“Open these gates, at once,” Delia demanded on the other side of the door. “She’s one of us.”
Some kind of argument was happening. Cynna couldn’t hear clearly through the closed doors. But seconds later, the heavy grind of the great wood doors parting sounded once more, and Delia’s face appeared—snow-white hair hanging past her shoulders, sharp blue eyes, high cheekbones on a youthful face, and thin lips curved into a welcoming smile. To most she looked to be only in her early thirties, the same age as Cynna, but she was much, much older. And wiser. “My dear Cynna.”
The witch wrapped her arms around Cynna and pulled her into a tight hug, and as the familiar scent of lemon surrounded Cynna, she closed her eyes and held on, for the first time in…years…feeling something other than alone.
“She has no papers,” the guard mumbled.
Delia glanced his direction with an irritated expression. “You and your useless papers. I’ll vouch for her.” She looked back at Cynna, her annoyance fading. “Come. You look a fright, child. Come in out of the cold.”
Delia pulled Cynna into the settlement. A shiver raced down Cynna’s spine as she stepped into the courtyard, and for the first time, she registered the temperature. But even that faded as the gigantic doors closed behind her, and she looked around the bustling city of Kyrenia.
“Looks quite different, doesn’t it?” Delia said at her side, one arm still wrapped around Cynna’s shoulders.
“Slightly.” Cynna swallowed the lump in her throat.
The last time she’d stood in this spot, just before she’d left for the human realm, Cynna had stared at nothing but ruins. Broken stone, charred wood beams, ash and dust and the remnants of a life she sometimes thought of as a dream. But these weren’t ruins. Shops had been rebuilt. Homes had been restored. The fountain in the middle of the courtyard where she’d waded as a child was bubbling. Children dressed in coats and boots were playing tag and throwing snowballs while males and females shopped, chatted, and went about their business.
Cynna looked from face to face, searching for someone familiar, finding nothing but strangers. “Who are all these people?”
“Refugees,” Delia answered, moving forward and pulling Cynna along with her. “The coven is helping to get them settled.”
“Refugees from where?”
“The human realm. They’re Misos. From the half-breed colony.” When Cynna’s brow dropped, Delia added, “Half-Argolean, half-human.”
“I know what half-breeds are,” Cynna said, trying to keep the irritation from her voice. “How did they get here?”
“The queen brought them.”
“What?” Cynna stopped and faced her mother’s oldest friend.
Delia’s expression turned sad. “Hades and his son attacked the Misos colony, and the queen and the Argonauts brought them here for safekeeping.”
“Here?” Cynna looked around, disbelief swirling in her chest. “To our home?”
“It wasn’t much of a home of late. You’ve been gone so long, you couldn’t know. The settlement has been empty and cold for years. Originally, the queen was housing the refugees in the castle in Tiyrns. But there were too many, and the Council… Well…” Delia sighed. “The Council made it clear they did not want the Misos wandering around the capital. She contacted me for advice. I suggested the Kyrenia settlement. So they were relocated here.”
Just the fact that Delia, of all people, would allow the queen to use their home as a prison flared the fires of Cynna’s anger right back to life.
“Banished, you mean,” Cynna ground out. Yeah, that made sense. Of course the queen would lock away anyone who was different so they didn’t infect her perfect Argolean society. But Cynna had no idea why she’d even bother to bring the Misos here from the human realm in the first place.
“Not banished,” Delia said, her sharp voice drawing Cynna’s gaze. “Saved. Did you not see the guards at the gates? Those were castle guards, pulled from the monarchy’s personal detail.”
“Yeah, I saw them. Chosen, obviously, to keep the Misos locked in.”
“No, Cynna. To keep the Council and their spies out.” Delia’s eyes narrowed. “Has your heart been hardened so much that you cannot see what’s right in front of you? Look around, child. Look at these people. Do they look like prisoners to you?”
Cynna glanced back over the faces. Smiling, laughing faces. And even though she didn’t want to believe it, even she could see these people seemed content. Not miserable as she and everyone else who’d lived in Zagreus’s realm had been. Not bitter and broken. Yes, some walked with crutches, others had ugly scars from what she knew were battles past, but no one seemed on edge. No one looked afraid. No one around her appeared anything but calm and relaxed and, yes, even happy.
Her skin grew cold and clammy. An odd tingle built in her chest. She glanced around again, only to realize…
She turned back to Delia. “You said they’re Misos? From which colony?”