?
The days and nights passed. Niko grew stronger. Jordan never came back.
Niko would soon be ready to return home and the thought of his leaving bothered Cassandra more each time she considered it. She enjoyed his company and although her belly still quivered whenever he looked at her with those olive-green eyes, she became accustomed to it. In fact, she liked these new feelings he gave her. Though they’d known each other for only a few days, she knew him better than she’d ever known anyone outside of her own family. She would miss him terribly. In fact, her chest already tightened with longing when he went off simply to collect firewood or water, and her heart skipped with pleasure when he returned.
Then the days turned into weeks and the weather began to change, bringing a chill to the air and making the nights longer. Niko should have been physically able to leave a long time ago, but every few days, he would seem to lose some of his strength and Cassandra wondered what that wolf had done to him. But by the next morning, he’d be better. Soon, they would both have to leave. Supplies were dwindling.
Normally, Jordan would have returned by now. Even if he’d taken off out of anger, he would have known to bring back supplies. He was gone for good. Cassandra knew this in her heart. Niko would leave her and she would need to face the agora, the marketplace, for the first time ever.
“You should come home with me,” Niko said one evening as they ate fish he had caught and a chunk of bread made with the last of the grain and olive oil.
“I can’t do that,” Cassandra said, shaking her head.
“You know he’s not coming back.”
She didn’t answer him. Admitting it to herself was one thing. Admitting it to Niko made it more real. Anger suddenly overwhelmed her. How could my own brother do this to me? How could he put me in this position? She was tired of defending him. She hurled her piece of bread at the ground and sprang to her feet.
“Of course I know that,” she shouted, throwing her hands about. “He’s arrogant and selfish and cares about no one except himself! He’s waited for this time for … forever. For the time when he could be free of any obligations. He’s out there on his adventures, exploring land and sea. He’s probably already forgotten he even has a sister. Yes. I know he’s not coming back.”
Cassandra stomped outside into the chilly night. She sucked in a deep breath of humid air tainted with the smoky smell from their fire inside. She also smelled the change in seasons as colder weather approached. She threw her head back and blew out the air in a huff of exasperation. The stars above seemed brighter and more numerous than usual and the sky itself felt so close, she thought she could reach up and touch it. She couldn’t help but wonder if Jordan stared at the same stars and moon and the thought gave her the sudden urge to lift her hand up and brush away the sparkles as though they were granules of dirt on her tunic. But then that would wipe away possibly the only connection she had with anyone on this Earth.
She hadn’t heard Niko follow her out, so she startled at his touch when he placed his hands on her shoulders.
“So why do you care if he returns?” he asked quietly.
Cassandra sighed, ignoring the sting behind her eyes. “Because he’s all I have.”
Niko stepped around her, facing her. She fell against him and cried into his chest for several minutes. He wrapped his arms around her and held her. When she finally stopped, he lifted his hand and stroked a brush of heat across her cheek, wiping away the tears. Then he placed his finger under her chin and lifted her face toward his.
“You have me,” he murmured. His lovely green eyes stared into hers, questioning if she understood. Her heart hammered. Her knees went weak. Too flustered to do anything, she just stood there as he bent over and brushed his lips against hers. A jolt of pleasure charged through her lips and spread through her chest and to her heart. “If you’ll have me, that is.”
Oh, did she want him. In many more ways than she could comprehend. But it was impossible. She couldn’t have a lasting relationship with anyone, no matter how badly she wanted it. Niko may care for her now, but when he found out about her—which he would eventually—he’d probably be part of the crowd that stoned her to death to get rid of the demon. With this thought, she understood Jordan’s need to find others like them. She didn’t change her mind about what kind of blood coursed through her veins, but she did see how the only people they could ever be around were others like them. And not like Niko.
She swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. She looked Niko in the eye and, pushing her true feelings into a corner of her heart, she said, “I’m sorry … .”
“Please reconsider. The world is very harsh for women. I can protect you.”
“I don’t need protection.”
“But you do. As soon as you set foot in an agora—”
Cassandra’s nostrils flared. So Niko was, after all, very much like Jordan in this regard. “Jordan has told me it’s no place for a woman. But I’ll do what I have to do.”
“You don’t understand. You go anywhere in any village, they’ll see you as a slave. When they realize you have no husband or master, they’ll capture you and make you their property. But if you come with me—”
“I can be your property?”
Perhaps her accusation wasn’t fair, but what Niko told her scared her. When Mother met Father, she’d been fleeing men who’d wanted to take her as a slave after her parents died. Father had saved her from that life. But Cassandra didn’t want to go with Niko out of fear … or pity. The way he looked at her now reminded her of the way Father used to look at Mother, but, regardless of how parallel their situations seemed to be, she and Niko could never have what they had.
“No, thank you.” She turned her back to him, biting her lip to hold back the tears.
“Cassandra, I—”
She spun on him and made her voice come out as hard as possible. “I said no. I can’t. I’m sorry.”
Niko’s eyes turned a stormy gray for a moment as pain filled them. Then he blinked, raised his chin and nodded. “Okay, then. I will not bother you anymore.”
He turned back for the hut and went inside without another word. Cassandra hugged herself, not just against the damp, chilly air, but against the coldness she felt inside. She could feel his hurt feelings as if they were her own and she had caused it. She had broken his heart and hers. But she had no choice.
Chapter 6
