Chapter 5
Reyn had alure. Sometimes. She could amplify it to a level that rivaled a full-blooded succubus’s. Unintentionally.
“I know I’m using it. I can recognize its effects, so why can’t I sense my own power?”
“I don’t know,” Khiran told her, running a hand through his red hair. This latest of her lessons with him had left them both disheartened. “Nothing seems to work for you the way I expect.”
Reyn sighed. She didn’t want to make Khiran feel bad that he couldn’t teach her to control her lure. She needed a break before the frustration became too much. Not just a break from working on her lure—she only met with Khiran for an hour twice a week as it was—but a chance to relax and forget her worries over her lure.
“I know. And I’m truly grateful that you keep trying anyway.” Reyn stood up. Today’s hour was done. “I’ll be honest, Khiran. I am not going to practice or monitor anything before our next meeting. I don’t think I can handle the aggravation.”
“That’s probably a smart choice. I’ll ask Lisca to sit in next time. Maybe she’ll have some ideas. She doesn’t sense lures the same way as I do, and that alternate viewpoint might help. You certainly don’t use lure the same way I do. I’m sure we’ll figure this out, but even if we can’t, it isn’t worth working yourself up into a lather over. You deserve to enjoy your time in Lhanaperi.”
Reyn took her leave and headed out into the chilly streets of Tryn. It would be easier to enjoy herself if Selona wasn’t so busy at the bank suddenly that she could only attend evening events. Reyn was left to her own devices during the day. Not that she needed the other woman to accompany her anywhere, but she enjoyed Selona’s company. Her other Lhanaperan friends were companions rather than confidantes.
Khiran was right. She deserved to enjoy her time in Lhanaperi. She couldn’t drag Selona out of the bank, but she could change her own attitude. It was time to forget guilt and have fun. Who cared if she had a lure? Clearly, it wasn’t responsible for all her popularity, because it wasn’t in evidence most of the time. Therefore, Reyn deserved to enjoy her popularity.
She dressed with care that evening. Her dusky rose gown had a low neckline, beautiful lace insets in the skirt, and iridescent embroidery around the hem. It wasn’t made of Ferrini silk—Reyn was envious of Selona’s costly gowns—but it was fashionable, flattering, and fit her mood perfectly. Tonight would be the first time she had worn the gown, and she looked forward to seeing men unable to look away from her.
Her desire to wrap men around her finger was shallow, but they enjoyed being there as much as she enjoyed reeling them in, so she didn’t care. If only they’d remain content to stay wrapped around her finger instead of trying to get under her skirts.
Reyn had no interest in bedding another man. She had done so once when she thought she was falling in love. That had ended in disappointment, physically and emotionally. Then she had tried again without her heart entering the equation. She had decided on her partner that time after careful deliberation. The only positive of that experience was that she had chosen someone who was happy to spend a single night with her and not seek anything more. The night itself had been lackluster.
But though she had no interest in sleeping with someone, Reyn enjoyed flirting. And dancing. She just had to make sure she didn’t give the men she focused her attentions on the expectation that more would follow. For now, she simply wanted to laugh and forget that with Selona busy, all she had to fill her days was music and frustration with a lure that wouldn’t obey her will.
Selona took one look at Reyn when she came out of her room before they left for the Family Sablon’s soiree and whistled. “Do me a favor,” she murmured low enough that her mother, who was accompanying them, couldn’t hear. “Break Enzi’s heart tonight.”
Reyn hadn’t met Enzi Sablon yet. She didn’t know if her friend was encouraging her to break his heart jokingly or not.
Before she could ask, Princess Biatra, Selona’s mother, chivied them out of the house. “You look lovely this evening, Reyn. I look forward to letting your mother know how readily you’ve settled into society in Tryn.”
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
Princess Biatra’s offer to watch over Reyn was the only reason her mother had allowed this solo visit to Lhanaperi. So far, Selona’s mother had not hovered over Reyn or curtailed her activities, but this would be the first social event they had attended together. Reyn did not want a letter to go back to her mother that fostered any hope of a romance. If Princess Biatra wrote about Reyn flirting, her mother would start asking when the wedding was.
Selona knew of Reyn’s arguments with her mother regarding marriage. She leaned in close. “Don’t worry, Mama won’t tattle on you for flirting. So long as you don’t show a particular attachment to any one gentleman, she’ll really only write about how everyone has accepted you with open arms.”
“At what point does it switch from flirting to showing a particular attachment in her mind?” Reyn whispered back. “If I spend a single evening with a man, is it too late, or do I have to focus exclusively on him for several days?”
Flirting with a man for a few minutes would be enough for Reyn’s mother to decide she had fallen in love. Reyn loved her mother, she did, but her desire to see Reyn wed had grown wearying in the past year.
“Oh, Mama has lived in Lhanaperi long enough that she won’t assume you are more than casually interested in a man, even if you spend a few nights in his company. She knows better than to worry your mother.”
Reyn wondered if it had been hard for Princess Biatra to adjust to Lhanaperan standards of propriety after growing up in Moial. Reyn couldn’t imagine her mother ever accepting casual relationships, even if she had married a Lhanaperan and lived in the country for over two decades. Of course, Biatra had been Reyn’s age when she married into Family Ferrini; Reyn certainly wasn’t having any trouble adapting to the different attitudes of the kingdoms she had visited.
After one last glance at Princess Biatra, who kindly pretended her daughter and Reyn weren’t whispering about something they clearly didn’t want her to hear, Reyn accepted Selona’s reassurance and focused on how best to enjoy the evening.
“Tell me about Lord Enzi. All I know is he is the heir of Family Sablon. Why haven’t I met him already?”
“Because the Sablons and the Ferrinis do not get along,” Selona answered promptly.
Her mother clucked her tongue. “That is an oversimplification, Selona.”
Selona rolled her eyes. “Fine. Because Velario and Enzi are about the same age, and neither Uncle Stavo nor Vel has made any huge mistakes.”
Princess Biatra sighed and addressed Reyn herself. “Family Sablon is another Elector Family, like Ferrini. They have held the throne about as often as our family over the years. Because Velario and Lord Enzi are of an age, they will compete against each other for the throne when King Stavo abdicates.”
“But aren’t there five Elector Families? Why are they the only rivals—or are they?”
