5. Five
A knock jars me awake in the morning, followed shortly by another, and then someone speaks my name barely above a whisper. I blink, rubbing the sleep from my eyes, and roll out of bed.
”Elva, it”s Raya. I have your requested items; please, may I come in?” My requested items?
At that moment, I realize that the only clothing I have is the dress I wore last night. It”s still on the floor where I threw it in afit ofrage last night, and it”s far too wrinkled to be worn again. I”ll look like I slept in it.
Barely keeping in a frustrated shriek, I answer my early morning visitor, ”Just give me a moment, please.”
Storming into the bathroom, I grab the flimsy bathrobe and drape it around myself. It”s almost completely sheer, and while incredibly comfortable, accidentally giving Raya a peek at my most private areas certainly would not be.
When I finallymake it tothe door and swing it open, she greets me with a nervous smile. ”Is everything alright?”
”Yeah, of course,”I pant, hiding behind the massive door. ”Why wouldn”t it be?”
Her nervous expression turns knowing and sympathetic as shegivesmy barely covered shouldera pointed look. ”I brought you clothes.”
”Thank the gods,”I mutter, grabbing the article on top of the pile atop her gloved hands.It feels almost theexactsame as the robe I”m wearing—that is to say, barely thereat all.The only difference is the strange cuts, like pieces of it have been removed. The only mercy is that it seems to have multiple layers of flowy material instead of just one. ”Ummm, what is it?”
”It”s a dress. Like you requested?”She says it like a question. ”It”s the fashion in Oksangui right now, and trust me, once the sun reaches the highest point in the sky, you”ll be grateful for the lightweight fabric. There”s also some underthings in your closet.”
The more she speaks, the more I feel something crawling under my skin like it wants to escape. But she”s not the one behind this madness, not the one my ire is for.
So I bite it back with a smile. ”Thank you. Give me just a moment to dress, and I”ll be right out.”
”Oh, I”m happy to help you step into it.”Her eyes dart around her, presumably looking for someone to get her in trouble should she not fulfill her duties.
”Of course.”I nod, opening the doorcompletelyand covering my front with the new dress.When she enters, I closeitbehind her and speak quietly,”If it”s all the same to you, I”d rather dress myself, but you can stay here and keep me company while I do?”
With a brightness I haven”t yet seen from her, she sighs in relief, ”That”d be great.You go behind the privacy screen just there, and I”ll hang the rest of these items in the closet.”
Perfect.While I”m under no pretenses that Raya and I will be friends, we can at least be civil.
She raises her voice to reach me from where she works, ”So I”m assuming you didn”t actually ask for these things, then. This is His Royal Majesty”s doing?”
I laugh, though it sounds closer to a snort, surprise making the noise choked and sharp. ”Yes, well, I guess he wants me to acclimate to your culture while I”m here.”She mutters something I don”t catch, so I ask her to repeat it.
”Nothing,”she assures me. ”Just the king is very peculiar sometimes. He didn”t even want you here, yet he”s ordered and paid for clothing to ensure you fit in.”
I hmmm in response, just to say something besides the poison trying to make its way out of my mouth.I”mnot sureif peculiar is the word I would use to describe his antics.Infuriating, yes. Invasive, absolutely. Utterly ridiculous, definitely.
”By the way,”she continues, walking nearer to where I”ve gotten distracted from changing. ”There have also been changes to your itinerary while you”re here.”
”Have there?” My question comes out unnaturally high, and I work to loosen my fist from its tense position.”I was supposed to have a tour of the kingdom today with the king”s right-hand man, Shan, I believe.”
”Right, yes. The tour is still happening.I just wanted you to bemadeaware of the changes so you are,”she pauses, ”prepared for them.”
Gods damn it. I exit the changing area, and she gives me a quick but thorough once-over to ensure I”m properly draped in this beautiful monstrosity. Now that it”s on, I see the appeal. It feels so light and soft against my skin, whispering against it as I move. The light blue shimmery fabric catches the light, the layers of it creating an ocean of waves across my skin.
”Am I safe to assume His Royal Majesty will be joining us then?”I bite the inside of my cheek, tearing a small piece of skin off to calm myself. I tug on the strange cutouts on the sleeves, connecting with small claspsall the waydown my arms, leaving much of my skin on display.
She gently rights the fabric I”ve disrupted, pushing my hands away so I stop fiddling. Then she answers, ”Shan has been called away, some disturbance he needed to address. Something of the utmost importance.” Butnotimportantenoughfor the king to deal with himself. Before I can voice my thoughts, her eyes dart to the vanity by the window. ”Can I help with your hair? Please? It”s my favorite part of being a maid, and your hair is so lovely.”
”Oh.”The abrupt change of subject catches me by surprise. ”Yeah, that would be great.”I take a few steps and sit in front of the mirror, watching her excitement grow at something as simple as styling my hair.
