Page 12 of Ties of Deception (Tethered Hearts)

Chapter

Twelve

T he hospital might have been in a poorer area, but Ethen seemed quite content to let me choose whatever path I wished as we wandered around the claustrophobic alleyways. His sword was back on display, and quite a few people scurried away from us, including drunks staggering home from a late night out drinking.

My mind raced. “I just don’t understand. I’m a new Grace, so it makes sense for them to want to keep me sheltered until I can control my emotions. But many others are so powerful. If it really is that simple for goddesses to improve people’s lives, why is there still suffering in the city? Why were these people so grateful for my visit? It’s not hard to walk around Blessing people. If anything, it will make us happier and so make our districts more prosperous.”

Ethen didn’t reply straightaway. He pushed back his hood and ruffled his hair. “Many goddesses start off trying their best to help their province and their people. Often the third to ninth months of their stay are the most fruitful for their sponsors. Then they get distracted. Most people only expect their Grace to be profitable for three or four years.”

I spread my arms. “Distracted by what? How can anything be more important?”

The god of death gave a small shrug. “Politics. Games. Each other. You see not everyone wants everyone else to be happy. And sometimes becoming happy means sacrificing others. Many of the goddesses want to make powerful marriages. And of course, the empress likes to stick her hand into everything… though I’m still not sure what her reasons are for much of what she does.”

I licked my lips. “Drusella was very worried when I was summoned. And…she was right. Both of my trips to Fierro have been disasters.”

He gave a curt nod. “I’m not surprised Drusella is worried. For all she knows, this is the end of your focus on her district as you realize there is a big wide world out there. You have no official obligation to stay with your family. She doesn’t want you to get distracted, and she doesn’t want you to get hurt.”

I noticed a beggar sleeping in the eaves of a cloister and clenched my fists. “This is ridiculous. We have such power, and it’s so easy to make a difference. How can everyone become so inward looking?”

Ethen spoke quietly. “It is easier than you think to become entangled in things that need your full concentration for survival. You already have enemies. You should bear me no attention in public in case people suspect there is something between us. And stay away from the prince. If you don’t, jealous goddesses will be slipping poison in your drinks.”

I gave him a skeptical look. “You’re exaggerating?”

“Not really.”

“Then what happened to Serene…”

He shrugged. “Whether suicide of her own accord or forced by somebody else makes little difference. Either way, she was driven to it by this world she was trapped in.”

We crested the top of a hill, where the houses were spaced farther apart between old twisting carob trees. I paused and looked out across the peaceful, sleeping city and the wide silvery river running through it. It was beautiful. “But I don’t want to join in any of that. I want to be out here, making a difference.”

I realized while I had been looking at the city, Ethen’s eyes had remained on me. My heart stumbled, and I tried not to dwell on how easily my body responded to him. I glanced at him, suddenly awkward, and the corner of his lip curled up. “Then we have a deal,” he said.

I folded my arms and took a step away from him so I could frown up at him suspiciously. “What deal?”

“Every time you wish, I will come, and we will go to the city together and Bless people.”

I raised an eyebrow. “I could just do it in the daytime once my confinement is over. Drusella doesn’t have absolute authority over me.”

He held up a finger. “Ah, if you come across as too philanthropic, that will attract the wrong sort of attention. People will see it as a bid for power by winning over the people. The last thing other Graces want is somebody else getting the power and attention—especially when the next empress hasn’t been decided.”

I rubbed my forehead. “This is ridiculous.”

The Aida rubbed his chin and his expression became serious. “Purity, if you really want to help people, and help as many as possible, you can’t ignore the politics. You will have to play the game and play it well, without allowing it to distract you from what really matters.” He gestured to the city. “Or getting killed.”

I chewed my bottom lip. “But how am I going to learn quickly enough when Charity is already targeting me?”

He took half a step closer and raised his eyebrows. “I will teach you, if you promise not to be reckless.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Why? Why do you want to help me? These people aren’t even part of your country. What do you have to gain?”

He raised a hand in a calming motion. “This alliance will help us both. I need an ally in this world of politics, you see, somebody on ‘the other side.’” He looked over his shoulder at the elegant outline of an avenue of cypress trees leading back down the hill toward the Riverside District. “And it’s sickening to see what is happening here. Because of the Graces, this city has the potential to be the most prosperous place on earth despite the oppressive heat. Instead, greed and jealousy have made it a bitter battlefield.”

I swallowed, not quite sure what I was getting myself into. “So you mean for me to be your pawn?”

His eyes met mine, intense and dark, even in the shadows. “Never. I mean for us to be a partnership. I won’t…I won’t let you get hurt.” His last words were far more solemn than was required.

Well, he certainly seemed more useful and truthful than Drusella. “All right. For now, we shall have a deal.”

He chuckled. “For now, it is.”

I held up a finger. “But…I want you to tell me everything you know about what is going on.”

He considered me for a long moment, cocking his head. “Are you sure you’re ready to hear it?”

I nodded.

A small, sad smile twisted his lips. “Fine. I will tell you the rest the day after tomorrow.”

I thought of two lonely days in confinement. “Can’t…can’t you come tomorrow evening? I can send the servants away early again.”

He huffed a laugh, but his smile seemed to contain genuine pleasure. “Fine. Tomorrow it is. But we’ll stay at your villa and talk.”

I nodded. Warmth bloomed in my belly, and I did my best to ignore it. I was attracted to him—I could admit it. But that was it. He was helping me, and I would help him. I wouldn’t fall for his charm.

Still, as he helped me over the wall and bid me goodnight at my villa, I felt his absence the moment he was gone. I wished I didn’t have to wait a whole day for something meaningful to happen again.

I fell asleep with my hand resting on the hilt of my dagger beneath my pillow, just to feel a lasting connection to the excitement of the night.