Her gaze swept upward. Light bathed the blank wall nearest her, and the shafts of sunlight were coming from a different direction than they should have been.
A sense of danger prickled over her. She didn’t know where she was or how she’d gotten here. Her mind struggled to grasp onto the last thing she remembered—the uncomfortable banquet.
Then she remembered the unknown powder. Everything had become strange after that. Odd, hazy images filled her mind, and she had no idea what might have been a dream and what was reality.
A rustling noise sounded from elsewhere in the unfamiliar room. A shadow moved, and a moment later a man’s form loomed above her.
Instinct took over, and her foot flashed out, landing a powerful kick. She’d been aiming for his groin, but her heel sank into his stomach instead.
“Oof!” He crumpled to the floor.
She skittered backward across the bed, muscles tensing as she prepared to further defend herself. Was there anything nearby she could use as a weapon—
“Lea.” The hoarse word came from the spot where the man had fallen. “It’s—it’s me. Kallias.”
Kallias. A few memories returned: Kallias’s arm around her, bringing her somewhere. To his bedroom? What happened last night?
Cautiously, she crawled over to the edge of the bed and stared down at him. He was curled into a ball, clutching his stomach as he struggled to draw breath.
If she hadn’t been so confused, it would have been amusing. Most of the men she knew would hardly have batted an eye at the kick she’d doled out, but Kallias had been felled as easily as a stack of blocks toppled by a child.
“Why am I in your bed?” she demanded.
He heaved himself into a sitting position. “You were…unwell last night. You ate some dreamfish without knowing what it was. It wasn’t safe for you to return to the ludus.”
“What in the underworld is dreamfish?” Some of her tension receded as her body realized she wasn’t in immediate danger, but she didn’t let go of her wariness. She still didn’t know what had happened between her and Kallias last night.
“It’s a fish that can bring about intoxication and hallucinations when consumed,” he explained. “It was served in a powdered form last night.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Isthatwhat they do for fun here?”
He shrugged. “Sometimes.”
She ran a hand through her hair. Someone—Kallias?—had removed it from its arrangement of sewn-in braids, and it fell loose around her shoulders. “So I ate that fish powder, and your first thought was to get me into your bed?” He didn’t seem like the type of man who would do such a thing.
“No!” Indignation sharpened his voice. “You could barely walk. You needed to sleep it off.” He thrust a hand toward the middle of the small room. “I slept on the floor, as you can see.”
Indeed, a pillow and a pile of blankets rested on the floor at the foot of the bed. She surveyed them for a moment, then took stock of her own body. If anything had happened between her and Kallias, surely traces of sensation would linger the next day. But she felt nothing.
“I promise you, nothing untoward happened.” Kallias braced his hands on the bed and rose to his feet, then smoothed out his tunic. “Despite your best efforts,” he muttered under his breath.
“Excuse me?”
He shot her a dark glance. “Forgive me, I shouldn’t have said anything. It wasn’t your fault.”
“Whatwasn’t my fault?” A touch of anxiety spiraled through her. She didn’t like this feeling—not being able to remember, having to rely on someone else to tell her what happened. To trust he was telling her the truth.
“You kissed me,” he confessed. “You—you wanted to do more, but I put a stop to it. Barely.”
Heat flooded her. She grabbed the pillow and buried her face in it as if by blocking out her sight, she could block out everything that was happening. “I’m sorry,” she muttered into the pillow. “That must have been very unpleasant for you.”
He gave a low chuckle. The bed shifted, and she realized he’d seated himself on the edge. “I’m not sure unpleasant is the word I’d use.”
She moved the pillow down, just enough so she could see him. He was gazing at her with peculiar intensity, but he glanced away when she met his eyes.
Certain memories coalesced in her mind. Her lips tingled. Yes, they had kissed. And then…something had happened, and she’d ended up atop him on the bed. She remembered the warm pleasure of his hands on her, the feel of his lean body beneath hers.
An echo of last night’s desire sparked, like a hidden ember reignited. “Was it…good?” she asked, her mouth suddenly dry. “Did you like it?”
