Kole’s head swiveled in my direction. He regarded me warily. “What, exactly, have you heard?”
I shrugged. “Only that.”
“Are you loyal to your charge or to his mother?”
I nodded at Jere.
“Interesting.” A sly grin formed across his pierced lips. “What do you wish to know?”
“Everything.”
“Quite the rebellious guard, aren’t you?”
I detested the superior tone he regarded me with. “Comes with the job.”
“I could tell you about the dancer.” He shrugged. “Or I could tell you about what she represents.”
“How about both.”
Kole chuckled. I studied his gray, calculating eyes. This man held an air of egotism that differed from Jere. Where Jerepresumed himself to be intelligent, Koleknewhe was to some degree.
Beside me, Jere asked, “Am I still your hostage, or can I leave?”
“If you keep your word, I’ll keep mine,” I reminded him with lethal intensity. To Kole, our words still masked as those exchanged between disgruntled charge and dutiful guard.
Jere grumbled before pushing off the couch. His silhouette disappeared behind the curtains and into the throng of vulgarity. I could only hope he finished his drink and that the memory-hindering tonic worked.
If it didn’t, I’d need to get whatever I could from here and return to Scorpio with the black rose before word reached King Zephyr of my alleged presence.
“So. How exactly did you hear about our black rose?” Kole inquired too casually. I detected an undercurrent of suspicion, as though I shouldn’t have known of its existence. “Before coming into Jere’s service.”
“My comrades like to talk.”
Kole’s eyes squinted slightly, doubt shining in them. “What else have yourcomradessaid?”
I chose my next words carefully, speaking to what I knew about the apostai cause. “That they want more than this world can give them.”
He spread his arms broadly. “It’s ironic. We all need the sun to live, and yet it curses us all. Where the sun is when we’re born determines where we’re bound to live. It forces us into poverty, isolation, submission.”
“Interesting perspective,” I muttered.
“Many come here seeking reprieve from such barriers. Looking instead for lust, love, money, to name a few, hidden from the nosy Astrals. Serpentine was founded to serve as aplace for humans to both lose and find. So tell me,guard,what are you searching for?”
The question wasn’t as straightforward as he made it seem. He sought something simple yet philosophical. While we knew little of the apostai’s motives, we’d gathered that they believed the Zodiac, the very magic system comprising the twelve Astrals, worked against the common people in favor of Chosens and nobles. They likely believed that by bringing about the downfall of the Zodiac’s magic and the end of the Astrals’ reign, life and society could bemorein the hands of the people. Their attacks on temples and sacred grounds, and most recently on Cyrene’s family to prevent their sacrifice, proved that further.
“Something greater than what is,” I replied calmly enough to hide my distaste. From all I’d seen, people couldn’t be trusted to lead when left to their selfish whims and desires. We needed the Astrals as they needed us.
Kole regarded me for a beat. “That is what the Black Rose signifies,” he said, testing the words. As though he was surprised but pleased he could say them. “That is what lures so many here, including yourself.”
“How could a dancer represent that?”
“Because she’s prophesied.”
“Prophesied,” I repeated dubiously. Kole didn’t seem to like that response, so I schooled myself into neutrality.
“How long have you been marked?”
Marked. Whatever I’d said or done was enough to garner his trust. He believed me to be one of them—the apostai.
