CHAPTER 24
THE A’KORI PALACE
Present Day
The low murmur of male voices comes through the open door on the other side of the room.
I sit up, rubbing sleep from my eyes in the early dawn, only to find the general staring at me from across a long, polished table.
Riesh and Kishek lean over a pile of papers and figurines, their faces contorted in deep contemplation.
They must be discussing the La’tari vessel.
I grab the dressing robe that’s been laid out on the bed beside me and shrug it over my shoulders before heading for the hall.
“Where do you think you’re going?” The general’s voice booms behind me.
“To dress and get ready for the day,” I say, sighing in annoyance.
“In case I didn’t make myself clear last night. You are staying where I can keep an eye on you.” He wraps a hand around my bicep and pulls me into his washroom, pointing at a large drawer. “You should find everything you need in there. If there is anything else you require, you will let me know.”
I glare at his back as he stalks toward the main room.
The drawer glides open with the barest tug and clinks with all manner of oil and perfume.
Trays with powders in varying shades of pink and pencils of kohl are stacked neatly toward the back.
I pluck the toothbrush and accompanying paste from the drawer, narrowing my eyes on the vanity. Six drawers.
“Do you have a drawer like this for each of your lovers?” I ask, narrowing my eyes at the male, “Or do you make them share everything?”
He clenches his jaw. “I had these things brought here when I returned from the forest. At the time, I hoped you would have use of them.”
“I see,” I drawl, “Which drawer do you keep for the female with the green eyes? Or does that not narrow it down enough for you?”
The general opens his mouth then snaps it shut, turning on his heel with a growl when Riesh yells from the other room, “It isn’t here Xey!”
His washroom is easily twice the size of mine.
A deep pool flowing with hot water is carved into the floor, a long narrow slit cut into the marble above it, creating a steamy waterfall that fills the churning basin.
I squint at a spigot inset in the ceiling and debate pulling the lever beneath it.
The thought vanishes from my mind when the voices from the other room grow loud.
I round the corner in time to hear the general lie to his friends. “Other than your sister and the people in this room, no one has been granted access to my chambers for more than a week. If it’s missing, someone has stolen it.”
“Well, that isn’t entirely true, is it?” I say with a wry smile as I lean against the wall.
My mind screams traitor as he attempts to deceive his friends right before my eyes. It’s no wonder that Awri doesn’t know about the female when it’s obvious he hasn’t told Riesh or Kishek about her either. I can’t help but think that I would like to show them all exactly what kind of male he is.
“Would you care to explain that sentiment?” he says, looking down at me, his head cocked to the side.
I wonder just how far he’s willing to take the deception and offer, “Perhaps you’ve changed your mind, and you’d like me to leave? So that you can have an honest conversation with your friends about who you allow into your chambers?”
“What I would like,” he says, closing his eyes to steady his temper, “is for you to tell me what in haliel you are talking about.”
“I’m talking about the redhead with the sheer lace gown that joined you in your chambers the morning you returned from the forest,” I say, careful to keep my voice level and disinterested.
I decide the male is a better actor than I expect when he frowns and seems truly puzzled by my declaration.
“Siserie?” Kishek asks, wide eyed.
I shrug. “She failed to introduce herself when she left the general to his nap.”
His glower deepens. “Please check Siserie’s room for the missive and tell her I’d like to have a word.”
His friends file out into the hall. The moment the door clicks shut behind them, his voice drops low and contemplative as he says, “Tell me why you came to my room that morning.”
And just like that, I realize the mistake I’ve made. All I had to do was say nothing, and he never would have known I’d come.
“I wasn’t aware I needed a reason,” I say, deflecting.
He takes a tentative step toward me, asking bluntly, “Did you come to accept my offer?”
“That’s a little presumptuous of you,” I snark, willing the heat to remain from my cheeks.
“But you did, didn’t you?” he asks.
He eyes me thoughtfully, piecing together every moment we’ve shared since that day, every conversation, every glance. The contents of my life that I wish I kept under heavy guard now coming together to tell him exactly what it was that made his offer so distasteful to me.
“You spent the entire day avoiding me before you turned me down, so why would you seek me out that morning? Unless you came to accept me, and something changed your mind?”
