“This happens to her all the time,” he murmured. “Sometimes the god’s breath lingers on her lips after she leaves the temple. When she sees a truly dark future for anyone, it breaks her heart. Let’s walk on. She’ll be herself again soon. Won’t you, child?” He gave the all-seeing Pythia a hug. I wanted to hug him myself, for his goodness to her.
Eunike recovered her cheerful manner before we reached the temple. Just as we were entering the grounds, she clutched my arm, dragged me aside, and whispered, “Do you want to know what’s going to happen to you?”
I hesitated. It was tempting, in spite of all my protests that morning. Maybe I ought to ask her for my fate, I thought.
“Tell me,” I said softly.
The Pythia clasped my hands in hers. Her eyes were shining, but they stayed green. “You’re going to grow up rich and beautiful, you’re going to meet a handsome man who’ll change your life, and you’re going to go on a long voyage with him.” Then she burst out laughing. “Isn’t that what every girl wants to hear?”
“Very funny.” I gave her a hard look.
“If you can’t take a joke, say so,” she said lightly.
“But really, Lady Helen, I haven’t had any visions about you, so all I can tell you about your future is this: You’re going to have to get back to Sparta with no one’s help but your own.”
“What?” The Pythia had tossed her ominous words at me as if they were a trifle. “How can you say—?”
“Helen! Thank Apollo, there you are!” Castor came sprinting out of the temple precinct gate, lifted me off my feet, and swung me around. He was so ecstatic to see me that it was as if the Pythia and her attendant priests were invisible to him. As I whirled in Castor’s arms, I saw Eunike smile and move silently back through the gateway with her escorts, heading for Apollo’s temple. My brother was so focused on me that he was never aware of their presence.
“What kind of a trick was that to play on Hippomenes and Arctos?” Castor demanded when he set me down again. I held his arm to steady myself. My brother’s enthusiastic welcome had left me dizzy.
“They went crazy when you gave them the slip. You wouldn’t have been so quick to pull that stunt if you’d seen their faces when they came back here, dragging poor Milo between them. All three of them smelled like the bottom of a grape vat! None of them had any notion of where you were, but the men were convinced Milo did know and wasn’t telling. I had to stop them from kicking an answer out of him.”
“If they laid one finger on him—” I growled.
“Milo is fine,” Castor said. “Forget Milo. Helen, listen, I’ve got something fantastic to tell you. Today, after Polydeuces and I saw the Pythia, we met Prince Jason of Iolkos. He’s calling together a crew, even more men than Lord Oeneus summoned for the boar hunt, to make the greatest voyage anyone ever heard of, from Iolkos all the way through the Hellespont to Colchis, on the shores of the Euxine Sea, a voyage of heroes! Jason had gone to see the Pythia too, and she told him the names of the men he must bring if he wants his quest to succeed. Oh, Helen, you’ll never guess what she said!”
“She told him he should bring you and Castor,” I said dully. “I’ll have to return to Sparta with no one’s help but my own.”
I looked toward the temple, seeking Eunike, but as I suspected, she was long gone.
That evening, my brothers took me with them to the inn where most of our guards were staying, to confer with them about the arrangements that had to be made before they could depart for Iolkos. They ordered the innkeeper to provide a lavish meal, everything from freshly caught fish, to roasted lamb, to raisin cakes laced with honey. They also sent messengers to the other inns, carrying word that similar delicacies were to be served to all of our loyal men. They were in the mood to celebrate.
“I knew it was a good idea to come to Delphi,” Castor declared, splashing more wine into his cup. “The gods themselves wanted us to meet Jason, so they saw to it that our paths crossed. When I return from this voyage, I’ll thank them with such a splendid sacrifice that all Sparta will talk about it for years after!”
“We should make an offering before we leave Delphi as well,” Polydeuces said. “We can use the gods’ favor on the road north to Iolkos. And it’s only right that we also give something more to Apollo. The Pythia herself told us that this would happen.” He was always the prudent one.
The seniormost soldier at the table spoke up. “Lord Polydeuces, before you leave Delphi, do you want to send word to Sparta, to let your royal parents know why you won’t be coming back with the lady Helen?”
Before Polydeuces could say a word, Castor barged in. He’d been drinking two cups of wine to his twin’s one all through the meal. “No need for that. This wonderful news should reach them only from our lovely little sister’s lips. You’ll tell them, won’t you, Helen? Tell Father and Mother all about how we first earned glory on the hunt in Calydon and how now we’re off to secure our names as heroes by bringing the Golden Fleece!”
I looked up from my plate. My brothers had heaped it with all the finest pieces of meat, the whitest cheeses, the plumpest olives, and the best-baked breads. I’d taken two bites before I lost my appetite. “Bringing back the Golden Fleece,” I repeated, mocking him. “As if it exists.”