“Is leaving a queen unguarded something you would normally do, or do you feel I’m simply not worthy enough to be protected like all the others?”
“That’s not—” I composed myself before facing her again. “Felaf and I are the only ones who know the truth about you. Once we bring your grandparents here, Maryn will want to question them herself. We need to make sure they understand that their long-lost granddaughter is Novah Artemis, a nomadic dancer born in Pipirima.”
“Rahzlyn never existed. To my grandmother, that is,” she said. She shrugged, watching me with an unguarded expression that I couldn’t look away from. “Rahzlyn was who I wanted to be, not the eligible bride my grandmother pawned me off as. It’s not lost on me now, though. That my name isRoselyn? That I happened to be the BlackRosewhen you found me. I know it’s connected somehow. Trust me, I have as many questions as you do.”
Against my better judgement, I was beginning to believe she was inadvertently honest—to a fault.
“There was something about my hair that was paramount for me to get the job,” Rahzlyn continued, oblivious to my frightening inner revelation. “I heard my brother’s friends talking about it, and then Allory when she explained why she couldn’t be the Black Rose even though she was clearly a better dancer than me. Honestly, I think my hair is the only reason I got the job. I was terrible at it.”
Rahzlyn lowered her legs and rose to a seated position again, water glistening atop the swells of her?—
I glanced up again.For fuck’s sake, they’re just breasts.
“Everyone has always been obsessed with my hair,” Rahzlyn murmured. “Including Kole, my… friend. Why? It’s…I’mnothing special.”
Now wasn’t the time to reveal her lover was part of the apostai. Our conversation was surprisingly amiable. She talked to me unguardedly, and I…
I didn’t mind it. I cut a testing glance back down at her, feeling the need for some inexplicable reason to voice, “It wasn’t, by the way.”
“What wasn’t?”
“Your hair wasn’t the only reason.” I cleared my suddenly raspy throat. “Your dancing was far from terrible.”
She’d danced languidly on that stage, her movements fluid and amorous. Many deemed her performance sensual, but beneath the mask she wore, it was her passion that shone through. It was what captivated me the second she stepped onto that stage.
It was why, deep down, I’d lingered in that private room with her for so long before returning to my mission.
She bit back a grin. “Seen many dancers, have you?”
“You were good.”
Her cheeks reddened. “How so?”
“Passionate. Authentic. Evocative.” The words tumbled out before I could stop them, as if needing to be heard by her.
As my admission lingered, her grin blossomed. “You’re not just saying that because I almost seduced you, are you?”
“You didnotalmost seduce me.” Images of her straddling me sent heat up my spine. “Felaf is waiting for me,” I lied. Felaf was still in her chamber talking with Letti, not quite ready to depart.
“Wait,” Rahzlyn suddenly pleaded. “Don’t… don’t go.”
I stared at her in confusion, certain that I was the last person she’d want to keep her company. After everything, I should have been.
“Talking to you is the first time I haven’t felt burdened by everything today,” she confessed. “I know we don’t—I know we’re not—” She chewed at the skin of her lower lip. “Could you stay for a few moments longer?”
A strange spark of lightness touched my chest at her unexpected request. I didn’t know what else to do with it besides taking a stiff seat on the wooden stool not too far from her. But our proximity was too close for comfort. I scooted back.
“Do I make you nervous?” she observed with a grin. “Because if so, I’ll permit your leave.”
“I don’t get nervous.”
Rahzlyn chuckled. “Sure.”
“I’ve seen a lot of things in my life. Nothing scares me anymore.”
“I can’t tell if I’m envious, or…”
“Or what?” I queried. Her already flushed cheeks deepened. I marveled at the expressive coloring. “DoImake you nervous?”