As much as I loathe that he’s puzzled it out, that he now knows how close I’d come to him, I don’t deny it. None of it matters anyway. I break from his gaze to look out the window.
“Even if that were true, it doesn’t change anything,” I push out under my breath.
“I think it might,” he says softly, “depending on what it was that changed your mind.”
I’m not sure if he’s asking, but I don’t say a word. I’ve already said too much, given too much away. My pride won’t let me voice that it was the idea of him bedding that female that made my decision for me. I won’t give him the satisfaction of knowing he wounded me.
He takes my chin between his fingers and brings my eyes back to his.
“I’ve known Siserie for over two hundred years, and not once have I ever desired to have her in my bed.”
My stomach pits and I hesitate to pull away, his eyes seem so sincere. And yet, I’ve seen the female, and nothing any male on Terr could say would convince me that she is undesirable to him.
“She seems entirely convinced of the opposite,” I say, withdrawing my chin from between his fingers.
“I am uninterested in the thoughts or feelings of that female. I would, however, be very interested to hear of your own desires once this issue is put to rest,” he says, stepping around me when a knock sounds at the door.
Resting against the edge of a sturdy desk, his posture is relaxed and somehow still every bit the king’s general. His face settles into a mask of assertive confidence, and I chide myself for finding it attractive.
He tugs my arm and settles me between his thighs. Before I can protest, he says, “Enter.”
His arms snake around my waist and he pulls me close, until my back is braced snugly against his chest.
“Watch,” he demands.
I tense in his arms, furious at the order or the fact that he’s handling me, or both. I move to pull away as the door swings wide.
Kishek enters first, Siserie following close behind.
Judging by her dress, she apparently had considered the gown I’d seen her in perfectly suitable for everyday attire.
The sheer dark green silk of her dress follows every curve of her body, artfully sewn to resemble the scales of a serpent, weaving from the ground to her throat.
A handful of scales thoughtfully placed in abundance to obscure her more private regions.
A seductive smile kicks up the edges of her lips and she casts a smoldering gaze at the general from under her thick, fluttering lashes.
Her smile falls nearly indiscernibly when her eyes trace the line of his hands at my waist. But she recovers quickly, lighting up when she eyes the general once again.
Kishek steps around her and hands the general a folded piece of paper, which he immediately discards onto the desk. Unlike the one I’d seen at her mother’s house, its seal is intact and the script addressing the letter to the general is written in a different hand.
“Thank you,” the general says to his friend, dismissing Kishek from the room with a glance.
She takes a sultry step forward, her voice soft and alluring when she says, “Is there something I can do for you, General? You know I am at your complete disposal, as always.”
If her words were not enough for me to devise her meaning, her body language leaves no doubt in my mind as to her intent.
I stiffen, preparing to remove myself from between them when the general’s arms tighten further.
Her eyes flick to the sweep of his thumb on my belly and her face twists in disdain.
The hateful look she bears down on me convinces me to smile at the female sweetly and settle my back against the general’s chest. He’s made it clear that I’m not going anywhere until I’ve witnessed whatever this is, and the female seems like she might prefer it if I were anywhere else in the world than exactly where I am.
While I don’t think too much about it, I find that more than any other feyn I’ve come across thus far, she might be the one I’d like to disquiet the most.
“I’m glad to hear you say that,” he says, his lips brushing my temple as he speaks. “I believe the two of you have already met.”
“Not officially,” she says, her lovely face twisting under the pressure of her clenched jaw.
“Siserie,” his voice grows deadly, “this is Shivaria, mi’ajna.”
Her eyes go wide, even as my throat burns.
I push down every memory threatening to overwhelm me when she dips her head in a shallow bow of greeting.
Surprised by her response, I can’t help but wonder what she has heard about me that would explain the sudden shift in her demeanor upon hearing my name.
“Isn’t she lovely?” he purrs, brushing his lips along the base of my neck.
“She is exquisite,” she agrees.
I don’t take the compliment to heart. It’s clear that she would agree to anything the general says in this moment, and the male behind me is subjecting her to a particular type of torture that I’m loath to admit I’m enjoying.