I shudder. I don’t know whether I’m aroused or frightened. I do know I’m incredibly angry, and it’s that I draw on.
Gathering my strength, I plant my hands on his chest and push hard. “Back off.”
He hardly moves, but I manage to slip around him. Every instinct in me is screaming to run, but something tells me that would be a mistake.
Very carefully I walk to the door of the greenhouse, keeping my back to him. “Please enjoy my greenhouse and my palace, but do not presume to take more than that. Not until I decide whether or not we will actually be wed.”
His low laughter follows me out of my sanctuary, and I try not to cringe at the thought of him alone in my special place.
What an arrogant ass he is to enter there uninvited. Both of us have gone so far beyond the bounds of propriety and diplomacy. But that doesn’t seem to put him off. In fact, he seemed to like it when I was rude to him. What hope do I have to put him off if that is so? Perhaps even an outright rejection will not deter him.
The thought chills me despite the warmth of the day. Clutching my arms around myself, I hurry back to my rooms and instruct the guards at the door to let nobody pass.
I cancel my meeting with my advisors that afternoon. Instead I lay in my bed staring up at the ceiling wishing I had a choice—any choice.
With Aurelion as my husband I might disappear quietly like a waterbird slipping silently beneath the surface of the river, my will subsumed into his. Forgotten. A mere trophy on his shelf.
But is the price of my people’s security worth my sacrifice? I hate that no matter which way I look at it, the answer feels like a yes.
Kaelun
The drop is longer than I’m expecting. There’s a crunch as I land and a sharp pain in my ankle. I stand and try to shake it off, but my whole foot throbs.
I look up, and from the tiny prick of light above me, I guess I’m lucky I didn’t hurt myself more. I hope I can get myself out of this.
Trying not to think about that, I return my attention to my surroundings, squinting in the dark until shapes appear. The torch gutters and sends out so much smoke my eyes sting. I guess the air down here is pretty stale.
I can make out walls on all sides and something which looks like an altar in front of me with a raised table and a bowl below. Surrounding the altar are chests of various shapes and sizes, but my eye is drawn to a small oil lamp sitting on the center of the altar. I can’t explain why, but something about it calls to me. Its value can’t be much. It’s a simple design, a rounded body with a long spout and a curved handle. As I move closer and pick it up, I can tell it’s full. It is surprisingly heavy in my palm. There’s an inscription in the bronze belly, but it’s too dark even if I could read. There’s no wick, which is a shame.
Experimentally I tip it, but no oil comes out. So what is inside?
A shout from above makes me jump. I’d almost forgotten about my companions. “Did you find anything down there?”
Shoving the lamp into my pocket, I call up. “Maybe.”
“Well hurry up. Sky is getting dark on the horizon. Gada thinks there’s a sandstorm coming.”
I curse. A sandstorm out here in the desert can kill. I should be safe down here, but if the storm is bad enough, it could cover up my exit.
I hurry over to the chests and open the first—or I try to. It’s wedged shut. It takes me another few minutes to find the latch and work out how to open it.
Sure enough, when the lid flies open I see straightaway that it’s filled with precious gems. “Yeah. There’s definitely treasure here!” I call.
“Good. Hurry. Bring it up.”
Lifting the chest, I realize just how heavy it is. I have a moment’s panic thinking about how on earth I get it up the walls and out through the hole in the roof of the buried building. Thinking quickly, I yank the dusty tablecloth from the altar and use it to tie a makeshift rucksack with the chest strapped to my back, leaving my hands free.
Then I go to the wall and run my fingers over the bricks. Sure enough, there are handholds here. I feel with my toes until I can shove my foot into one below and reach for a handhold at eye level and begin my climb.
I’m up the wall quickly, my body relying on muscle memory from the trip to and from my attic room each day. Here the pattern of foot and handholds is different, so I have to concentrate more than usual so as not to make a misstep. At one point I put my weight on my right foot only for the brick to crumble out from under me.
I dangle from my hands, the weight of the chest dragging me down. But the next moment I get my toe into another gap and my feet under me again.
When I reach the top, Gada shoves his hand through the hole. “Pass me the chest! Quick!”
“How do I know you won’t run off with it and leave me down here?” I ask him skeptically.
“Plenty more treasure where that came from if we do.”
