Page 44 of The Cinders
‘I am not a purebred,’ William said swiftly, and with a serene air.‘Nor are you, but you do not seem to know it at all.’
Xian wondered if he was hearing correctly.‘Sir, I am a prince of the emperor’s blood, I assure you.’He had a tragic past to prove it.
‘You are far more than that, silly blind prince.Which means either your father or mother were, too, unlikely to be both of them.What of your mother?Has she borne other children?Does sugar turn their guts inside out too?’
‘Sir Black, stop at once.’
‘But this is grand fun.Almost as enjoyable as a decent fuck.Tell me of your mother.’
‘She is dead,’ Xian fairly shouted, damning his voice as it cracked.‘Killed whilst saving me from a fire.There, are you happy now?She was a good woman and I’ll ask you not to say another word on it.’
‘Perhaps she was, good, I mean.But a woman?I would suggest she was no such thing.’He pursed his lips in thought.‘Though I suppose it may be your father who is the Natural.You carry Purebred blood, so you are a half-ling, for sure.But I don’t know if it is cock or cunt that makes you so.I’m a talented fellow, but in different fields to this.’
‘Stop!’Xian’s voice sliced the cool night air.He glanced out into the courtyard, conscious of how well their voices must carry.
‘Don’t worry.No one hears us.I’ve taken care of it.’Sir William pointed his finger and circled it, as though indicating an invisible barrier existed.
Scowling, Xian did not bother to question him on it.‘You go too far, sir, speaking of my parents in such vile fashion.’
Though in truth it was only his mother’s honour he felt any need to defend.
‘Vile fashion?’Sir William scoffed.‘Were you not borne of fornication?I suppose I could be completely wrong about you.Perhaps you are a forest sprite who emerged from a pine cone…or however it is they are birthed.’He sniffed the air.‘Sprites never shift that waft of petrichor about them, and you don’t smell bad at all, so I’m fairly sure you are not a sprite.’
‘I am not a sprite, sir!’Xian seethed.‘Put that glass down, you have had more than your share.’Long ago he’d stifled his anger, pressed it like a flower beneath a woodblock, to survive his intolerable situation, but here, lifted high by a tincture he’d been warned against, and with this stranger’s irreverent, nonsensical talk, Xian allowed his fury to siphon through.‘I am treated every day as though I am inhuman, a curiosity at best, a monster at worst, and I’ll take no more of it from you.I am Xian, a prince and a man, nothing less, nothing more, and I deserve my place in this world.’Sir William Black did not recoil from an enraged prince, but strained forward, drinking in Xian’s tirade.‘I am tired, mournful, and my feet ache.I do not need you sir, insulting my mother or accosting me with talk of seduction and supernatural creatures…evil spirits—’
‘When the blazes did I talk of evil spirits?Sprites are rarely evil.They are actually quite insipid.’
‘That is not my point.’Xian glowered, but his blood ran hot and smooth with loosened tension.More clear-headed than he’d felt in weeks.‘I am not a forest sprite, nor anything else so unnatural.’
‘Never said you were unnatural.Quite the opposite really.Those who are not Purebred, not human, are called Naturals.Here in this world, at least.’
‘I truly cannot understand what you are talking about,’ Xian exhaled, flabbergasted, but oddly unafraid.And rather close to bursting out laughing again, now he’d shouted like a market seller.‘You are by far the strangest man I’ve ever met.’
And this was the strangest evening.
‘Certainly the most handsome, I am sure.’William drained his glass in one gulp.
Xian’s rage was all but extinguished.Actually, Sir William Black was beautiful; a walking work of art.But no interest flickered within Xian.Song Lim…nowtherewas a handsome man.
‘Your highness?’The enquiry from his neighbour startled Xian out of the all-too-easy slide of his thoughts towards the shoemaker.‘Are you imagining me naked?You have come over all kinds of peculiar.’
The man was a devil.‘I am imagining no such thing!’
‘Don’t be ashamed.I am ravishing.’To stress his point, he loosened the ties of his shirt further, enough to tug the other shoulder free, the material slipping down and exposing pink nipples.‘Come now, if you find you have developed a taste for the carnal, not a soul would blame you.I am quite the incubus.’
Now he compared himself to a formidable, demonic creature.It was ridiculous.Hewas ridiculous.‘Sir William, put your clothes back on, at once.I am going to bed.Alone.’
Xian pulled away from the window ledge, the bottom of his ribs aching where they’d been pressed too long to the wood.He slid the panelling closed, and leaned against the wall, unfastening his veil and exhaling a long breath.
‘You have me devastated, Prince Xian,’ William called.
The next moment brought a startled cry, a crash of something heavy, and the tinkling of broken glass.
‘Sir William?’Xian threw open the window panel, leaning out as far as he dared, trying to peer into the room.But he could see nothing of the gentleman’s plight.‘Sir William?’
A groan was his reply, one of a man in evident discomfort.
‘Hold on, I’m coming,’ Xian cried.