Suraya Silvertongue, one. King Killjoy, zero.
Instead of examining my very confusing reaction, which includes the pounding of my heart and a very unwelcome molten sensation between my thighs, I grin at an ashen-faced Ani. “What’s his problem?”
“Y-you’re not afraid of him?” she stammers, still staring at the door and then focusing that chary stare at me.
Oh, I’m fucking terrified. But I shake my head. “To show fear is to give your adversary power.”
The words loosen a deluge of images in my brain.
Visions of a gory battle, an altar, and an offering... the face of a man—one I... love?—on the cusp of death and destruction left in the wake of a gleaming, tumultuous magic... an arena of sand that smells like blood and a lavish room full of beautiful people dancing... a gorgeous palace with ornate cupolas and towering pillars, and an intricate maze that is the spitting image of my mother’s painting back in Coban. It’s clearly the capital city.
How do I have such a visceral memory of thecapital city?
My head starts to pound as I try futilely to hold on to the images that disappear as fast as they have come.
“I’m sorry I dosed you with that herb on the king’s orders,” Ani says, but then frowns at me as I grasp my skull between my palms and sink into a crouch with a groan. “Sura, are you well? What is it? Do you remember something?”
I exhale, rubbing my temples. “Yes, but just fragments and pictures that make no sense whatsoever. And I understand about the king. It’s not your fault.”
“Thank you. And give yourself time,” she says, leaning down to peer at my irises. “You’ve been through a traumatic few days, and while our healers’ magic can work wonders with physical injuries, they cannot return lost memories. I pray you remember something soon, for your sake.”
“You and me both.”
“I’ll find you some shoes,” Ani says, “before the king returns to drag you away himself and march you through the entire court in bare feet.”
With a sigh, I rise carefully. I wouldn’t put such spite past the man. But I suppose I did bring this upon myself with my infernal taunting.
Honestly, Sura, did you have to go that far?Because gloating satisfaction aside, there’s no real winner in this scenario.
As an outsider in a strange realm, it’s certainly not me.
Chapter Thirteen
Turns out provoking a king with a chip on his shoulder the size of a desert isn’t one of the best decisions I’ve made. Especially when the stick he threatened me with turns out to be starsdamnedtraining. Though the gods themselves can’t fathom why a man who’s worried that a stranger might be an enemy spy would insist on fortifying said enemy’s skills.
Dejected, I pick at the cuffs on my wrists. I’d banged them hard against the arm of a chair earlier, but all that had done was make my wrists ache. Not a single dent had formed in the metal.
When I get my memories back, I’m going to hunt down whoever put these on me and make them regret it. Partial flashes of the handsome face I’d seen before—dark hair, full lips, and warm brown eyes—hits me, but the accompanying emotions are bewildering. It feels as though I should care deeply about the person, but something inside of me recoils with echoes of betrayal and bitterness.
Whois he?
I study the bracelets. Hadheput these on?
Repeating the question internally, I concentrate, and to my surprise, another face comes to mind, this one different with markings and... a name!Aran.Then the same oil slick of emotions assaults me: love, deceit, pain, bitterness.
Whoare these two people, and more important,howdo I know them?
The notion that I’d been in Kaldari for some time before ending up in Everlea is starting to seem real, as preposterous as it feels. But I don’t remember leaving Coban, so assuming Ihadleft,whenhad I done so? The black gold-dusted envelope fills that gap in my head—so clearly, I must have gone to the bridal summons despite my scornful feelings on the matter. I blink as more fragments of memories swirl: the crown prince’s marriage ball... a ruse to find the subject of some ancient prophecy to do with the gods...
Nowthatsounds preposterous!
Pain stabs into my skull, and I cry out. Grasping my temples, I take controlled breaths to calm both the discomfort and my escalating panic at the new jumble of information now rattling in my brain without context.
As the pain slowly subsides, I worry my lip and scowl at the training leathers lying on the bed. I suppose I should get dressed before His Heinousness stomps up here to dress me himself. The thought that he might dare to do exactly that is enough to get me moving, as little as I feel like training right now.
I change quickly, pleased that the leathers are a decent fit. I crouch and spring upward, marveling at the suppleness.
“Good, youcanfollow instructions.”
