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admirers had made me painfully aware that I was pretty enough without the added effort, but I asked Maia to really give it her all tonight. If I was going to marry this stranger to save myself and Chara, I needed him to see only me. I suspected my bride price was way higher than my sister’s. Plus, since he arrived so quickly, it meant his City had to be nearby. The selfish part of me loved the idea of not moving too far from home.  
     
    I found my parents and sister entertaining our guest in the courtyard. He looked about father’s age, but was far leaner. Although bald, his long, angular face was grounded by richly dark eyebrows and a well-trimmed beard. The effect made him look distinguished, in a harsh, old-person sort of way.    
     
    When I crossed the threshold into the courtyard, everyone stopped talking and fixed their eyes on me. Attention being nothing new, I did what was expected of me: I radiated a smile and curtsied.  
     
    My father cleared his throat. “Psyche, I’d like you to meet King Andreas of Corinth.”
     
    Lowering my eye lashes, I nodded my head in greeting. “It gives me great pleasure to welcome you. Thank you for coming all this way.” Of course, Corinth wasn’t far at all ( I’d been right! ), but that wasn’t the point. My intent was to charm and flatter him.
     
    He looked me over from head to toe. His gaze passed like a winter chill over my body. After several seconds, he turned back to my father.
     
    “Darion, she’s every bit as lovely as the rumors made her out to be. How much are you asking for her?”
     
    That’s it? That’s as much as he needs to know about me before trying to purchase me for his wife? Andreas hadn’t even bothered to speak to me.  
     
    “Sire,” I cut in, stepping between him and Father. “Forgive me for interrupting, but I thought you might like to get to know me first before proposing marriage.”
     
    His calculating eyes bore through me. “There is nothing more I need to know other than the price. Either I can afford you or I cannot.”
     
    I staggered back a step, feeling suddenly queasy and mortified. Embarrassment burned my cheeks like I’d been slapped. My sister had been right to be afraid. This was worse than anything I’d ever imagined. They were discussing my purchase price right in front of me.
     
    My pulse felt like it could stampede its way free from my veins. I’d learned my lesson about shoving important-but-insulting guys, but my blood pressure responded to Andreas with the same hostility I’d felt standing before Eros. Leaving before I did something equally as stupid seemed like a good idea.
     
    “I assume someone will tell me if you win the auction, Sire. Happy bidding.” Giving a quick bow, I turned and fled into the courtyard.
     
    The rush of humid spring air didn’t provide the relief I was looking for. And entering the dark of dusk from the brightly lit foyer made my eyes strain, like the sinking sun was bleeding all the colors from the sky.
     
    As I passed through the gardens, totally absorbed in my own thoughts, my hip collided with a man bent over a bush. He jumped and whipped around to face me as I staggered back a step.
     
    Through the dim light, I noted that the stranger’s face was lean, his teeth just a bit too large, and his hair flopped into his eyes. Between that and the whole nose-in-a-bush thing, he struck me as out-of-place here.
     
    “I’m sorry,” I said. “I didn’t mean to crash into you like that.”
     
    “Not at all,” he answered. “I was just studying this unusual flower. I’ve never seen another like it.”
     
    “Do you often look at flowers?” I asked, trying not to smirk.
     
    “Actually, yes. I’ve been studying them at Athens.” He brushed the hair from his eyes, revealing invitingly dark brown eyes.
     
    “Oh.” I laughed nervously, suddenly glad I hadn’t assumed he was Andreas’ servant. Servants do not study in Athens.  
     
    “I know it’s sort of a