Page 17

AERI

CITY OF RAHWAY, YUSAN

I t takes a while for Sora to join us in the bedroom hall. She was gone for so long I started to worry, but she seems fine. She walks gracefully toward us, incredibly beautiful in her shimmering pearl dress. Maybe I was wrong before. Maybe she’s prettier than Rune’s new courtesan.

Six servants stand outside the six bedroom suites. Once again, Royo won’t be sharing a room with me. He hasn’t looked at me since I said I would consider marrying the count. He’s angry, but that’s nothing new. I really don’t know what he had expected me to say, though.

No, sorry, my heart belongs to the strongman who won’t talk to me .

Ridiculous.

It’s not like I want to marry someone my father’s age, but it would’ve been dangerous to refuse outright. I can’t tell Royo that, though, because he’s not fucking speaking to me.

Frustration courses through me until I stomp my foot. All five people turn and stare at me. I look behind me like they’re eyeing something else.

“Can we trust him?” Gambria whispers. She’s speaking Yusanian, so she wants the rest of us to understand her. Otherwise, she talks to Mikail in Gayan. I’m picking up pieces here and there, but old Gayan is complex.

“Stars, no,” Mikail says. “Rune won’t kill us if he thinks he can use us—and he certainly believes he can. But everyone should sleep armed just in case.”

Sora and I look at each other—that’s not great. I already killed a man on an estate like this. I hope not to make it two.

Everyone lingers in the hallway, reluctant to separate.

“Should we sleep in pairs?” Sora asks.

Mikail strokes his chin. “It’s not a bad idea.”

“I’ll take Mikail,” Royo blurts out.

Sora turns her whole body toward him. Fallador tilts his head. Gambria quirks an eyebrow. I pretend that doesn’t hurt.

“Okay…” Mikail says slowly. “Sora, do you want to share a room with Aeri again?”

She nods. “Of course.”

“All right, it’s settled, then. Choose your rooms.”

Sora and I take the middle bedroom. Mikail and Royo are to our right, Fallador and Gambria to our left.

Although it’s not Royo, I’m glad it’s Sora and me again.

A warm feeling of security fills my chest as I close the door behind us.

This second-floor room is grand with very high ceilings, large windows, and a marble fireplace for the desert night.

There’s an elaborate crystal chandelier and gilded paneling on the cream-colored walls.

“Well, that was an interesting evening,” Sora says.

I laugh.

“What did you think of Rune?” I ask.

Sora draws a breath. “Too much.” She stares at the walls and then the servant waiting by the door. “Talk after baths?”

I nod. The chambermaids follow her into the baths, and Sora leaves the door open for safety.

Finally alone, I pull throwing knives out of my cloak and tuck them under the pillows and between the mattress and frame.

Once I’m done, I sit on the bed, spinning a dagger, waiting for any noise or sign of danger.

Around fifteen minutes later, Sora comes out in a white robe, her hair in a turban. Gods, she’s still beautiful damp with no hair. What kind of unfair shit is this?

The servants drain the tub, refill it, and it’s my turn.

I hand off my blade to Sora and walk in.

The fresh water is so hot that steam rises in the tiled bathroom.

The scents of roses and lavender bubble up with the bath.

Little soaps in the shapes of flowers line the edge of the tub. I smile, filled with glee.

A servant helps me undress, and then I relax against the sloped wall of the clawfoot tub. The tension in my shoulders loosens as the girl washes my hair. Sora won’t let anything happen to me. I’m safe here.

The other woman comes over with a sponge. I see the resemblance. I think they’re mother and daughter.

As they bathe me, I realize I could get used to this royal treatment. It had been my birthright until Joon decided it wasn’t.

The western count wants me to be his queen, and Sora wants me to rule alone. I don’t want either, but between the two, I’d rather sit on the serpent throne with Royo as my…

I swallow hard, thinking about how he wanted to room with anyone but me.

Well, he’d rather be court jester than king consort at this point.

Absentmindedly, I tap my fingers on the side of the tub, and my ring clangs.

The servant girl pauses. She’s young, maybe fourteen, and too inexperienced to pretend not to notice it.

I remember how even Rune reacted to the relic.

I submerge my hands in the water. I should’ve bathed myself, especially now that the amulet is fused to me, not hanging from a necklace.

The girl continues to massage my scalp, but my earlier ease is gone.

I finish my bath, and the girl wraps me in a white robe just like Sora’s. Poor Sora. I still don’t know what to say about Daysum, and maybe I should say nothing, since she’s deep in denial. It’s best for her not to absorb it right now. We all push forward because there is no going back.

When I walk into the bedroom, I notice that Sora has closed all the drapes. Her hair is down to dry and comes to nearly her waist.

“So refreshing, right?” She gives me a dazzling smile.

I nod. It was, before I realized I shouldn’t have shown the relics. “Yes, but now I’m really sleepy.”

“Me too.”

There’s only one bed in the room, but it’s plush, dressed in silks and satins, and the size of three normal ones. I take the left side, and Sora slides in on the right. I took this side because this way, if she faces me, she’ll be able to hear me.

The gray sheets are a soft satin. They feel like clouds against my legs. I lie on my side, and Sora does the same a couple of feet away.

“Where did you disappear to tonight?” I ask. “Was it really the powder room?”

Sora silently eyes the servants pulling down the chandelier to turn out the lights. They leave the oil lamps on our nightstands. Whatever it is, Sora doesn’t want to say it in front of them.

“It’s a very long story. Tomorrow?” Sora asks.

“Sure.”

I yawn. I didn’t even realize how exhausted I was until we lay down. Then again, my day started with a kidnapping attempt in Gaya and ended with a marriage proposal from a count. It was a lot.

After the servants leave, we put out the oil lamps. Thoughts churn in my mind. I need to say something, anything to her.

“Sora?” I whisper as my eyes adjust to the darkness.

“Mm-hmm,” she says.

“I love you, and I’m really sorry about Daysum,” I say.

She reaches out on the bed and takes my hand. “Thank you, Aeri. I love you, too.”

A few minutes later, Sora is asleep. Surprise, surprise, she sleeps gently, looks like a doll, and doesn’t even drool.

Ugh.

I lie awake. I expect sleep to hit me hard.

Instead, my thoughts turn to Royo—how he looked when I woke up on the skiff, how he ran into the inn to save me, and how he choked when the count proposed tonight.

He’s so close, but he’s constantly out of reach.

It’s an awful feeling to miss someone who is right here.

I know he cares about me, but is that enough when he doesn’t trust me?

I wish he felt differently, but then again, I wouldn’t change anything about him.

The same attributes that keep us apart are also what I love about him.

So, that sucks.

I sigh, shifting under the covers. At least tomorrow will be simpler.

Maybe.

I close my eyes and try to rest. I’m almost asleep when I notice there’s a third person breathing in the room.