”I apologize,”I say, ”I haven”t even had a chance to brush it yet. I”m sure it”s a mess.”
With a small laugh,she picks up the brush, twirling it in her gloved hand.”Oh, that”s alright. Doesn”t bother me. I”ll be gentle, I swear.”
After a few moments of silence as she pulls the brush through my snarly strands, using her fingers to keep it from tugging too much, she speaks again, ”I know you”re probably not thrilled about spending the day with His Royal Majesty, but it won”t be so bad. Just... don”t argue with him, don”t use a tone, and don”t let him see how much he rattles you.”
”He doesn”t rattle me,”I tell her vehemently. Maybe too much so, if her smirk is any indication. ”He doesn”t. He”s just another man.”
Her work pauses as she throws her head back with a belly laugh. ”He most certainly is not. He”s The Horned King. Or did you forget already?”
”Well, the king I”ve met and the one I”ve heard stories of are vastly different. I was expecting... I don”t know, someone who would threaten to kill me on sight, not mistake me for a whore.”
She pinches her lips between her teeth to stop her laughter. ”Easy mistake. They send one every few weeks, hoping to entice the new king. Generally, he lets them stay for dinner, ensures they”re fed and paid for their time, then sends them on their way.”
”That sounds... really nice,”I admit.
With a scrunch of her nose, she responds, ”Don”t read too much into it. It”s not kindness. It”s just politics. He knows who he should make enemies of and who he shouldn”t. Everybody knows the members of the Ordinance own all the secrets in the kingdom.”
Brushing finished, she moves on to weaving plaits into my hair, grabbing little gems that match the dress from her pocket and twisting them into the braids. Once her work is done, most of my hair flows freely down my back, with just a handful of bejeweled braids holding it out of my face.
”Thank you,”I tell her earnestly. ”It”s beautiful.”
With a beaming smile, she backs away, looking out the window at the sun ascending into the sky. ”You”ll need to be ready to leave in ten minutes. Someone will retrieve you.”
She disappears almost soundlessly out the door, gently closing it behind her. I”m still frozen, seated at the vanity, and dreading the day that”s coming. I don”t understand why the king has taken such an interest in me when, all along, he”s been less than receptive to our communication.
When a knock sounds, alerting me that it”s time to go, I finally pull myself off the chair. Shaking off the tension, I open the door to two armed guards waiting for me,bothwith masks covering their faces. Every inch of skin is covered in metal and leather, shaped perfectly to their forms, protecting them from whatever threat comes their way.
Without saying a word, they turn and expect me to follow. Ihave tonearly jog to keep up with their long, perfectly in-sync strides. While I can”t see any weapons, I”m sure they have severaltucked awayin their immaculate armor. Thankfully, they”re silent the whole way to the front entrance of the palace.I don”t thinkI could keep up with them and converseat the same time.
The large doors swing open, and my eyes immediately drift to the crashing wavesin the distance. Once again, I”m captivated by the push and pull of the foamy water on the white sand, unable to look away. Distantly, I wonder what the water feels like. Is it warm or cold? What does it taste like? Does the sand move with the tide?
The clearing of a throat shakes me from the spell, and I look at the black carriage before me,so starkin contrast to the bright blue and white landscapeallaround us.
And there, standing in front of it, dressed in the same color as me, is the king.
”Good morning, Your Majesty,”I tell him curtly.
One side of his lips lifts in a smirk. ”Good morning, Elva. Do you want to get closer?”My brows pinch together, confused at his question. He clarifies, ”To the water?”
”Oh.”I take a step forward. ”No. We have an itinerary.”
”It can wait five minutes,”he assures me.
”No, thank you.”While yes, I would absolutely love to get a better look at the ocean, I”m absolutely certain I do not want to do it with him as an audience.
”I insist. You came all this way to see the kingdom, after all. May as well start with the reason you”re interested in this alliance in the first place.”His gray eyes never leave mine, and I feelas ifhe”s challenging meonceagain.
I”m not going to retaliate.
Maybe just a little bit.
I let my dissatisfaction show through my tone when I say, ”Well if I”m going to be here for longer than planned, I”m sure I”ll find the time to explore later. For now, we have somewhere to be.”
”Of course. After you.”He gestures to the black mass of a carriage, an armed guard holding the door open all this time, completely still.
I lift the dress as I descend the stairs, worriedI”mgoing to trip over my feet in these unfamiliar shoes if I can”t see them. As I walk by the king, I try to keep my distance without it being clear that I don”t want to be too close to him. As long as he doesn”t touch me, I”ll be fine.
The guard holding the door open extends a hand to help me into the carriage, and I murmur a quiet thank you, taking it to steady myself as I climb in. While the outside is black and daunting, the inside is the opposite, with drapes that match the surrounding scenery, madeout ofthe same sheer material as the bedding and drapery in my room. There are two bench seats opposite each other, covered in soft cushions.
