“Get dressed and return to bed,” he said, his voice as dark and deep as the lake’s center. “Before you or I have to explain why you’re, again, naked and alone with me.”
Chapter 16
Two days later Procyon returned the convoy home. Although Araes was happy to be back on familiar ground, he couldn’t shake the dread clinging to his chest. Upon their arrival back, he’d sent word of the death wielders to Captain Theos, but there hadn’t yet been a reply. He worried for the well-being of Eadric and Elenna at the inn. For the entire continent, really. If the blight worsened, it wouldn’t just be the western people that’d go hungry. When Tethys didn’t look as if she’d tear out his throat at any opportunity, he’d discuss the issue with her.
She was pale and silent all morning. The slices of fresh honey dew went untouched, and she’d taken a single measly bite of her butter bread toast.It was unlike the goddess, Araes thought. He’d learned her habits as they broke their fast together each morning.
The first order of business, always, was to pour herself a cup of piping hot coffee. One sugar cube and a splash of cream. Without waiting for the liquid to cool, she’d take asip and lean back in her chair.
Once her first cup was drained she’d pour herself a second, only to realize that it’d be best to fill her stomach with something more malleable than coffee alone. Like a bird, she’d nibble on a pastry or slice of fruit. Unless, of course, the breakfast service was chocolate croissants or scones. Then she’d waste no time in devouring two or sometimes even three.
Typically, they sat in silence. This morning, however, it was clear something was off. Araes supposed it was the grueling journey through Canissa. Or perhaps it also had something to do with the news of another rebel outbreak on the Venian wall. Otto’s report lay crumpled beside her steaming mug. A group of twelve Canissaen ex-militia came in the night. They’d planted a bomb at the keep’s gate and waited under the cover of darkness for the damage and chaos.
Thank the gods only a few Venian soldiers were wounded, but nonetheless, Araes’s palms itched. His lower molars ached from grinding his teeth. He shouldn’t be here parading around the countryside, sleeping in satin sheets, and eating five-course meals. He should be out there with his men, his brothers. Enyo probably turned in his grave as his twin sipped morning coffee imported from the Aquilaean salt lands and poked at a poached egg with a delicate silver fork.
“You don’t seem your…pleasant…self this morning, my lady,” he prodded, raising an eyebrow.
Tethys tried to hide the soft shake of her hands as she raised the porcelain cup to her lips and inhaled the sharp, fragrant trails of steam emulating from the coffee.
“I thank you for your concern, Lieutenant, but I’m fine. I simply am feeling under the weather from our travel,” she snapped.
Lies. Araes hadn’t expected Tethys to confide in him, her sworn enemy, but hehadbraced himself for a snidecomment or two.
“You can tell me if you’ve received a threat. It’s my duty to protect you, and I cannot do so unless I remain wholly informed,” he said, raising his own cup.
“I shall alert you of any threats received. In the meantime, I don’t believe I gave you leave to speak,” she hissed, pinching the bridge of her nose. Now back on Venian soil, it seemed there was only room for animosity between them again.
He exhaled a long winded breath and nodded curtly. She could suffer in silence then.
“Lady Tethys, your ladies-in-waiting have arrived,” Arissa announced from her usual post in the corner. Her words broke the heavy fog of tension that meandered around them. Tethys’s eyes squinted as she returned her cup to its saucer and swallowed hard.
Araes scanned the goddess’s expression for anything he could use to decipher her demeanor, but his analysis was fruitless.
She hadn’t mentioned their midnight meeting at the lakeside. He’d finally succumbed to the all-too-familiar demons that came to him in the night and hiked down the trail head. Maybe she’d tried to forget it. Her boldness was disarming, standing before him, glistening in naked moonlight. The way her breasts perked in the chill late night air nearly sent the poor man to his knees. She’d just stood there, as still as a statue. With arms relaxed at her sides, she hadn’t tried to cover her exposed body. It was a challenge, a strategic play in their warring game.
Or perhaps, a cry for help. Araes revisited Tethys’s image standing there in the lake time and again on their return home. Was it the moonlight painting shadows over her thighs, or were they bruises? He’d been in a drunken haze by the time he reached the shoreline, and for that alone he stayed quiet.
“Please, send them in,” Tethys said, shaking him fromhis memories. In the moments before the ladies entered the dining room, he watched a remarkable transformation occur.
Tethys, pale and hesitant, took a long drag of air. Her lungs inflated and her eyes hardened, as if she donned armor in preparation for a bloody battle. The woman, cold and unwavering, before him was a stranger entirely to whom he sat opposite from merely seconds before.
“My queen.” A small woman with braided brown hair and deep umber skin gave the goddess an over exaggerated curtsy. He could practically feel the arctic blast in Tethys’s expression as she watched the woman with her chin tipped up. She was the embodiment of regal judgment. A queen looking upon her peasants.
“Lady Jaide. It’s…good to see you,” she said, lowering her voice to a mere murmur in the bustle of women as the other ladies entered.
“I’m so sorry,” she mouthed. Genuine regret flickered for a moment in the sunlight. The lady-in-waiting smiled sadly and kissed the queen’s outstretched hand.
“Pay it no mind, although I’m glad you’ve come to your senses. We’ll talk more later. I have news…” Jaide’s voice was equally as low; she leaned in to speak privately to the goddess.
It was so subtle Araes almost missed it, but the lady slipped Tethys a parchment scroll no longer than his index finger. The goddess glanced under the mahogany dining table, reading the scroll no doubt, then drew in a quiet breath and glanced back at the woman.
Her hardened veil faltered slightly as the lady-in-waiting took Tethys’s delicate hand. Their fingers starkly contrasted one another as they intertwined. Tethys’s were white as snow, whereas Jaide’s were dark as night. Both were beautifully smooth and free of even the smallest of imperfections.
They clearly had a deeper bond than that of a queenand her lady.
As they carried out their conversation, the remaining four women took their seats at the table and helped themselves to the morning’s spread. Araes thought it almost disrespectful as he watched these ladies fill their plates without so much as a glance in Tethys’s direction. Only Jaide paid her mind.
“Lieutenant, I knew they had requested a bodyguard for Her Highness, but I wasn’t expecting someone so…dashing,” a mousy blonde woman said, taking a seat beside him. Her mouth took up the entire width of her chin, giving her a slight resemblance to a river frog.
