Goddess, why had I even bothered trying to hide who he was? Everyone knew.
“Did you?” I pressed closer, my words almost noiseless. “Did you know who he was all those years? Kavin told me that was why Wulfram wanted me. Probably thinks I’m royal enough for him.” I knew what I was thinking wasn’t true, couldn’t be, but I asked anyway. “Were you really training me, or just waiting to see if I matured into an Omega so the Guild could sell me?”
Suddenly, my arms were in his hands, and the world was moving as he shook me. His hood slipped off his head, revealing his eyes on fire with righteous indignation, the sickled scar even whiter on his reddened skin, and an anger that was so hot it felt like sparks landing on my face. He mouthed the words, the consonants clicking as he replied in a faint whisper, “Everything I do, everything I did, has been to protect you, Roya. I will never let Wulfram lay hands on you, nor the Guild. I am Anathema because I lo—” He stopped mid-word. Neither of us even blinked.
Before I could demand that he finish the word, he broke off, pushed me away, and stormed from the room.
Had he been on the verge of saying he loved me?
I sat, the breath knocked out of me, my ribs aching with a strange sort of pain. Thorn loving me? I couldn’t fathom that. He had left me to wither on the vine for years, made a rule that I couldn’t touch him, rejected me not two nights ago…
Everything I do has been to protect you.
He was Anathema. Of course. He was protecting me from himself. Stupid, stubborn man.
I spent the next few moments lying on the feather-soft bed, wishing I had access to water that wasn’t tainted, and surveying the room. There was only one door, an enormous hardwood slab carved with fish and flowers, but there were windows on the far side of the room, open to a courtyard outside, which was overgrown with a veritable jungle of tropical plants, vines, and flowers. The walls of the room itself echoed the jungle’s colors, all greens and browns with a few bursts of colors in the tufted pillows at the head of the bed.
I let myself lie back, luxuriating in the feel of all the different woven textures, moving the pillows and blankets into a more pleasing arrangement. The afternoon was humid and hot, and when a short rainstorm sprang up, I fell asleep beneath the soft pattering on the roof.
I was dreaming of flying, with golden wings made of lace, and a pirate who chased me through the air, when a woman’s voice woke me. “Milady? Dress… you. Um, eat?”
“Come in.” I sat up on the soft, pale green coverlet as the door opened.
A thin, tall woman with warm brown skin and sad eyes entered, carrying a dress and a basket of all the things I’d had to leave at Valerie’s. Soaps, oils, a comb, and even small pots of lip tint. The woman seemed surprised to find me awake, and mimed a yawn and opening her eyes.
“Yes, I slept.”
She nodded, but her Mirrenese was very rough. “Good lady. Eat soon? Eat soon, Gullen?”
Dinnertime. Could I stomach another meal with Gullen? Maybe I should poison him sooner rather than later, and save us all some trouble.
“Dress, lady?”
“Yes, please.”
Her eyes darted to the water, noticing the colored clumps settled on the bottom. I took a chance. I pointed to the water, then lay my hands on the side of my head like I was sleeping, then shook my head.
She sucked in a quick breath, considering. “One wait,” she said, then left the room. She returned, carrying a fresh jug of water and two cups. She filled them both, then drank her cup. “Ah! No sleep,” she said, a fierce smile playing at her lips. “Wake. Listen.”
“Yes. I will.” I took the water gratefully, drinking deeply. The woman crossed the room to a chest, pulling out what looked like sleeping clothes, and laying them out at the foot of the bed. I wandered to the wide windows, staring out, a strange desire tugging at me, like I needed to go outside. Needed to find something.
I shook the inexplicable feeling away and sighed, knowing I had to return to playing the vapid miss.
The woman cleared her throat behind me softly. “Omega sad?”
“Omega is Roya,” I said, pointing at myself. “Roya.”
She smiled and pointed to her chest. “Naari.”
I mustered a smile. “Well, Naari, if I’m going to look presentable for dinner, we’d better get started.” In twenty minutes, she had fixed my hair and applied soft colors to my cheeks and eyelids, chatting in broken Mirrenese all the while about her family.
I understood from what she didn’t say that Gullen had some sort of hold over her, possibly over all the servants. She feared him, almost as much as she hated him.
Finally, Naari helped me into a close-fitting wraparound dress that both covered everything from my neck to my ankles, leaving only my arms bare, and revealed every single curve I owned. A triple strand of pearls graced my throat—a gift from the regent, Naari had informed me with a roll of her eyes.
“Gullen want Omega. Gullen want two thing.” She mimed a crude sexual thrust, then ran a finger over her throat in a cutting motion. “Roya careful.”
I nodded, and went to the bed, pulling what I thought I would need out of my cloak. Wearing it to dinner would look suspicious, but I would never go anywhere unarmed.
