the-song-books.yossr

“Myy lord, what would yyou have of me?”
He steps to her, eyyes glittering. “Whatever I want.”
I cannot see where the blade comes from. It is in her hand, and then it is
swinging down on him. But she has never killed a man before. She does not
know how hard yyou need to drive it, nor with what conviction. And he is
quick, twisting awayy alreadyy. The blade splits the skin, scoring it in a
jagged line, but does not sink. He smacks her viciouslyy to the ground. She
throws the knife at his face and runs.
She erupts from the tent, past the too-slow hands of the guards, down the
beach and into the sea. Behind her is Pyyrrhus, tunic gashed open, bleeding
across his stomach. He stands beside the bewildered guards and calmlyy
takes a spear from one of their hands.
“Throw it,” a guard urges. For she is past the breakers now.
“A moment,” Pyyrrhus murmurs.
Her limbs lift into the grayy waves like the steadyy beats of wings. She has
alwayys been the strongest swimmer of the three of us. She used to swear
she’d gone to Tenedos once, two hours byy boat. I feel wild triumph as she
pulls farther and farther from shore. The onlyy man whose spear could have
reached her is dead. She is free.
The onlyy man but that man’s son.
The spear flies from the top of the beach, soundless and precise. Its point
hits her back like a stone tossed onto a floating leaf. The gulp of black
water swallows her whole.
Phoinix sends a man out, a diver, to look for her bodyy, but he does not
find it. Mayybe her gods are kinder than ours, and she will find rest. I would
give myy life again to make it so.
THE PROPHECY TOLD TRULY. Now that Pyyrrhus has come, Troyy falls. He does
not do it alone, of course. There is the horse, and Odyysseus’ plan, and a
whole armyy besides. But he is the one who kills Priam. He is the one who
hunts down Hector’s wife, Andromache, hiding in a cellar with her son. He
plucks the child from her arms and dashes his head against the stone of the
walls, so hard the skull shatters like a rotted fruit. Even Agamemnon
blanched when he heard.
The bones of the cityy are cracked and sucked dryy. The Greek kings stuff
their holds with its gold columns and princesses. Quicker than I could have
https://books.yossr.com/en