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push him too far. She already knew that he resented her choosing Alexander over him the first time.
    The one thing they argued about was her determination to continue to wear Alexander’s ring.
    “What’s wrong, Katina?” Alexander asked softly and she spun to find that he was watching her closely. His eyes glittered and he already sat on the edge of the bed, so taut that he looked poised to leap. She hadn’t even heard him move.
    “Everything is wrong!” she whispered, not knowing where to begin.
    “Everything is finally right,” Alexander corrected firmly. He got to his feet with purpose and crossed the room to her side. “I’m home, and we’re together again. We’ll raise our son and maybe have a few more.” He lifted her hair and pressed an enticing kiss to the side of her neck. Oh, how well she remembered that Alexander was never satisfied with one mating.
    “There’s no time for this! You must go!”
    Alexander sobered and his eyes narrowed. He flicked a glance around the bedroom, his gaze lingering on the second bed. His eyes seemed to brighten, and he turned in place, clearly seeking something. “Where’s the cradle for Lysander?”
    Katina was impatient with the question. She picked up one of his garments and flung it at him. “What difference? He has no use of it now.”
    “What do you mean?” Alexander froze, his expression horrified. “What’s happened to him?”
    “He’s grown up, of course.” Katina poked at the garment he hadn’t yet put on. “A man named Pelias came last week to collect him.”
    Alexander didn’t move. “Why?”
    “For the agoge ,” Katina said, not understanding why Alexander should be so shocked. The mandatory military training for the young boys of Sparta was part of his legacy to their son.
    Alexander sat down hard on the bed, as if his legs couldn’t support him. “But a boy must be eight years of age for the agoge .”
    “Yes. Please get dressed!”
    Alexander gave her a challenging look. “ Eight years.”
    Katina stared at him as she understood his surprise. Her fear abandoned her, replaced by a ripple of anger. “Yes, he is eight.” She propped a hand on her hip. “Don’t you know how long you’ve been gone?”
    If she’d expected him to deny it or make some excuse, she was to be disappointed.
    Alexander stared around the room, as if seeing it for the first time. He surveyed every detail, but avoided looking at her.
    His confusion tore at her heart, but she couldn’t understand how he couldn’t know how much time had passed. What game was he playing? “How long did you think you had been gone?”
    Alexander’s expression turned weary then. “It’s been as thousands of years for me.”
    Katina bit her lip. Alexander wasn’t a poetic man and she knew it. He could be evasive, and he wasn’t one to easily share all the secrets of his heart. Now that their moment of passion had passed, she remembered all the fault lines in their short marriage. There was so much she didn’t know about Alexander. He couldn’t literally mean thousands of years, could he? Where had he been? What had happened to him?
    As much as she wanted to know the story, there was no time to hear it. Not now. “You have to leave,” she repeated. “Please, dress yourself and go.”
    “Go?” Alexander frowned at her. “Katina, I’ve dreamed of returning to you all this time. Why would I leave now?”
    “Because you can’t stay here.”
    “Of course, I can stay here.” He became indignant. “You’re my wife...”
    “I was your wife, but you left.”
    Alexander stared at Katina and she knew from the intensity of his gaze that he’d guessed the truth. He took a deep breath, one that made his nostrils flare. His eyes began to glitter with a strange light, one that made Katina take a step backwards. “You married again?” he asked as if this were incomprehensible.
    “You sent no word,” she replied with frustration. “Not a single message in eight years! What