Page 94 of This Divine Revelry

‘I will,’ I promise. ‘I have so many more dances to show you.’

‘And I want your thoughts,’ Phaedra says. ‘On each and every one of those men.’

I nod. I clutch them each close. And I force smiles – trying to ignore the dread curling in my gut.

Dionysus.

Where is he? What happened? My exhaustion is thick, the world sluggish and impenetrable. I thought the dizziness the shock of it all – being thrown to the ground, the air crushed from my throat. But it is only getting worse – and as I say my goodbyes, it is harder and harder to ignore.

The labyrinths. They’re what drained me.

I think of Dionysus collapsing on the boat after the fire and, gods, I need to find him.

With final hugs for my mother and sister, I set about locating Dionysus – my only comfort is knowing that if my father had done something to him then he would surely have bragged about it.

‘Ariadne!’ a voice calls as I emerge from the palace.

I turn to find the man from Cabarnis.

‘You’re leaving,’ he says. ‘You shouldn’t be doing that alone.’

‘I’m fine.’

He arches a brow. ‘You’re bleeding. Right now.’

I bring my fingers to my throat, where the pinprick clots.

‘Every guard in the palace is rounding up Athenians. You wouldn’t want one of Theseus’s men or perhaps King Theseus himself to find you and take his vengeance on Cretan royalty out on you.’

Fates, that’s true. If Theseus finds me now …

The man smiles – irritatingly smug – and gestures forward. ‘I’ll escort you to the docks and you can introduce me to your husband. That’s a fair deal, is it not?’

I sigh. ‘Very well.’

I doubt Dionysus will entertain this man much anyway – perhaps give him permission to start that temple and be on his way.

If he’s on the boat at all – because, oh gods, what if he’s not?

I spend most of the journey through the town distracted, worrying at all the possibilities. My eyelids feel too heavy. My limbs clumsy. At the very least I need to find the thiasus, tell them Dionysus is missing – let them find him before I pass out entirely.

‘This way,’ the man says. ‘There’s a shortcut.’

But I pull back – no, there isn’t. Power over labyrinths – and, apparently, never getting lost.

‘It’s this way,’ I say – turning towards the mouth of a different alley.

The man sighs – and then, before I know what is happening, there is a sword at my side, right where Theseus once pressed a blade.

‘This way, Princess,’ he says – gone the self-satisfied grin. He is harsh. Commanding. ‘And please do remember that I asked nicely.’

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

BY THE TIME HE’S DRAGGING me on to his ship, I don’t have the energy to protest. He hasn’t answered a single one of my questions and has only spoken to bark orders. He’s getting awfully careless with that sword too, and my back is marked by shallow scrapes.

I’m below the boards again, in a cabin – forced on to a chair – and there are other men too, one binding my feebly resisting hands behind my back. That man is before me, his palms slamming on to a table, questions spat, demands made.

‘Tell me … Dionysus.’