Meena smiled at his charm, feeling both flattered and patronized.
“I hope you slept well?” Ezra dipped into a subtle curtsy, her stiffly tailored gown accentuating both her height and the long imposing line of her nose.
Suddenly, Meena realized that Laila must take after her mistress. Rather than feel intimidated, Meena immediately had the desire to break through the cold woman’s icy exterior. “It was amazing to sleep on a real bed again after so many days at sea,” she answered Ezra’s question. “Though I must say the world still feels like it is rolling under my feet.”
“You’ve become a true sailor, then, Princess,” Jules said. “That feeling will eventually go away.” He winked. “At least it should,” he added.
Meena laughed properly, feeling more like herself.
“Are you ready to see the finest sights in all of Falqri?” Jules asked.
“Yes!” Meena replied. “At least I am. I believe my husband has some plans of his own today.”
“Oh?” Jules asked, looking expectantly at Sol.
Sol nodded. “I am very interested in the architecture of the fortress,” he said. “I was planning to get a closer study of it.”
Jules stepped forward, offering Meena his arm as he stood between her and Sol. “I can show you the fort any other day, that is hardly pressing. Besides, how could you refuse to spend the day away from your beautiful wife?”
Meena, her hand gently holding Jules’s arm, shook her head. “If anything, we need a little space from each other. We did just spend five days with each other on a tiny ship.”
Jules looked at her in horror. “The two of you newly married and already tired of each other?” He looked to Ezra. “Can you imagine?”
Ezra shook her head. “That must be terribly sad.”
Meena thought she looked more judgmental than sad.
“No,” Jules put his other arm around Sol’s shoulders. “Today, we celebrate. I insist.” Jules stepped forward, literally pulling Meena on one arm and Sol with the other.
Meena grimaced at Sol behind Jules’s back, shrugging apologetically.
Sol did not seem to notice her silent communication. His lips were set in stone and his eyes brewed ominously.
Meena was exhaustedwhen they returned home that evening. “I didn’t know walking could make me so tired,” she hissed as soon as they were alone in their room for the night. “Although I suppose it was more than the walking. We did a large amount of talking, eating, looking, admiring, and laughing. Also, the sun was very hot today, and I feel like that makes me tired more quickly.”
Sol nodded. He remained by the door, silently testing the latch to ensure it was closed.
“My feet are in pain,” she continued. Without making it as far as the bed or a chair, she sank to the floor, immediately releasing her feet from the leather coverings. She stretched her toes. “That feels so much better.”
Sol still stood awkwardly by the door.
“Do your feet hurt?” she asked.
“Yes,” he responded. But he made no move to enter the room or remove his shoes.
as though he should not be there.
Noticing his discomfort, Meena stood, bouncing on her feet to alleviate the pain. “Sol, come in. We’ve spent enough nights in the same room. Be at ease.” She reached out, wishing she could grab his arm and pull him into the room.
“I am not uncomfortable,” he responded. “I’m thinking.”
“Sol,” Meena spoke again. “I’m sorry I couldn’t think of something fast enough to cover for you this morning.”
That seemed to catch his attention as he looked at her then. “He was very forceful about us both coming with them, wasn’t he?”
Meena nodded, not needing to ask who Sol was referring to. “He couldn’t know, right? Why are we here?” she barely whispered the last words.
“We will have to be extremely careful to give him no cause for suspicion,” Sol said. His eyes had wandered again, and a familiar wrinkle appeared between them as he tensed his forehead.
