Kunay Atik sat at the corner of the table farthest from the door. He smiled at her, and though there was a table full of people between them, it felt as though he were right next to her, breathing down her neck. Peering into her soul.
“Come closer,” someone said, and she tore her eyes away from Atik to look at the man next to him, who beckoned her forward with fingers long and lean and glittering with gold.
In her head, Nina had created this image of a man who was larger than life, someone who could crush her beneath his thumb, but Emperor Maicu was young, perhaps no older than Kasik, and soft in a way that spoke of a lack of hard labor. His long black hair shone in the firelight, and his golden eyes tracked her every move, down to the slightest shift of her shoulders with each breath.
It was clear that he was a man used to getting what he wanted, which at that moment was her. All she could do under the scrutiny was comply with his demands, walking swiftly toward the head of the table with every pair of eyes in the room watching her. Nina knew they were expecting to see her cower or cry or flee with her tail between her legs. But she would not show fear in this den of predators. Let them believe her an animal well trained and honored to be in their presence.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kasik walking opposite her, their steps in sync, their footfalls heavy with obligation. He stoppedat the empty seat next to his tayta. A clear sign of their position, of the strength of their relationship to each other and to the emperor.
The emperor is my friend.
Perhaps he hadn’t lied to her all along, and she had only been lying to herself.
The emperor turned in his seat to anticipate Nina’s approach. He was handsome—there was no denying that. He wore a sleeveless, bloodred tunic that exposed arms corded with muscle, his hair, dark as night, cascading around his shoulders and down his back. Sitting on his head was a gold circlet wrapped with colorful feathers, a large black stone set in the middle. The achilla was similar to the one that hung around Kasik’s neck, but glossier, the surface polished to an impressive shine.
Nina traced each detail until she was standing before him and could no longer ignore his eyes. They were bright, alive. Warm honey that coalesced and beckoned. The way he sat, leaned back in his chair as if she was putting on a show, muddled her thoughts and made it so she barely remembered to bow. The fingers of his left hand tapped the table, not with impatience, but to a beat she could not hear.
Up close, she saw that his hands were soft. No calluses, no scars. When they touched her, they wouldn’t scrape her skin, not as Kasik’s had. And Emperor Maicu’s eyes didn’t leave a path of wanting in their wake, only alarm.
This was the most powerful man in the empire. The man who had taken up the legacy of his tayta’s dream of a united Tawantinsuyu. The man who had stolen children from their families and murdered his brother in cold blood, and there he was, smiling at her as if she was the most fascinating thing he had ever seen.
Creases formed at the corners of those dancing eyes. A light dusting of facial hair covered his jaw, and Nina, realizing that she had begun toinspect his features again, dropped her face toward the ground. Whatever bravado she had fed herself before entering the room fled under his amused scrutiny.
Emperor Maicu chuckled, a quiet, private laugh meant only for her. “I hope everything has been to your liking,” he said as he stood, putting himself directly in front of her. He was tall, his chest at eye level, and Nina swallowed as he took one small step closer. She was all too aware of their audience, of the pregnant silence surrounding them, of the way his movements were slow and deliberate as if to soothe her nerves. He pinched her chin between two fingers and guided her eyes to his.
Nina peered at him through lowered lashes. “Thank you for this gift,” she said. Let him think her overflowing with gratitude. Let him think her weak and overwhelmed with fear. His eyes dipped to her mouth as she spoke. “What an honor to be chosen.”
The pressure of his thumb dug into her chin. Nina was right; the hands that cradled her future were soft and supple, and she knew he was more dangerous than the most hardened of walla because of it. She would not allow herself to forget.
32
“May the gods...” the emperor called, standing above them all, a golden cup in one hand and the other splayed on the table. One of his ringed fingers tapped against the cup, perfectly in sync with the beat of Kasik’s heart. “Favor this union.” He poured a tiny amount of the chicha onto the floor at his feet, and the rest of the guests at the table did the same.
Kasik was slow to grab his cup, to pour, to drink, acutely aware of his tayta’s attention, of Maicu and his expectations, of Nina and her ire, of Chaska and her indifference.
One misstep, and they would all question his intent in different ways.
The chicha went down like acid. It didn’t help that he felt Nina’s desperation like a hand wrapped around his throat. He couldn’t tell if the uncertainty he sensed was hers or his own.
If Maicu knew of the doubts Kasik harbored, the animosity brewing in his heart, he would have him disposed of without a second thought. In fact, Kasik had no need to wonder whether his tayta would be glad to carry out that specific task.
The gods might be keeping him alive only so long as Maicu decided so, and if he was dead, there would be no one left to protect Nina.
Unless he didn’t stay. He could help Nina escape and then leave with her. They could find Shayim’s ayllu again. Perhaps he could find Samaq and his men, and then they could all hide there.
Like cowards. The achiyanga would probably smell their fear and eat them alive before they found it again.
Underneath the table, something bumped his foot. He glancedsideways. Master Wara’s eyes were wide with warning, and then Kasik heard his name, as effective as a slap across his cheek. He whipped his head up to find Maicu’s gaze fixed on him, lips tilted into a semblance of a smile.
“Are you with us?” he asked pointedly.
Kasik’s fingers tingled with dread. They knew of his traitorous thoughts. They would kill him, and then they would kill Nina, and Samaq would be lost forever, perhaps captured and tortured by the kukuchi and—
“We were just discussing the festival.” Empress Chaska’s voice pulled him out of the spiral. Beside her, Nina sat demurely, brows furrowed as she watched him falter. “We’ve heard news from Uwaco.”
“From Uwaco?” he repeated mindlessly. Maicu hadn’t told him. When he glanced at the emperor, he found him running a finger around the rim of his cup. He looked as though he had no interest in relaying that news to him now.
Chaska glanced at Maicu before she continued. “Yes. They’ve agreed to attend, and whatever choice they’ve made will be displayed in the color of their garments.”
