Ire leaned across toward me, voice low and cruel. “You don’tdeserve to be here, Azure. The best you can do is spread your legs and warm one of our beds—”
Ire’s words cut off as the metal chain he wore suddenly tightened around his throat like a noose, yanking him up into the air. All around the table, blades rose into the air, floating like silver fangs, each one pointing directly at Ire’s throat, chest, and heart.
Blake hadn’t moved from his seat. His voice was cold. Deadly. “I won’t kill you yet. Our team still needs you. Say a word about her once more and I won’t hesitate, king’s nephew or not. Is that clear?”
Ire nodded stiffly, the cocky smile gone from his face. Malissa sat frozen, her cup still raised, tea untouched. Her gaze flicked from Blake to me. For a moment, I felt sorry for her. Her ex-fiancé was at the Red table. Now Blake, her hopeful intended, clearly had feelings for an Azure yin, the kind of woman who shouldn’t have been sitting with royalty at all. But then she spoke.
“Pairing is a funny thing, isn’t it? Men will Pair with anyone if it feels good enough when they’re inside you,” she said to no one in particular. “But that’s very different from a Soul Pairing. That only happens once in a lifetime.”
Of course clever Malissa had figured out that we had Paired. I stared at my plate, a sick twist low in my gut.
Men will Pair with anyone if it feels good enough when they’re inside you.
Blake’s hand found mine under the table, fingers steady and warm. He said, almost lazily, “You always did confuse love with strategy, Malissa.”
Her knuckles whitened.
When I smiled at him, he released Ire without ceremony. Ire dropped back into his seat, flushed but mercifully silent. The knives hovered a moment longer, then dropped one by one back onto the table with a clatter.
As if he hadn’t almost killed one of his own, Blake’s hand rose to my cheek, his bright blue eyes intense.
“Get something to eat, Rubi.”
I needed the space, and he knew it. I stood, taking my plate to the high banquet table in the center of the room.
The buffet was an enticing blend of dishes, offering a tantalizing array of flavors. Steam rose from large bamboo baskets filled with delicate dumplings and egg custard tarts. There were crispy spring rolls alongside soft steamed buns, pan-fried turnip cakes, golden fried strips of dough, and a large bowl of silky congee sprinkled with scallions.
In the center of the spread were trays of tropical fruits like juicy lychee and mangoes. A pot of oolong tea simmered nearby, its fragrant steam mixing with the smell of freshly brewed coffee, creating a heady aroma.
As I scanned the room, I noticed that no one from the Dominion of the Red Phoenix had stood up to take food. Instead, they sat stiffly, as if insulted. I picked up one of the bamboo baskets filled with dumplings and brought it over to their table. The entire dining hall fell silent, watching me.
Auron’s gaze burned through the air between us, his golden-brown eyes flaring like flames trapped behind molten amber. He watched me intently, his focus never wavering.
At his side, Lian scrutinized me with hawklike focus. Her poise was unsettling, as though the slightest shift from me would unleash the fire she held back so tightly.
I bowed to them both as I presented the basket. “May the ever-living flame nourish your spirit and ignite your strength.”
In a disgusted tone, one of the other firens said, “The Azure is an untrustworthy deserter, fighting with the Silvers. It’s because of women like her that they think we’re all cowards.”
I snapped back, “It’s because of women like you that they think we’re all ashbrains.”
There was stunned silence then, although Auron had to hide a chuckle by coughing.
Lian was staring at me, eyes bright with a mix of wonder and apprehension. In the Common Tongue, she asked, “How did you ever learn our language?”
40
“What?” I asked.
“Our language is notoriously difficult, almost impossible for foreigners unless they were trained from infancy,” Auron explained, voice smooth as silk.
“But I don’t speak it,” I said, brow furrowing.
Lian said, “You just did. And your accent was perfect, I might add.”
Amnesia was a complicated thing. I didn’t know what my loved ones looked like, where my home was, my own name. But I could ribbon dance, I knew some customs from other dominions, and it seemed I could speak and understand other languages. I thought of the bow to King Uzar in the Silver throne room.
Why had I learned those things?
