Chapter 43 - Androkles

These past two days have been the longest of my life. Or at least it felt that way. I missed her, which wasn’t new, as I often would miss her between training sessions. But now that we’re engaged, it feels different. I spent much of my two days in meetings. So many meetings. I sent Eugenius to the farthest southeastern fort that my House maintains. I wanted him to be as far from me and Ismene as possible.

It didn’t take much convincing for Dio to send my father away. He was ordered to oversee a Zeus fort in the northwestern part of Olympus. We also agreed that keeping the pair as far away from each other as possible was important. But then I’ve been sorting through all the high-ranked members of House Ares to determine who is loyal to me, to the House itself, or Eugenius.

I carefully evaluated anyone I felt would likely act out in loyalty to Eugenius. I can’t punish them. And I needed to be mindful of where I station them. I wouldn’t want to let any of his most loyal end up where I s