Amazon Queen by Lori Devoti Read Free Book Online Page B

mimed with her hand for them to dip their fingers into the mixture and dot the oil onto their foreheads. First in line were Tess and another hearth-keeper, both young and used to being told what to do.
    Lao sat five Amazons to the right of the two hearth-keepers. As the second girl smeared oil on her forehead, Lao stood and folded her arms under her well-endowed chest.
    Her back stiff, she addressed Thea, “I’ve worshipped under a number of priestesses and I’ve never seen a one waste good olive oil by daubing it between their eyes.” She lowered her chin.
    Thea straightened. “Have you ever lost a queen?”
    Areto stood then. “If Zery is lost, we should be looking for her. Artemis blesses those who take action.” At Areto’s words the other warriors rose too. The hearth-keeper who held the bowl set it onto the ground. Her eyes shifted back and forth between Thea and the Amazons who had stood.
    Thea sighed. “Once we have . . . the goddess’s blessing, we will search for Zery.”
    “How exactly did you
lose
her?” Lao again. I was beginning to think the older Amazon had a lot more warrior in her than I had suspected.
    Instead of answering, Thea stared at her. Lao blinked, then frowned, and Thea turned back to the hearth-keeper who had set down the bowl. She motioned for her to continue, but I’d seen enough.
    I was in charge of this tribe.
    “I was wondering the same thing.” I stepped into the clearing.
    The group turned as one. Lao crossed the circle to where Tess sat with the bowl. She jerked it from the girl’s hands and moved toward the path with strong steady extensions of her denim-clad legs. When she reached the path and the younger women weren’t behind her, she yelled, “Those pies won’t make themselves.”
    The hearth-keepers scrambled to follow. Within seconds the three had disappeared down the path. I jerked my head in the direction they had gone. Without a word, the remaining Amazons, all except Thea, crossed the clearing and hiked out of view.
    She held out her hands, palms up. “You’re alive.”
    I stalked toward her. “And you left.”
    She blinked. “Of course. What else was I to do? The cabin exploded; I was knocked backward, stunned cold for . . . I’m not sure how long.” She turned and lifted up her short hair. There was an ugly red gash in her scalp, and I realized now her shirt was stained with blood. “When I came to I realized how bad things were . . . the house was ablaze. I didn’t see you . . . thought you’d been lost.” She closed her eyes briefly as if reliving the moment. When she opened them, she murmured under her breath, a prayer, I assumed. “I knew you wouldn’t want the car discovered. If it was, the tribe could be tied to the son. So I drove it back here and gathered the camp to decide our next move. I was afraid we would be calling the council, asking for a new queen.”
    “Not yet,” I replied.
    “No, not yet . . . ” She tilted her head and studied me. “You are strong.”
    The words felt odd, less compliment and more assessment. I ignored them, because, despite the fact that she was right, I wouldn’t want the Amazons tied to the explosion or the son, she shouldn’t have left me behind—shouldn’t leave any of us behind, ever.
    “We protect our own,” I said.
    “Of course . . . ” Her lips thinned. “You aren’t saying I should have forgotten protecting the tribe, are you?”
    “Of . . . no.” My fingers twitched on my staff.
    “Good, because I was sure I was doing what you would want, what the council would want. I’m just glad I don’t have to call them . . . not about getting a new queen anyway.” She cupped her hand over her neck, as if massaging away a pain. She seemed to have forgotten I was standing in front of her.
    Suddenly my back spasmed. Determined not to show I was injured, I flipped the staff around in my hands, made it appear I was twirling the weapon rather than twitching in pain.
    She glanced at me. The spasm