Fresh panic clawed at her.
Where was he going?
‘You will meet Toby, I promise. I know learning about him has come as a complete shock to you. You need time to process it—’
‘Save me the psychobabble,’ he cut in icily. ‘All you need to think about is this: you will not be allowed to leave Agon until my son is brought here.’
Something cold and sharp pierced her chest.
‘What are you talking about?’ she whispered.
‘I will put out an order that you’re not to leave the palace without my express permission.’ His lips curved but his brown eyes fired bullets at her. ‘Even if you manage to escape you’ll find yourself unable to leave the island. The minute you turn up at the airport or the harbour you’ll be arrested.’
‘You can’t do that.’ But the needles crawling over her skin reminded her that he could.
‘You know the history of Agon as well as I do. My family may not rule the island alone any more but we do hold power. A lot of it. One phone call is all it will take.’
‘Please, Theseus, think about what you’re saying. I promise you will meet your son—but not like this.’
He turned the handle of the door. ‘Do you think I will trust a single word you say when you have proved yourself to be a remorseless liar? I want my son here in his rightful home and I don’t trust you to bring this about. If that means keeping you locked up until you come round to my way of thinking, then so be it.’
* * *
The clock’s hands had barely turned to one a.m. when the apartment door was thrown open. Theseus strode in, a sheaf of papers in his hand.
After his threat to keep her locked up he’d left, disappearing into the maze that was the Agon Royal Palace.
She’d felt it best to let him go, hoping a little distance would give him time to calm down and see reason. She’d stayed where she was on his sofa, clutching at her hair, alternating between feeling frozen to her core one minute and burning hot the next.
And now, judging by the grim, dishevelled look on his handsome face and the wild, dangerous glint in his eye, she saw the past hour hadn’t calmed him down at all.
Their time apart hadn’t worked to restore her own equilibrium either, leaving her stuck in a strange form of paralysed limbo. It was almost a relief to have him charge back in.
‘Fill this out and sign where the cross is,’ he said without preamble, placing the papers on the bureau in the corner and stabbing the one on top with a finger.
‘What is it?’
‘A form acknowledging me as Toby’s natural father. I need the relevant birth details from you. From this I will produce an Agon birth certificate. When you’ve completed this form I need you to sign this one for his passport.’ He held up a pink sheet of paper. ‘Nikos will fly to England and meet up with Agon’s Ambassador. They will collect Toby, take his photo and produce the passport, then fly him here. Tell your brother to have Toby ready for midday.’
‘Be reasonable,’ she pleaded, knowing she was being backed into a corner she couldn’t fight her way out of, but knowing that she had to fight—for Toby’s sake if not her own. ‘Toby will be terrified when two strangers turn up to spirit him away.’
‘Not if he’s properly prepared. You can call him first thing and tell him that two nice men are coming to bring him to you. Tell him to think of it as a great adventure.’
‘If having Toby here means so much to you, then why aren’t you going to get him yourself?’ she asked, a sudden burst of bitterness running through her.
‘Because my absence will be noted. I can’t afford for anyone to know about him yet.’
‘So you’re going to bring him here and hide him away—is that what you’re saying?’
‘Only until after the Gala. That will give me almost a fortnight to get things organised and time to prepare my family—especially my grandfather—for the shock Toby’s appearance will bring.’
‘What are you going to do?’ she demanded, spreading out her hands. ‘Hide him in the dungeons? He looks exactly like you. Anyone will take one look at him and know he’s of Kalliakis blood.’
Theseus felt his heart jolt at that information. He’d been so full of fire and fury that he hadn’t yet considered what his son looked like. Or what his personality was like. Theos, did four-year-old boys even have personalities?
‘I have a private villa on the outskirts of Resina,’ he said, referring to Agon’s capital. ‘Toby will be taken there until after the Gala.’