Page 48

The washroom Lila dragged me to, across the fortress and in the depths of the southern wing, is a scene out of a luxurious painting, not at all like our grimy contender accommodations.

The sheer opulence—gleaming marble, a pool-sized tub, and a fountain with steaming, fragrant water—makes my eyes wide. It is like a mirage in this desert of dust and sweat. It is clearly designed for high-ranking Martyshgards, not lowly contenders like us.

I’d never seen Lila fraternizing with other female contenders left in the competition before, yet they are all here—a secret society of soap and suds that I had not known about. And they are all completely unclothed, radiating an air of unapologetic confidence.

My brain screams: Look away, look away!

Old habits die hard, especially when those habits were instilled by the modesty-obsessed Fire Temple.

We weren’t allowed to bathe together, our uniforms were designed for maximum coverage, and even casual wear was strictly regulated.

Yet I am somehow now naked in this bath and trying to keep my eyes averted from the beautiful bodies around me.

The water is divine, though—warm and fragrant, a soothing balm for my frazzled nerves.

“It’s not so bad, is it?” Lila asks me.

I nod with a smile before glancing around and taking in the scene again. Samira and Olanna look relaxed and at ease. And why shouldn’t they be? Olanna is currently second on the leaderboard, after Zanyar, and shares that spot with Faelas. Samira is sharing the third spot with Bahador.

They are a fearsome combination of beauty and power. Their usually braided hair is now loose and flowing, and their dark skin gleams under the torchlight, practically shimmering with gold dust. Their bodies are toned and muscled, with the kind of curves that can launch a thousand ships.

Roshana, the last Aramisi woman still in the game, with her slender waist, long legs, and fiery red hair, is not in the pool.

Instead, she sits on the edge, her form as graceful as a painting come to life.

I keep reminding myself not to gawk at her perfect breasts and what is completely visible in between her parted legs, that she seems entirely unconcerned by how much of it is on display.

Her beauty is both captivating and intimidating, and I can’t help but steal glances at her while I sink deeper into the water to hide my own small breasts and slender legs.

She is magnificent. They all are. Lila is the only one who can’t compete in looks with the three women in front of me, but unlike me, she doesn’t seem to care.

“So, what gives us the honor of being visited by an esteemed Ahira?” Olanna smirks.

“Hey. I told you, she is coming in peace,” Lila says.

Samira laughs. “Or she is coming to us because she doesn’t have anywhere else to go. It seems like we’re the second-best option since the Izadeonians have abandoned her.”

“The Izadeonians have not abandoned me. And I haven’t been here because I didn’t know there was a secret bathing society.”

The look on the Jamshahis’s faces tells me they don’t believe a word I said.

But Lila jumps in to help. “There is no secret society. But we, the women of the competition, have been talking here and then. And now that we are the only ladies left of our respective fellowships, we are thinking about a secondary alliance around our primary ones.”

“But only if your heart is in it. To be honest, I was opposed to Lila bringing you to this group,” Samira says bluntly. “You seem infatuated with the men around you.”

“I am not infatuated with anyone,” I retort.

Lila cuts in, “That’s a rather funny comment from someone who did a three-way with one of the men that you claim she’s infatuated with.”

I stare at Lila, baffled. “Who?”

Lila points at Samira and Olanna with her head, “These two queens. With Bahador.”

Samira’s response is only a casual shrug, admitting something that would blush even my insides. Did they really sleep with Bahador? The two of them? Together? And admit that so publicly?

“Yes. We did. And we still have no loyalty to him. As much as he pleasured us,” Olanna says. “That’s what we expect from any woman who claims to be an ally. Not to be persuaded by emotions or desires.”

I look at them and then at Lila, blinking in shock, but she only gives me a nonchalant shrug. “I would have done it in a heartbeat if he were interested. I mean, have you seen that guy?”

Samira and Olanna both grin. “He’s even better in the sheets than he looks out on the field.”

“Oh, those Izadeonians.” Lila sighs dreamily, leaning back with a splash. “Honestly, I wouldn’t mind a little affair with either of them. But we’re in the middle of a competition, and I have a strict ‘no mixing business with pleasure’ mind.”

