Chapter 28
CHAPTER
TWENTY-EIGHT
The room Aristedes guided us to was overstated in its luxury—ten times that of the Daskquah.
Deep purple and white stalactites dripped from the ceiling, glittering in the light of the ornate halo orbs hovering at different points throughout the vast room.
Tall arched windows looked out onto the sparkling sea and sent rainbows of light across the gleaming walls.
There was a sitting area full of overstuffed couches and poufs with a low table, already set with a gleaming pot of their golden tea and one goblet.
But it was the bed I couldn’t look away from.
The single, wide bed with frothy white linens hanging from the crystals above and swaying in the breeze from the glass doors leading out onto a small balcony.
Asher stared at the bed with a bone-creaking intensity while Aristedes pattered about the room pouring him a cup of tea and settling our cases before the large wardrobe.
From the tight fists at his sides, this was a turn of events Asher hadn’t anticipated.
I had to admit I hadn’t either. Most of the time I’d heard yeskas had their own sleeping areas at these parties.
“My master thought you would prefer your pet to sleep with you given your attachment to her.” Aristedes stopped a few paces away and folded their hands in front of them in the perfect act of servitude.
Beneath the respirator, Asher’s throat bobbed before all at once his shoulders relaxed and he turned toward the male.
“Of course. It’s only that I usually prefer for her to sleep in Nusjili silks, not Quili.
” The slight note of disdain in his voice was so convincing that for a moment even I forgot that I slept on threadbare polyfiber sheets.
“My sincerest apologies, Captain. I can put in a re—”
Asher raised a hand and Aristedes immediately fell silent. “No need, we will make do.”
Maker, he was good at this. There was a hint of exhaustion in his tone, as if to even continue the conversation would put him near suffering. Aristedes’ jaw closed with a snap, their eyes widening in panic.
“Don’t worry, lovely,” Asher all but purred as he dragged his knuckle across the servant’s cheek, which bloomed with a deep blush in its wake. “We will keep this between us.”
And just like that, his momentary lapse was instead an opportunity to build trust between him and one who was supposed to be the eyes and ears of Lesephous. Aristedes interlaced their hands behind their neck and bowed low. “Thank you, Captain. May I unpack for you and your pet?”
Asher waved his hand absentmindedly, but I took a step forward. “I will unpack for my master and myself, thank you, Aristedes.”
Who knew what sort of things Asher might have packed in his case. After ensuring we didn’t need anything else, they left with another deep bow, closing the door behind them.
“I can—” I started, gesturing to the bed.
“Not to worry,” Asher said, running his hands up and down my arms. “This bed will be just as fine as the one we share on the ship.”
His eyes flashed in warning. We couldn’t speak freely here and we would be watched constantly until we arrived at the gala and could disappear into the crowd.
So instead, I nodded, forcing my shoulders to relax and dropping my chin the way I’d seen others on the Daskquah do, looking up at Asher beneath my lashes before realizing he couldn’t see me through the fabric. “Would you like me to unpack for us?”
A muscle twitched in his temple before he tugged back my hood and smoothed my hair from my forehead.
My pulse quickened, mouth suddenly dry. Though I wanted to draw away, instead I let my eyes fall half closed and leaned into his touch.
I thought I could remember someone else doing this, perhaps my mother or father.
And yet it was nothing like those touches bleeding from my memory like vapor.
For once, I was able to stem the tide of betrayal quickly.
I pushed it back as his fingertips trailed down my cheek, curling around my jaw before one gloved thumb brushed my bottom lip.
Yet a small part of my mind questioned how far we would have to go.
We should have discussed it as he’d intended, but my pride and stubbornness had gotten in the way.
“Leave my case, ly’anen. I can unpack later. I’m going to explore the grounds while you get ready for tonight.”
Translation: I’m going to see if I can shut down these microphones so we don’t have to keep talking like this. Also, I’m afraid if I see you naked, my brain will explode and my mask will fly off into a million pieces.
Maybe not that last part.
I dipped my head and my heart jolted in my throat when Asher touched his brow to mine. It was so brief I barely had a moment to register it before he was gone, striding toward the door in a swirl of black fabric.
And, like the good little servant I was pretending to be, I moved to my case and began my preparations. Leaving my nightclothes on the corner of the bed, I took a deep breath before pulling out the dress, hoping it wouldn’t be too indecent.
…
The dress was obscene.
I continued to blink at my reflection in the floor-length mirror set into the crystalline walls of the cleansing room—which had an actual water shower—as if somehow more fabric would appear on my body.
The dress itself was black, crisscrossing over my shoulders and torso to leave swaths of skin exposed, yet covering just enough that I wasn’t completely naked.
Two slits on either hip were so high and wide it was as if the only concern was covering the apex of my thighs, even if the hem brushed the floor.
Though my torso was covered, the fabric was so tight it left none of my curves to the imagination, even hinting at ones I hadn’t known I’d had.
The yeska brand on my forearm was left exposed, but the high crisscross neckline covered the one below my nape. Though I knew Lunastra always thought of everything, when I turned to check if it was covered, I breathed a sigh of relief.
I took the time after I rinsed off in the shower to twist my hair the way my mother had taught me when I’d been a girl.
The bridge of my nose burned as I went through the process of scrunching and twirling, but eventually my haphazard waves fell in shining wide curls down my back.
I twisted them up and pinned the bundle with one of the crystal pins Lunastra had supplied.
By the time I finished applying the barest bit of the cosmetics Zoleka had packed, Asher stomped back into the room.
“Juniper, we—” His words cut off as I made my way into the sleeping quarters.
He blinked twice before his attention rose from the tips of my toes in the high shoes I wore—heels I’d had to practice in for a solid thirty minutes before I felt comfortable—to the tendrils of hair I’d pulled out to frame my face.
I raised a brow at him as his mouth opened and closed.
“I don’t know whether to fall to my knees to worship you or lock the door and never let you leave.” His gaze dropped to the creases of my thighs. “Maybe both.”
Though I knew he said it only for the benefit of the cameras, heat bloomed across my cheeks all the same. We stared at each other for another long moment, silence stretching between us, before he finally shook himself.
“The ‘festivities’ are beginning, according to Aristedes.”
Out the window, three suns were setting in the sky, casting orange and purple streaks in every direction, as if it was on fire.
When he took a step closer, offering me a hand that was absent of its usual leather glove, the light painted his face in warmth, illuminating his eyes and making me see heat where there was none.
But at his words, the reminders of what was in store tonight, I couldn’t help but hesitate before I put my hand in his.
“No one touches you tonight,” he breathed.
I swallowed. “Except you.”
The corners of his eyes crinkled ever so slightly. “Yes, j’ska mahsi, except me.”