Chapter 5 Areana
AREANA
The silk pages whispered against Areana's fingertips as she turned them without reading a single word. The book was one of her favorites, ancient poetry from the Tang Dynasty, but tonight the elegant characters blurred together, meaningless marks on expensive paper.
Two hours remained until midnight, until she had to part forever with her best friend and confidant.
She forced her eyes to focus on a poem about autumn leaves and transformation, but all she could see was Tula's face when she'd learned only she could be extracted. The devastation. The guilt. The terrible acceptance.
Her hand trembled as she turned another page, and she pressed her palm flat against the silk to still it.
Across the room, Navuh sat in his preferred chair, reading some dense treatise on military tactics from the Napoleonic era. His expression was contemplative, almost peaceful.
She hated how much she still loved him in moments like this. Five thousand years together should have at least dulled the spark, but it hadn't. Even knowing what he was capable of, what he'd been responsible for, she looked at him and saw the man the Fates had chosen for her.
Her truelove mate, who would feel deeply betrayed if he ever discovered the truth about Tula's so-called suicide.
He wouldn't understand that Areana was doing it out of love for Tula, not out of spite, not out of wanting to deceive him, not to cause him harm.
She was doing it to save the life of her best friend.
But he wouldn't see it that way.
Navuh didn't care about Tula the person. To him, she was another immortal womb to produce sons he could adopt and raise to be his generals. He wouldn't mourn her death even though he'd known her since she was a young girl.
He had very little capacity for love and compassion, and what little he had he gave to Areana.
She should have drugged him with the same sleeping draught she'd given Tula for Tony. The bitter herbs were ground fine and mixed with honey to mask the taste, and they were enough to keep a human asleep until morning.
Tony would wake up tomorrow with a headache and no memory of Tula's final night.
But Navuh was an immortal, and the dose required to knock him out would have been massive. No amount of honey could mask that bitter taste. He would have tasted it immediately, and then—
Then what? Would he have been angry? Suspicious? Or would he have laughed it off as one of her games, some elaborate seduction?
He'd let her tie him to the bed before. Perhaps she should have gone that route. Except, no ropes could hold Navuh if he really wanted to get free. He would just break the bed apart.
He lifted his head from his book, his dark eyes fixing on her with his typical intensity. "You're troubled."
It wasn't a question.
Areana set her book down, careful to mark the page even though she had no idea what she'd been reading. "It's nothing to concern yourself with, my love. Just silly harem drama."
Usually, those words were enough to turn off his interest immediately, but it didn't work this time.
"Everything that troubles you concerns me." He closed his book, giving her his full attention. "What's going on?"
She sighed, letting worry crease her features. Time to start the performance. "It's Tula."
"What about her?" His tone was polite but disinterested, the verbal equivalent of a shrug. He was asking because he thought that was what he should do to show his support, not because he actually cared about the answer.
Nevertheless, Areana appreciated the effort.
She smoothed her dress over her knees, a nervous gesture she didn't have to fake. "She's been more emotionally volatile than usual lately."
"She's always been like that." Navuh reopened his book, clearly considering the topic closed. "Hot and cold in the span of a moment. I still remember her as a young girl, feisty, defiant, protective of you. I liked that about her."
That was something he had never admitted before.
"I'm surprised you remember." She smiled. "It was on the long road to your father's stronghold. You visited us on the way, and Tula was suspicious of you."
"Rightfully so," he murmured over the rim of his book. "I was seducing her mistress."
Areana laughed. "That didn't require much work. I thought you were the sexiest male who has ever walked the planet."
He lifted his head. "Thought? In the past tense?"
"Still think and always will." She rose to her feet, walked over to him, took the book from his hands, set it aside, and sat in his lap. "That's why I'm not letting you read."
His eyes started glowing. "Are you seducing me, my love?"
She would have gladly done so, even just for the distraction it would provide, but she couldn't. She needed to be ready to leave the moment she was informed that Tula needed her.
Areana sighed again. "I'm too troubled to feel sexy. I don't know what to do with her. I wish we had a psychologist in the harem, someone who could help her work through her issues."
"What about Elias? Isn't a shaman supposed to be a counselor of some sort?"
