Flipping open her satchel, I found her journal and pulled it out.
“Set!” She hissed as I released her.
Ducking around her, I tossed the journal to Percy. “Take a look at that.”
Eyes wide, Percy glanced between us. “Is this, um, your sketchbook?”
Cerys’ entire face reddened. “Oh, fine.” She closed her eyes. “You can look.”
“I don’t have to,” Percy said, fingers twitching toward the cover. “It’s landscapes, right? That’s what you draw?”
“The first half is,” I said, grinning. “Take a look. I’m the only one who knows what’s in there.”
Curiosity won the battle in Percy’s heart. Flipping the journal open, he leafed through the innocent sketches of Duath Nun—and found thetrueCerys tucked behind them.
“Holy . . .” Percy muttered, bringing the pages to his eyes.
The shame washed from Cerys’ face. Raising her head, she watched his reaction nervously.
“This is the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen,” he marveled, flipping a page. “Youdrewthis?”
“I got into trouble for it, so I try to hide it.” She rubbed the back of her neck.
Running to her side, Percy pointed to one of the drawings. “Who was the model for this one?”
“Oh, this is one of my favorites.” She leaned back.
I stood on my toes and glimpsed the drawing. It depicted a man and woman, limbs entangled beneath a flowing waterfall. Thankfully, I didn’t recognize either. The man’s penis was drawn with anastonishingamount of detail.
Watching them, I couldn’t decide if I’d done a terrible or wonderful thing. Percy would be enamored with Cerys now that he’d seen her pages upon pages of erotic art—not all of it . . .tasteful. But I knew he didn’t want to pursue her.
Or anyone. Just as I didn’t.
I didn’t have the power to change anything in this world, but I could make Percy smile, if only for a few days. Giving them some alone time, I turned and walked away.
“Wait!” Cerys looked up. “You cannot become our leader looking likethat.”
“No, he can’t.” Percy grinned. “You just leave that to me.”
;;;
I hated being pampered. The servants tasked with dressing and grooming me had lasted a month before I’d kicked them all out.
My fingernails dug into the creaky wooden chair’s armrest while Percy stared at my reflection like it was a piece of marble he would sculpt into perfection.
Torture.
“How much could you possibly need to do?” I asked, fidgeting. “Ineverlooked princely.”
“You need to,” Percy insisted. “Some ragtag assassin won’t inspire the people.”
“Princes all look the same. Just pick something already.”
“Hm.” Percy cocked his head and stroked his chin.
Light knocking echoed on the door, and Aethra pushed it open. “There you are,” she said, studying me. “I thought you’d be done by now.”
“Aethra, good. Come here.” Percy pulled her inside and shut the door. “Look at Seth. What do you see?”