Olanna scoffs. “Please. None of them is worth the trouble. Except for Bahador, of course.”

“Are you joking?” Lila exclaims, her eyes widening in mock horror. “Darian is the embodiment of seduction! The man could charm the birds out of the trees with those deep blue eyes and that alluring smile of his.”

“Tolerable,” Olanna concedes. “But that’s as far as my appreciation for Izadeonian men goes. I don’t like the other bony man.”

“You just don’t like non-Jamshahi, or at least less than half-Jamshahi, muscular men,” Lila retorts.

Samira’s eyes twinkle mischievously, and she says wistfully, “Nothing can compete with Bahador’s muscles. And he certainly knows how to use them.”

My jaw is unhinged as I sit here, frozen, feeling like I’ve stumbled into a conversation from another world. Is this how girls talk? Casually discussing men’s bodies. I feel like I’ve been living under a rock, utterly oblivious to the real affairs happening around me.

Lila, noticing my stunned silence, throws back her head and roars with laughter. “Ladies! I do believe we’ve scandalized our virgin!”

I want to deny it, to declare that I’m perfectly capable of handling this conversation. But the truth is, I’m completely out of my depth. I’m a fool when it comes to the ways of the flesh. So, I clamp my mouth shut and say nothing.

Lila turns to the Jamshahi queens. “Gods, I’m jealous.

I could definitely use a little stress relief myself.

Believe me, I’ve considered seducing Bahador.

He’s certainly built for it. But I’m not sure if I’m his type.

Faelas is practically married to the Nine Sisters, and all Darian cares about is swords, ale, and Izadeon.

Except, of course,” she throws a pointed look in my direction, “for Arien.”

“What?” I splutter the word with a choked, indignant sound. “No. That’s not… He doesn’t… We’re just…” I almost say friends , but the word catches in my throat like a sudden, painful lump. “. . . allies,” I finish weakly.

“Oh, sweetling, please,” Lila drawls, her voice dripping with amusement, “The man practically melts whenever you’re in the same room.

He’s like a tree trunk to everyone else, but around you?

All smiles and soft stares. Trust me, he’s not at all subtle about it.

And he’s certainly not like that with other women.

Poor Helmira learned that the hard way.” She gives a knowing smirk in Roshana’s direction.

Helmira…

The stunningly beautiful Aramisi woman from the library, the one who’d spat fire at me for daring to speak back to Zanyar.

My stomach clenches. Even if I wanted to compete with that—which I don’t, obviously—I wouldn’t stand a chance.

The image of Darian with someone like her, someone so confident, so elegant, so undeniably attractive, makes me want to find a log and hide under it.

Roshana just glares back at Lila. Her eyes, the startling blue of a winter sky, narrow with annoyance. “Helmira was a fool to want to be with an Izadeonian. I told her he must prefer men if he rejected someone like her.”

“No, he doesn’t prefer men,” Lila claims. “He’s just not interested in distractions.

His eyes are on the prize. Except, of course, when a certain fiery Ahira sorceress is around.

” Before I can protest, she adds, “Besides, he’s an Izadeonian.

They’re notoriously stubborn, loyal to a fault.

Did you really expect him to bed an Aramisi? ”

“His loss,” Roshana says with a dismissive wave of her hand, then runs that hand, almost seductively, down her chest to wipe away the water.

I see Samira subtly lick her lips, exchanging a knowing look with Olanna, who simply winks back.

Roshana, oblivious to the entire exchange, adds, “He probably prefers those rough women from the East.”

“Hey!” Lila protests, feigning offense. “I’m from the East!”

Roshana simply blinks slowly and unapologetically, her long, seductive lashes fluttering. A comfortable silence settles over the group, and I sink a little lower into the water, trying to focus on anything but the image of Darian with Helmira…

I have no right to be jealous if other women are interested in him. Darian is not mine, and he’s never shown any interest in me. But my traitorous mind reminds me of how he held me in the cabin, his lips grazing over my cheek….

I push the memory down. He was clearly just being nice because of my panic attack.

Lila breaks the silence with a question aimed at the Jamshahis. “You two aren’t common-born, are you?”

Olanna responds, “Why would it matter?”

Lila snorts. “Only a noble would say that.”

