Chapter 11 - The Fall from Heaven
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Chapter 11 - The Fall
Minos hadn't slept in four days and everyone could tell.
His fingers drummed the portable throne - three quick, pause, two slow, faster now than last week. But he'd ordered the tribute ceremony held in the courtyard. Public. Visible. "Let Athens see their king humbles himself before Crete," he'd announced.
What he meant: Let everyone see I'm still in control. Theron had suggested the idea.
Fourteen Athenian youths stood in a line, while the magistrate read the treaty terms. Nobles filled benches arranged in a semicircle. Ministers stood at attention. Guards lined the perimeter. Attendance was mandatory.
Daedalus sat near the back, confined to palace grounds, required to witness. Hollow-eyed. Hands trembling. Three days since Sisyphus descended into the testing section. Three days of waiting for news that would never come.
The Queen stood beside Minos's throne, golden bull brooch catching afternoon light, perfectly composed while everything slowly came apart.