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Xerxes slapped a hand over his grin just as she locked eyes with him. And, hand over his mouth, he winked.

Her jaw dropped, deadly accusation crossing her face. With her eyes and a few undecipherable movements of her mouth, she pointed to her wet sleeves and said something along the lines of,“You’re dead, King!”and“How am I supposed to explain this?”

He cast her a feigned pout as if to assure her it wasn’t his problem.

There it was—Ryn smiled, just a little. Not a happy smile, but a wicked one that promised he’d suffer revenge beyond his wildest imagination.

And for that, Xerxes leapt from his hiding place and landed in front of her on light toes, grabbing the shelf by her face to catch his balance. He decided to keep his hand there. He leanedtoward her and when he spotted a bead of water on her lower lip, he dragged his thumb over her mouth to wipe it off, smearing her lipstick. She gasped, fresh fire lighting her pretty eyes.

“Look what you’ve done to me,” she whispered.

Xerxes smiled.

“Maiden?” an organizer called through the library, and Ryn froze against the shelf. “Maiden? Lady Estheryn Electus?” he called again.

“You’ll pay for this, King. Sleep with one eye open,” Ryn warned him quietly.

“I don’t sleep. Good luck trying to get your revenge.” He placed a hand against her back and shoved her toward the learning centre. “And I hope you learn lots of interesting things today about how to become a queen!” he whispered after her.

Ryn pointed back at him. It was a threat. A promise. It was everything.

She turned and marched from the cover of the shelves into the open space of the learning centre. As soon as she did, Xerxes heard the organizer ask, “What, by the Divinities, happened to your dress?!”

“Some ugly, heartless fool splashed water on me,” Ryn replied without missing a beat, and Xerxes grunted. He smirked and made a tsking sound as he turned to go.

He took one step around the shelf toward the library door when someone brushed into his path.

Xerxes took in Calliope in her dress fit for royalty. She smiled sweetly at him, and he hated it. He raised a brow at her, waiting.

“Your Majesty. I’ve been told you summoned me to visit you overnight tonight,” she said, loud enough that those in the learning centre area would hear.

Something turned in Xerxes’s stomach. He fought the urge to glance toward the learning centre, to see if anyone was watching,to see if anyone had heard—which they all must have. Not that he cared what she—theythought…

“I’m looking forward to it,” Calliope added. “Aren’t you?”

Xerxes worried he’d swallow his tongue if he spoke. He peeked at the scholars by their desks around the library with their ears turned toward him. He thought about how difficult it was to treat all these maidens the same. He thought about why he had to, no matter what, at least make it look a certain way so thatno maiden in particularwould become a target.

And so, he said, “Yes.” He pulled a smile across his mouth. “I’m very much looking forward to it, Maiden. I’ll see you later.”

He tilted his head as he left the library. Being King had made him immune to feeling the gazes of onlookers wherever he went, but for some reason, in this moment, he was aware of every crawling stare upon his back.

17

RYN

Ryn brushed her hair in slow, even strokes. Every few minutes, she remembered where she was—that she’d been brushing her hair for ages in front of her vanity mirror and she ought to stop. But she’d think about that, and then a second later, she’d start brushing again.

Ryn didn’t classify herself as pretty. Kai always told her she was, of course, but he must have felt obligated to. Ryn eyed her tiny nose in the mirror. Her normal-ish cheekbones, her few freckles, and her dark brown hair. Even her eyes were common; most of Per-Siana had deep brown eyes like hers.

Except Calliope. Calliope’s eyes were a wild blend of blue and green. They sparkled effortlessly like gems extracted from the rarest caves in the kingdom.

Calliope never returned to her chambers last night. The whole palace was in a buzz about it all morning. Ryn hadn’t been able to focus during her morning prayers, and so she’d left the Abandoned Temple and wandered back to her rooms instead.

“It’s odd,” Heva said as she sprinkled extra sugar over the leftover bread on the breakfast tray. Her feet were up on the table in the living area, legs crossed. “I actually thought the King was starting to have feelings foryou.” She bit into the bread, then with her mouth full, she added, “I know the King is dangerous, but the two of you… Ah. I don’t know how to explain it.”

Ryn didn’t really want Heva to explain what she meant, but the guardswoman rattled on anyway.

“You two are like magnets. You always get pulled toward each other.” Another large bite of bread. “For a moment, I actually thought to myself,‘Divinities, he might really choose her. Maybe the Priesthood was right!’” Heva shrugged. “I guess I was wrong though. My gut was right in the beginning. Calliope was always the clear choice.”