Dark of the Moon

THESEUS

chapter 29

THE PRIESTESS'S DEATH changes everything:'

I look at Prokris, surprised. I've never heard something so close to a whine from her. She wears a frown that on any other girl would look sulky but which on Prokris merely shows how pretty her mouth is.

"I don't see how," I say. "The mother was never part of your plan."

"No, not directly. The daughter is now the one who holds the power. And I've just realized something. She told me that my husband will no longer be Minos after their Planting Festival. Do you know who will be priest in his stead?"

"Her brother."

"You knew?" Her voice must have come out louder than she expected, for she flinches and looks toward the garden wall.

I say, "I don't see how he can perform the rituals. He can't even keep himself clean!" Once, I overheard a girl in town say that someone should have "taken care of him" long ago and that if the Kretans were real men, one of them would have slit the boy's throat. I've grown fond of Asterion, but I can understand her point.

Prokris's next words take me aback. "All you have to do," she says haltingly, her words reflecting ideas coming to her as she speaks, "is marry the girl."

"Marry her?"

Prokris keeps her eyes fixed on me. "Make sure you are the one she chooses at that Festival. You can drip some blood on the field or whatever it is—and then, instead of stepping down at the end, you declare that since there is no Minos, you're taking charge."

"Why would they listen to me?"

"Krete needs someone strong in the palace; they've been ruled by priestesses and that old man for too long. Ariadne will be the most important person left, and her husband will be the natural one to assume power. There will be no Minos to get in your way."

I don't much like the idea of participating in their ritual. For one thing, I don't know how they extract blood from the man chosen by the priestess. From what I've seen of Krete, it's likely to be uncomfortable, not a mere prick on the fingertip. For another, we don't observe many religious ceremonies in Troizena, and I don't know how to behave.

Besides, I have no intention of marrying the girl, and I say so.

"You don't have to stay married to her," Prokris reminds me. "Just long enough to get established as king. Once they see how a real kingdom operates, they'll be happy to leave off their barbarian ways."

I ponder this and see a flaw.

"How am I to make sure she chooses me at the Festival?" Prokris lays a hand on my knee and smiles. "I don't think you'll find that difficult," she says.