The Pandora Curse (Greek Myth Series Book 4) Read Online Free PDF Page B

the edge of the table.
    “What is your name?” she demanded to know.
    “I am Agatha. What is your name?” Wide, brave eyes stared into hers waiting for an answer.
    “I am Vara,” she said softly.
    “ Vara the Conqueror ?” the little girl asked. “I hear my father’s people cursing that name. They say you are mean and heartless. They say you will kill us all after we give you everything you want. Is that true?”
    Bile rose in her throat, and Vara found it impossible to talk. The room silenced as everyone waited to hear her answer. The only men present from Corinth who hadn’t been imprisoned in the dungeon or escaped, were the young pages and the old men. The women and children who once served the king now served her, only out of fear that they would lose their lives.
    Why did she suddenly feel like the success of her claim was less than victorious? Hadn’t this been what she wanted for as long as she could remember? To rule? To be feared? To be looked upon with honor and respect? To be a queen? This was victory, was it not? Yet when this child spoke to her, she felt her accomplishments had no meaning.
    “Come,” said a guard, leading the little girl away.
    “No,” Vara  stopped him.
    Her heartbeat hastened. The silence of the room continued. Her mouth went dry, but she knew she had to answer. A ruler who was belittled by nothing more than a child was doomed to failure. She would never have the people’s respect if she could not even face the questions of a child.
    “Yes,” she answered. “I am Vara the Conqueror . And I am queen now, so you must call me by my title.”
    “My mother was queen. She died birthing me,” said the child. “If you are queen, does this mean you’ll be my new mother?”
    She gasped in horror of the thought. She had never expected anything like this to come from the little girl. Now she wished she hadn’t answered. The room turned even quieter, and sweat dripped down her brow.
    “No!” she snapped and sat back down. “Now take the girl to a table and give her food. And instruct the nursemaid to bathe her and give her proper clothing.”
    “My lady?” The guard looked at her, confused. “She is a prisoner. Daughter of the king you’ve conquered.”
    “I am well aware of that. Now do as I say before I have you whipped for even questioning my word.”
    “Yes, my lady.” The guard hastily hauled the little girl to a table near the back of the room.
    The commotion resounded as conversation picked up once again. Vara noticed Nikolai standing in the doorway, obviously having seen and heard everything. A heat filled her pores and she hurriedly drank some wine to quench the burning within her.
    He took his place next to her at the dais, settling himself on the wooden chair.
    “You are late,” she said, taking another platter of food from the serving wench without even looking his way.
    “I heard what you said to the little girl.” He picked up a leg of mutton and started eating.
    Vara looked back to the little girl, who was sitting across the great hall. As if Agatha knew, she looked up to Vara and smiled. This did nothing to ease Vara’s upset stomach.
    “I don’t like anyone coming late to a meal. Don’t do it again.”
    She plucked at a pile of grapes, and it was several minutes before Vara could actually look his way. When she did, she noticed his trencher nearly empty, and he was looking under the table. She took a drink of wine, and when she looked back she thought she saw him putting food into his pouch.
    “What are you doing?” she asked.
    He looked up sharply, as if he’d been caught in a devious act.
    “I’m eating.” He scowled. “What else would I be doing?”
    He picked up the last bite of food and put it into his mouth. Still, the trencher, an old stale crust of bread being used as his plate, was still intact.
    Look at him wasting that good food . The Furies chose this moment to haunt her head.
    It’s so tasty .
    You want it, Vara .
    You deserve