“In Jamshah, we don’t place as much emphasis on lineage as in other parts of the continent,” Olanna notes matter-of-factly.

“Should be the same in Firelands,” Lila says, tilting her head toward me with a curious look in her eyes .

Before I can even open my mouth, Samira lets out a laugh. “Those Ahiras are obsessed with bloodlines. The head of their council was assigned as a mere Sage to one of the pupils just because the student was a High Lord’s son.”

I’m surprised she knows about Ahira Emmengar and Zanyar’s relationship, but once again, I don’t get a chance to contribute to the conversation when Roshana suddenly perks up. “Well, it’s the least they could do after stealing our rightful heir!”

Everyone rolls their eyes so hard that I think they might sprain something. It is oddly comforting to know I am not the only one who finds this entire ‘ who deserves the golden boy’ debate ridiculous.

Olanna chimes in, “What’s the fuss with that man anyway? People act as if he walks on water and turns pebbles into gold.”

“Because he’s perfect,” Roshana gushes. “The youngest Ahira to earn four rings, only after Emmengar, and got his fifth at the same age as him.”

“Emmengar and Arien,” Lila corrects with a smirk.

Roshana, with the grace of a swan ignoring an ugly duck, continues her Zanyar appreciation speech to the Jamshahis.

“He’s a master strategist, a brilliant thinker, the most comely man in any room, and a sword-fighting prodigy.

He single-handedly kicked four of your fellowship out of the arena. Remember?”

Olanna and Samira scowl, but Lila just laughs. “I confess, I once thought him overrated until I witnessed his prowess in the arena. The man dances with steel.”

“He saved you twice,” Roshana points out as if expecting Lila to bow down in gratitude.

With a raised eyebrow, Lila says, “Forgive me if I failed to properly praise the man you’re infatuated with.”

Roshana, however, doesn’t seem to take offense. “All women are infatuated with him. Any of us would be lucky to have him. He’s the best heir Aramis never had.”

A thoughtful expression crosses Lila’s face. “I have to admit, he is definitely… different. I was stuck with him in the wilderness, and I have to sa y, I’ve never met anyone like him.”

Olanna leans forward, her wet hair plastered to her neck. “What was it like being stranded with the legendary Zanyar Zareen?”

Lila let out a dramatic sigh, leaning back against the edge of the pool.

“It was like being trapped with a statue who occasionally came to life to perform feats of otherworldly strength. The moment we opened our eyes, he started marching through those mountains like he was born and raised there. He didn’t eat, didn’t sleep, didn’t even break a sweat.

At one point, a giant lizard monster jumped out from behind a rock, and he sliced it in half like it was a loaf of bread.

It was terrifyingly impressive, I have to admit. ”

“Did he at least let you rest?” Samira asks.

“Rest?” Lila scoffs, a bitter laugh escaping her.

“He made me walk all night and all day. Nonstop. But, somehow, we made it to a village in a single day. A distance that should have taken at least twice as long. And then, he just disappeared again. Vanished. For hours. And when he came back, he had three other Ahiras with him. No explanation. Just, poof, and there they were. I have no idea how he found them. They must have some secret Ahira communication method. And then, he sent us back to Jahanwatch, and he took off in the opposite direction with two horses and not a single word of explanation.”

“Wait,” Olanna interrupts, her brow furrowed in confusion. “Why did he leave?”

Lila shrugs. “He’s Zanyar Zareen. He’s not a man known for his communication skills. He does what he wants, when he wants, and none of them seemed to dare to ask why.”

I stare at Lila, my mind racing. Why would he take two horses? Unless… Unless he was going to find someone else…

Lila notices my intense focus and my sudden, distant gaze. “Arien? What is it?”

I can’t speak. An impossible thought is taking root in my mind. But it’s too absurd, too bizarre. Finally, I force the words out. “What color were the horses?”

Roshana gives me a smug look. “Who remembers the color of a horse? ”

Lila narrows her eyes. “One of them was a very distinctive color. A pale gray, almost silver. I remember thinking it was beautiful. A rare breed, I think. The other… I don’t know. Brown, maybe? Why?”

I don’t answer. I can’t answer. I just stare at her, my mind struggling to cope with the impossible realization.