I choose a seat, peeking out the window at the ocean again as I feel the carriage rock slightly at the clamoring of another person entering it. Only now do I realize just how small it is in here. This is enough room for one person to fit comfortably, certainly not two.
I try to wipe the terror from my face at the proximity we are going to be in for the entire day. Especially withhow tall he is.
As he settles in across from me, he must sense my unease. I can feel his overwhelming gaze onthe side ofmy face as I focus on nothing in the distance so I don”t have to meet his eye.
”Are you alright?”His voice carries concern, but when I look at him, his face shows only humor.”You seem uneasy.”
”I don”t like small spaces,” I lie.
”A tour through the kingdom was your idea, was it not?”He drops the pretense that he”s worried about me, choosing instead to taunt me again. ”Did you plan to walk the whole way? I”m sure we could arrange that.”
With a quick breath through my nose, I try to respond, ”No, Your Majesty, I just-”
”Kairon.”
Fuck. ”Kairon,”I repeat, unable to keep the frustration from my tone. At his pleased grin, I snap, ”I simply did not consider that I might be stuck in this carriage with a man notorious for killing people just for looking at him wrong.”
He laughs. ”You”re giving me too much credit. Sometimes, I kill people for even less.”
Fear and anger war for dominance inside me. Everything wants to lash out, do something to lessen the bubble building in my chest, but he could drain me of life before I could even blink. So, instead, I adjust my seated position, folding my ankles together and placing my hands on my lap. My teeth grind together, fighting to keep any more anger from spilling out.
With no warning, the carriage begins rolling, and I focus on the rhythmic clopping of horses and the steady roll of the wheels to ground me.
”I thought we”d start with the stadium,”he tells me a few minutes later. ”We host tournaments, dole out justice, host galas, everything there. It”s the heart of the city. They even set up a festival of sorts a few times a year. It”s a sprawling market when it”s not being used for anything else.”
I reply, ”When I made these arrangements with Shan, we planned to go see the orphanages, the homeless shelters, and healing centers.”
His face goes nearly white, but his expression doesn”t change, ”Why would you want to see that?”
”Because we are deciding on terms of a treaty, not becoming best friends.”
His taunting grin returns. ”Oh, make no mistake. You and I are going to be great friends, Elva.”
My cheeks flame, whether from fury or some other emotion, I can”t say. Won”t say, even to myself. ”We”re not friends.”
”Not yet, no. But-”
Before he can make my blush any worse, I cut him off, ”As I said, we are looking to see if we can come to an agreement, and Rhyma doesn”t want to be associated with a country that doesn”t take care of its people.”
Now his teeth grind. ”My people are well taken care of. As I said, I”d like to show you the heart of the city, see them frolicking and living well.”
”I do not care how the best treated live here.”I gesture around us with my hands, unable to sit still whiletalking aboutthis. ”I care how you treat those on the outskirts, those without resources of their own, those in need. You cannot judge a kingdom by how their richest live, only by how they take care of the poor and sick.”
”You are making assumptions,”he tells me. ”You have heard stories of me and have decided that”s enough to know what kind of king I am.”
”You sent our messengers back in pieces,”I argue. ”What should I assume of you with that being my only proof?”
The coldness of his eyes starts to defrost, showing a terrifying fire underneath them. ”That I don”t take kindly to insults. You sent the least of your people to meet with me. That”s how you treat your poor, your outcasts, your needy. You sent them to certain death, not me.”For the first time since arriving, heactuallylooks like a living, breathing man and less like a walking corpse.
”And me?”I ask, teeth clenching.
”What about you, Elva?”he taunts. ”Why did they send you? You should be considered important enough to protect, and yet, here you are. Alone with me. Clearly, they don”t think much of you to send you into my kingdom with no protection.”
With an incredulous laugh, I confess, ”I am perfectly capable of protecting myself, thank you so fucking much for your concern.”
The fire in his eyes grows as he chuckles at my outburst.
”You don”t believe me?”I raise my brows, willing to throw away all common sense just to shut him up.
He appraises me, his eyes raking over my tense framefor a moment. ”Oh, no, I believe you, Elva.”He makes my name sound like something holy and perverse, like something to worship and curse all in one breath. Every time he says it, I feel my cheeks heat at the improper intimacy of him using it. ”Perhaps one day I”ll be fortunate enough to see you do so.”
”I think, for your sake, you should hope not.”I blow out a breath, unwilling to continue down this dangerous road.Himbecoming aware of my cursed powers would only harm the small amount of progress we”ve made. ”Fine. If you think the market is the best place to show me, we can go.”
He grins, winning another round of... whatever mental game this is. Relishing in his victory at making me blush again, his eyes flare in a taunt. ”Splendid. I need a drink. Hot in this carriage, isn”t it?”