She sighed and the sound carried, awakening a rustle of movement in her neighbor.
“Cyrus?” she said softly.
“Yes?”
“Can I ask you a question?”
She could almost feel him stiffen in response. “I’d really rather you didn’t.”
“Yes, I realize that, but may I ask anyway?”
He sighed.
“Why do you always wear black?” she said. “It doesn’t suit your coloring at all.”
“Pass.”
“You’re not going to answer?” said Alizeh, taken aback. “But it’s such a gentle question.”
“Oh, and you have less gentle questions for me, do you?” He didn’t sound happy about it.
“A great deal, in fact.”
“Once again, I’ll pass.”
“Cyrus,” she said patiently, “you can’t just ask a girl to marry you and then decline to answer a single question about yourself.”
“Try me.”
“Fine. Do you have any brothers or sisters?”
He cleared his throat and said, quietly, “Pass.”
“Youdohave siblings? Really? Where do—”
“Next question.”
She hesitated, feeling dejected, and resolved to ask him something a bit meaner. “All right, then. Maybe you can explain to me why the people of Tulan don’t seem to hate you.”
“Hate me?” He laughed at that. “Why should they hate me?”
“You’re surprised,” she said, more a statement than question. “That’s interesting. But you took the throne in such a bloody, violent manner— It was in fact so brutal a takeover it was talked about all over the world. There was also a great deal of speculation as to your mental state and your ability to rule—”
“I was not the first in history to claim a crown in an unsavory manner,” he said coldly, “and I will not be the last. In the end, citizens care most about clean water, fair wages, goodharvests, and a carefully managed treasury. I take care of my people. I give them no reason to hate me.”
“But people in Ardunia really seem to hate you,” she pointed out quietly. “A lot.”
He laughed again, this time with some anger. “They hate me only because they fear me.”
“Should they fear you?”
“Yes.”
The nosta warmed at that, and Alizeh’s heart beat a little faster. “Very well,” she said, bracing herself. “I’m going to ask you possibly the harshest question now.”
“What?” he said sharply.
Alizeh held her breath and waited, just until she heard him sigh.
