Chapter 35 #2
The benefit of being left mostly alone was the time to consider her course of action. Back in her rooms once again, she spent
time on her hair, purposely arranging each strand so that it fell perfectly across her shoulders and forehead. She picked
out a dress that was a deep red and thin, the fabric settling over her body with barely a whisper.
The hem and sleeves were embroidered with birds and trees in varying shades of green and gold that reminded her of the Tuta
Kulla in the early hours of the morning, when the dew that covered the leaves sparkled like stars fallen to earth. She fingered
the gold band around her wrist and remembered what it felt like to be surrounded by so much life and love. It made the loss
of it that much keener.
Nina pushed the band up onto her arm and arranged her sleeve over it—something to keep her grounded—and then she waited.
By the time there was a knock, Nina had considered whether becoming a wife meant she could request a window in her room. The lack of sunlight and the inability to gauge time would drive her to insanity, but if all went according to plan tonight, there would be no need to ask.
The strange guard swooped an arm into the hall, and Nina obliged with a sigh. It was better that Kasik wasn’t the one to guide
her. Once she killed the emperor, she would have to navigate the maze of halls to find the receiving room and hope that none
of the walla stopped her once outside the kancha.
Past the walls, she could find the achipuma enclosure and hope Illari was there to steal, or she could continue on her own
two feet. Whatever was necessary. Kasik would have only become another obstacle to overcome. This way, she wouldn’t have to
kill him if he tried to stop her.
Because she knew he would. Kasik was rational and intentional, each of his actions and words calculated and carefully construed,
and he had proven, time and again, that his loyalties were with his emperor. But then she remembered the feel of his hands
pressing into her hips, the way he had whispered into her ear, the words tender yet frantic.
Ask me to forsake every vow I’ve ever made.
Then the kunay had whispered into Kasik’s ear, and for the first time, Nina hoped Kunay Atik was right. She was counting on
that power of influence to aid her in convincing Emperor Maicu to remove his achilla. She would keep her thoughts free of
harm and focus only on pleasing him until he was stripped of every barrier of protection.
Then she would guide her attay to silently and quickly break his body. With any luck, he wouldn’t be found until morning,
and she would be long gone.
The walla guided her through one hall after another, all of them the same color, lit with the same number of torches and dotted with the same specks of gold.
The monotony was maddening, but she used the time to clear her mind, to empty herself of thoughts and plans and desires, until finally the walla stopped at a nondescript wooden door and knocked.
Three heartbeats later, the emperor himself opened the door.
Nina barely had time to consider him before the walla was bowing and stepping aside and the emperor’s hand was extended, waiting
for her to accept and be pulled into his room.
She did, with a shaky hand that he soothed with a squeeze.
“Thank you, Taruc,” he said, and then the door closed behind her, and it was just the two of them in a firelit room, the cool
air a stark contrast to the warm light.
His room was plainer than she would have imagined. A large canopied bed sat to her right, and directly in front of the door
was a sitting area where a cushioned seat large enough for two faced the roaring hearth.
The rug beneath her feet was plush, each of Emperor Maicu’s steps muffled as he led her to sit. A low table laden with food
filled the space between the chair and the hearth, and the emperor’s movements were careful when he lifted a golden cup to
her.
“Thank you,” Nina said. She accepted the cup but didn’t drink. Emperor Maicu smirked and took a small sip, his eyes on her
over the rim of his cup, watching her as if he knew something she did not. A future for her that she could not fathom.
Nina knew what being a wife looked like in the constraints of her own family, and the families in her ayllu. She had attended
the ceremonies, had seen the families grow, had witnessed the partnership her mamay and tayta had.
But this was a binding to an emperor. A descendant of a god. A powerful man.
It was too easy to falter under the immensity of that, and Nina had to remind herself that she was powerful as well.
“Are you hungry?” he asked, leaning forward to pluck a juicy chunk of pitahaya from a plate.
Nina was grateful to have his eyes off her for a moment so she could collect herself. “No, thank you,” she lied. Her mouth
watered at the sight of all the food, fruits and stewed vegetables and slices of a meat she had never seen before, but it
was the emperor himself who made her swallow hesitantly.
It was his bare feet, his breezy pants and loose white tunic, the way his long, dark hair splayed freely over his back and
shoulders. His head was free of the extravagant circlet he had worn at dinner, but she saw the outline of a dark cord around
his neck and the attached achilla pressed against his chest. He reclined and slung an arm over the back of the seat so that
the heat of his hand seeped through the thin fabric covering her shoulder.
Nina had his full attention, and her heart thudded under the weight of it as he swept his gaze first over her features, then
over her body. She tried to give the impression that she was comfortable but shy, hoping that she could persuade the emperor
to lean closer and let down his guard. That she was nothing but an innocent farm girl enamored with the luxury of all that
he was.
Buried deep, her power stirred as if hearing a challenge.
“Thank you for having me, Emperor Maicu.” Nina shifted to face him and tucked a foot beneath her leg, the cup of chicha gripped
tight in one hand. Maicu’s fiery eyes watched her every movement.
“Please,” he said, placing the tips of his fingers firmly against her neck. “No need for formalities. Call me Maicu.”
“Are we so familiar with each other?” She kept her eyes on his and breathed evenly, lest he feel the way her pulse skittered from his touch. Everything was going exactly how she had hoped, and yet she was terrified.
Maicu threw back his head with a soft laugh, his bright white teeth flashing in the dimness. “We are going to become more
familiar with each other soon enough. Names are a good place to start.”
Nina watched him lean forward and pluck a dark yellow slice of lucuma from a bowl. He handed it to her, and she accepted.
She thought the familiar fruit would help to settle her nerves, but they only fluttered under Maicu’s heavy gaze.
A spark at the center of his chest caught her eye. There and gone in a blink, but threads of life and will, nonetheless. She
focused on them, her eyes narrowed in concentration.
Maicu thought she was staring at his achilla. “Atik tells me that the people of Limac do not wear the achilla,” he said, tugging
on the leather cord so that the stone was on the outside of his tunic.
Well, that was easy, Nina thought. “No. We believe the gods’ protection isn’t ours to command. If they offer it, it is because we have earned
it.”
The words tasted like ash on her tongue. Nina’s family had done everything right, had paid every price asked of them, and
still they had been torn apart. Maicu’s threads dimmed, and Nina shook free of her anger. How attuned the stone was to her
intent.
It would be doing Maicu a favor to remove it from around his neck. It would be a display of his power, of his faith in the gods. That was what she told herself as she moved closer and stretched a hand toward the stone. The air near it was
colder and it seemed to pulse. Nina suppressed a shiver and glanced at Maicu.
“May I?” she asked demurely. Maicu hummed his permission, and Nina placed one finger on the stone. “It’s beautiful.”
“As are you,” Maicu said, his breath tickling the top of her head.
Nina’s heart was pounding so loud she could barely hear his murmured words.
She slipped her finger from the stone to the cord and followed the path of it up to the bit of chest that was exposed by his tunic.
In contrast to the stone, his skin was shockingly warm.
Nina swore she could sense the blood traveling beneath.
With another subtle prod, she could once again see his golden threads.
With a shaky breath, she met Maicu’s eyes and asked, “May I try it on?”