You let him know.

Ceno already knows about the traitor and is probably your closest ally at the moment so it’s probably best if you tell him everything, here and now. Besides, as intelligent as he is he might have an easier time piecing the clues together than you. He has already proven himself to be quite resourceful in uncovering the amazon merchant stealing from your treasury.

“I’m not sure,” you tell Ceno honestly, “But I have some…personal information that might help piece things together.”

Ceno has an intrigued look on his face, “What is it?”

You take a quick look at the tent flaps to make sure no one is listening before leaning in closer to Ceno, “Before I say anything, you must promise me that you won’t tell anyone,” you say in a hushed voice, “If word of this gets out then a few traitors and the Mercenaries of Athenapolis will be the least of my worries.”

You blush lightly when feel Ceno’s gentle hands grasping yours and watch as his caring smile graced his lips. “Xira, if this is something that could hurt you, I promise I will do everything in my power to keep your secret safe.”

There is a long pause as you once again are lost in Ceno’s handsome eyes. With your heart pounding under your breast and your nipples growing hard under your breastplate, your mind is suddenly filled with the images of Ceno’s smiling lips kissing every inch of your nude and heavily aroused body, his hands fondling your breasts as he suckles your nipples, and your legs spread wide open as he flicks his tongue over your clit. After a moment you quickly close your eyes and shake your head.

“The curse again?” Ceno asks.

You nod as your body trembles under your armor, “We better make this quick…before I lose control again.” As you say this you notice Ceno’s flushed cheeks and heavy breathing. You give him a playful smirk, “Looks like I’m not the only one having a hard time resisting my heat.”

Ceno shyly looked away from you, “Just…tell me what you need to tell me. Maybe the conversation will cool us off.”

With that, you tell him everything that transpired between you and Thanos, about how your father was his son, and that now you were the sole hire to the throne of Masson. Ceno listens intently and lightly stroked his chin as he tried to take in every word. He didn’t seem all that shocked to hear that Thanos was your grandfather, which made you wonder just how secret your heritage was.

“So, the rumors are true,” he exclaims, almost confirming your fears, “I just thought it was a wise tale sung by drunks at the inn.”

You arch a brow, “There are songs about me?”

Ceno chuckled, “Oh yes, you should hear some of them, they are wildly speculative but no one seems to mind the contradictions. Aside from the rumors of you being fathered by Thanos’ son, there are also those that credit your parentage to a wildling that your mother found living off the land outside Thebes, or Denerous the bold who surprised her as she was bathing in the springs of Latenkiria. They also differ on your experience with men, some talk about how you're so sheltered that you've never even seen a man, yet others about how you travel the lands rewarding handsome men by spreading your legs and letting them well, you know, … my favorite is a juicy ditty about how hot you are and how your pussy is always wet and ready. I could recite it for you if you like.”

“If you do then the next song the bards will write will be about the toothless prince,” you glare at him sternly.

Ceno chuckles then slips back into thought, speaking aloud so you could hear, “Could it be possible that the traitor is being hired by one of Masson’s rivals? No,” he dismisses the thought almost immediately, “she was using Amazon gold and she was spending it far too freely. She had all of the nobles of Masson killed but left Thanos Alive. Thanos isn’t in the best of health so the assassins could be waiting him out or something stopped the assassins before they could kill him. Maybe Thanos made a deal with them to buy time.”

“He tried,” you correct him, “It fell through.”

“Right, so he’s probably still in danger,” he replied, “In that case, the only reason why he is still alive is because he’s under heavy guard. If we are going with the theory that the traitor hired the mercenaries to wipe out the Masson bloodline…why kill your mother, why not you? Sure, you’re not easy to kill but from what I’ve read about your mother she was even tougher. Not only was she a highly trained warrior but a demi-god. She ripped the heart out of a hydras chest once, with her bare hands. Then of coures, there is the fact that she isn't related to the Masson bloodline.”

“Could it have something to do with the current political troubles of Accor?” you ask.

“Let me put it to you this way,” he queries, “What are your views on the banished?”

“No comment,” you answer almost reflexively.

“Exactly. Queens of Accor always keep opinions to themselves and have always been openminded, well as openminded as an Amazon can be, but my point is why kill someone who has the power to change things the way you want them to. It makes even less sense when you don't know the leader's opinion on the mater. For all you know they are on your side. Killing the person in charge will make it more likely that the person replacing them will side with the opposition, not to mention that now you and your faction are going to be seen as violent extremists. If anything, you just made things worse.”

You let out a long sigh as Ceno firmly defeats your theory that this could have something to do with the latest political debate. It would have at least made things easier on you moving on if it was the case. As Ceno stated once the subject of the banished reared its ugly head once more you would have just picked whatever side the traitor wasn’t on, just about everyone would have supported your choice. But no, now no matter what choices you made you were going to make a lot of powerful enemies.

“So, what is our next step,” you ask softly, all too aware of the heat growing in your belly.

“Obviously we need to find the merchant,” he replies, “If she is even here. I’m confident that I will recognize her if I spot her but she’ll probably keep her distance from the Deni camp. It would be a lot easier if I was allowed inside your camp but…well…you're Amazons.”

You roll your eyes at this but admit to yourself that Accor’s isolationist laws are a little too strict at times. “I’ll see what I can do.” With that, you stand up alongside Ceno. “You have been a great help to me, Prince of Deni, I just wish that there was some way I could repay you.”

Ceno smiles as he takes your hands in his. “Making sure that you and Thea are safe is payment enough for me.” He might not be trying to seduce you, but every time he touches you makes it that much harder to keep things platonic.

He flashes his handsome and caring smile your way and once again your heart begins to beat rapidly in your chest. Your expression changes from that of a professional and regal Queen, to one of lust and longing. Ceno is quick to notice the change and blushes hotly, though he doesn’t remove his hands from your now trembling grasp.

“Xira?” he asks you in a worried tone, “Are you okay?”

“N-no,” you panted in a soft and lust filled voice, “It…f-feels like…Apollo is d-doing laps in my loins.”

By now Ceno is starting to recognize the look on your face. The one you and Thea had just before the both of your pounced on him and double teamed his throbbing member. “Uh…X-Xira,” he warns with a heavy gulp, “Maybe…Maybe it would be best if you returned to your tent…before you do something that you might regret.”