Areana chuckled. "I don't think that's part of his repertoire."
"Perhaps she's tired of the human? Aren't there any other servants in the harem she finds attractive?"
That was a loaded question because all the male servants were supposed to look at least a little like Navuh in case the ladies availed themselves of their bedroom services and conceived.
That was the only reason Navuh was showing interest. He had no genuine investment in Tula's happiness or unhappiness.
He was just curious, or he thought that she expected him to ask.
The truth was that Navuh didn't like women. Apart from her, he had no appreciation for females at all. They were useful for their breeding potential and for maintaining the harem as a symbol of his power. But he didn't value them as people.
"It's probably about Tony," she said. "But she's running hot and cold with him as well. One moment she clings to him, and the next she looks at him with contempt in her eyes."
"Hmm." Navuh made a noncommittal sound. "I trust you'll handle it as you always do."
Areana let silence fall between them. She should leave it at that, drop the subject, but she needed to establish the narrative for later.
When guards came running with news that Tula had jumped, Navuh needed to remember this conversation.
Needed to think that his truelove mate had been worried about the unstable woman but hadn't considered suicide a real possibility.
"I'm worried about her. Is there any chance you could get a psychologist for the harem?"
He gave her an incredulous look. "To treat one unstable female?
I don't think so. Besides, you are better than any human psychologist I could ever get here.
" His arms came around her, solid and possessive, and she rested her head against his shoulder.
"You've dealt with harem drama for so long that you could write a manual on handling overly emotional females. "
Areana closed her eyes and tried to memorize the feeling. After tonight, everything might change. If he discovered what she'd done, this comfortable intimacy would be no more.
She'd known that when she made her choice. Had weighed her love for Tula against her duty to her mate, partnership against conscience, and chosen the harder path. But knowing it and living it were two different things.
The knock on their apartment door made them both straighten up.
Areana's heart stopped, then restarted again too fast. This was it. Tula was moving into position.
"I'll get it." She slid from Navuh's lap.
Her legs felt unsteady as she crossed to the door, but she locked her knees and kept her movements smooth.
One of the maids, Rashida, stood in the hallway, her eyes wide and anxious. "My lady, I'm so sorry to disturb you at such a late hour, but it's Lady Tula. She's out in the garden in her nightgown, and she refuses to come inside."
"The indoor garden?" Areana feigned ignorance.
"No, my lady. She's outside the harem. I think she's heading to the cliff."
Areana assumed a concerned expression and tensed her shoulders. "Did she say why she's out there?"
"No, my lady. I tried to convince her to return to her room, but she just waved me off." Rashida's hands twisted together. "She was crying and muttering to herself. She didn't look okay."
"What's going on?" Navuh's voice came from behind her.
Areana waved a dismissive hand without turning. "Nothing important. Just Tula having a tantrum. I know how to handle her."
She could feel him studying her back. "Handle it quickly. It's late."
"I'll do my best." Areana stepped into the hallway, pulling the door shut behind her. Only then did she release the breath she'd been holding.
Rashida led her toward the elevator, chattering nervously. "Lady Tula is acting so strange. I know it's not my place to say this, but I’m worried that she might do something she shouldn’t."
"She's just distraught," Areana assured her. "I'll take care of her."
As the elevator door opened and she stepped inside, Areana realized that she was still wearing her slippers, and the delicate silk would get ruined walking outdoors, but going back to change into proper shoes was out of the question.
It was bad luck, and she couldn't risk any when so much was on the line. She could always get new slippers.
The elevator doors opened into the topside pavilion, and Areana followed the maid out through the glass doors. "You can go back inside," she told the young woman.
Rashida wrung her hands. "What if I'm needed?"
Areana put a hand on the maid's shoulder.
"You've already done your part by alerting me to the situation.
From here, I need to do it alone. Lady Tula will not open her heart to me with you present.
Some things need to be said in confidence.
" She pushed a slight thrall into the maid's mind, assuring her that everything would be okay and that she should go to sleep.
Rashida dipped her head. "Yes, my lady. You know best."
