It was impossible to know the truth, and which version of it to trust. Especially when the person in front of him was lying as she stood there, the fresh air clinging to her cloak.
“And your needs? What are you willing to do to see them met?”
A shadow passed over her eyes. Chaska calmly placed the cloth on the bedside table and took a step back. Her hands disappeared into the sleeves of her cloak. “You forget who it is you speak to.”
“I do not, Empress Chaska. I am more aware than ever.”
“Now is not the time to waffle, Kasik. If there’s something you wish to say, then say it. Otherwise, leave the meeting of needs to those of us who are willing to make therightchoices.”
“I saw you,” Kasik spat out. He watched her brow furrow in the dimlight and waited to say more. “With Samaq in the yard all those weeks ago. And just now, you moved that wall with a hand. How? Where is it that you were going? Is Samaq out there?” He had halfway risen off his bed, his voice frantic even to his own ears.
Chaska stiffened and took a small step back, her eyes darting between his. “For someone as smart as you are, Kasik, you can be very, very foolish.”
Then she took off, flinging the door open on her way out. Kasik caught it before it hit the wall and then followed her, ignoring the throbbing in his face. “Explain it to me like I am a foolish boy, then.”
Chaska stopped and whirled around so suddenly that Kasik almost ran into her. “Do not do this here. You, of all people, should know that he has eyes and earseverywhere.”
“I think you give him more credit than he deserves.”
Chaska only looked at him strangely, and then she laughed, and it was filled with anything but amusement. “You think I speak of the emperor,” she finally said. “It is not him I give the credit.”
There was a moment in which Kasik considered turning away and ignoring whatever Chaska was about to say. It was none of his concern, but it was Chaska’s hand that guided him back into his room and closed the door so quietly he barely heard it. “When did you start paying attention to anything other than yourself or your emperor?”
“Ouremperor,” Kasik said, the exchange reminding him of those first few days with Nina. “I have always paid attention to anything that might have caused danger or undue harm to—”
“Yes, yes, we all know how loyal you are.” Chaska waved her hand in the air and wore a path into the floor in front of him. “It’s the girl, isn’t it. She has changed you.”
“I don’t—”
“You don’t need to say anything. It wasn’t a question.” She stoppedsuddenly and met Kasik’s eyes. They were filled with doubt—for herself, or for him, Kasik wasn’t sure. “I am not in love with Samaq, if that’s what you were wondering. And no, that wasn’t him I went to meet. I’m sorry, Kasik. I know how much you care for your friend.”
“And the wall?” Kasik asked. He hoped she would appease his attempt to distract himself. “Have you always had the ability to move stone with a touch?”
“I can do so much more than move it,” Chaska said quietly. “And if you don’t keep that between us, I will show you exactly what I mean.”
Chaska turned toward the door before he could say anything else.
“By the way,” she said over her shoulder, a flash of something mischievous in her eyes. “Samaq isn’t dead. And I hope that one day, Nina can see her brother again.”
Then she flounced out of the room as quietly as she snuck through the grounds, leaving Kasik at the tip of a very long downward spiral.
37
The tremble in Nina’s hands was soul deep, a tremor of doubt that always existed within her no matter how confident she felt. But right then, she didn’t feel confident at all. She felt entirely out of her depth. Inexperienced. Like a child playing at a grown-up game while the adults looked on with amusement.
Maicu’s eyes had darkened with her touch, and she saw the way his breathing hitched the slightest bit, but the smile on his lips was one of quiet amusement. Nina felt small and foolish beneath it, but still she waited for an answer.
His eyes seemed to memorize her face, and then they dipped to her shoulder and her collarbone before climbing back up to her hand and settling on her wrist. Nina took the opportunity to slip her finger under the cord and began lifting it from his neck, slow and seductive even though her mind was screaming at her to yank it off.
But he was too close, and though his hands were soft and his eyes were amused, she could feel a lethal presence beneath his casual exterior. Nina shifted her hand back, toward his neck, the cord securely in hand, and then Maicu moved.
Quick as a snake, he caught her wrist, halting her movement with a firm grip, and then he lifted her arm to inspect it closer.
No, not her arm; the circlet around it. Nina’s pulse pounded in her ears.
“This is beautifully crafted,” he said, turning her wrist from side to side. “Someone in your ayllu?”
“Oh,” Nina breathed, panicked. “I traded for it on market day. Awoman said it had come from here, from Vira. We have nothing so luxurious in Limac.”