Areana stepped out into the humid night air. The temperature had dropped slightly since sunset, but it was still warm, sticky, and her silk slippers soaked through immediately from the damp grass. They squelched with each step as she walked down the path leading to the cliff.
The sparse garden lights grew even sparser as she neared the cliff area. Per her request, this section was deliberately left dim for a better view of the stars over the ocean.
A pale figure in white stood near the cliff's edge.
Tula looked ghostly in the faint moonlight, her white nightgown clinging to her body and making her pregnancy obvious to anyone who bothered to look more closely. Her dark hair was loose around her shoulders, uncombed and wild.
Areana's chest tightened. This was really happening. After all the planning, all the careful preparation, they were here. Soon, Tula would be gone.
Free, not gone. She was going to finally be free.
Forcing her feet to keep moving, Areana closed the distance between them.
Tula didn't turn at her approach, just stood staring out at the ocean. But Areana saw the tension in her shoulders, the way her hands clenched and unclenched at her sides. Was it part of the act? Or was she really so anxious?
Probably a little of both.
"Tula." Areana kept her voice low, but not low enough that she wouldn't be overheard. "What are you doing out here?"
"I can't sleep." Tula's voice was raw, pitched slightly too loud. She was playing her part. "Tony is asleep, out like a rock, and I have no one to talk to."
"Come inside." Areana moved closer, careful to position herself at an angle where any watching guards would see her trying to coax Tula away from the edge. "It's late, and you are only wearing a nightgown."
"I'm cold." Tula wrapped her arms around herself. "I'm always cold. Inside, I mean. Like I'm frozen in time."
The words were scripted, but the emotion behind them was real. Areana could hear it—the genuine despair that Tula had been hiding for months, years, millennia.
"I know." Areana reached out, let her hand hover near Tula's shoulder without quite touching. "Come back inside. We'll talk. I'll make you some warm tea, and we can—"
"Talk?" Tula laughed, bitter and broken. "What is there to talk about? I'm trapped here. We're all trapped here." She put her hand on her belly. "I can't have this baby here. I just can't."
It was the first time Tula had admitted that she was pregnant for anyone to hear, and it was part of the script, the explanation for her wish to end her own life.
"Yes, you can." Areana took her hand. "Everything will be okay. You are not alone in this. You have Tony, me, and the other ladies."
"Tony's human." Tula's voice cracked, and she pulled her hand out of Areana's grip. "He'll be dead in fifty years, and I'll still be here, while our baby will be out there, fighting senseless wars in a senseless world."
Areana saw the guards now, two of them standing at the perimeter of the garden's lit section. Too far to hear the specific words, but close enough to see the tableau—a distraught lady and Areana trying to help.
She needed to give them a show.
"Tula, please." Areana let urgency creep into her voice, let it rise slightly. "You're scaring me. Step back from the edge. We'll figure this out together."
"There's nothing to figure out." Tula moved closer to the drop, and Areana's heart clenched despite knowing this was planned. "There's only one way out of here, and you know it."
"That's not true." Areana reached for her, catching her arm. "There are always options. Always hope. You just can't see it right now because you're tired and scared and—"
Tula jerked away. "Don't! Don't touch me. Don't try to save me. There's no saving any of us."
The guards were moving closer now, alerted by the raised voices and dramatic gestures. Areana could see them from the corner of her eye. Good. They needed to witness this. Needed to see that Areana had tried to stop it, that there was nothing she could have done.
But her heart was racing, and her palms were sweating, and some part of her was terrified of the charade going wrong and becoming real.
"Tula." She pitched her voice a little lower now, sounding both intimate and desperate. "Please. For the baby, if not for yourself. Please don't do this."
Tula turned then, and their eyes met.
In that moment, Areana saw everything—the fear, the gratitude, the crushing guilt, the desperate hope. All the words that they couldn't say aloud, all the emotions that were too dangerous to voice.
Thank you, Tula's eyes said. I'm sorry. Tell Tony I'm sorry. Tell them all I'm sorry.
Be safe, Areana's eyes replied. Live. Be free. Let that be enough.
Then Tula's face crumpled, and she turned back to the ocean.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. Loud enough for the guards to hear. "I can't do this anymore."