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“Thalia?” Bion looked up at my approach. “Is something wrong with your room?”

“I’m looking for the ambassador,” I explained, starting down toward him. “I thought he would have come upstairs by now.”

The lamplight reached my bare legs, and I froze with one foot on the next step. My robes were still upstairs, exactly where I’d left them for Eryx. I crossed my free arm over my stomach, wishing I’d remembered them before leaving the room.

Bion didn’t seem troubled by my appearance. Of course he didn’t. People in the Wilds thought little of bare skin, and I’d tended enough naked bodies to know how ordinary they were. Apparently, my own was an exception. It was stupid to be shy, but I wanted the light to fall anywhere else.

“Does he know I’m here?” I asked, hating that I had to ask at all.

“He knows,” Bion replied. “But the ambassador keeps his own time.”

He rested a hand on the banister, waiting to hear what else I needed. For a moment, I couldn’t answer. All evening, I’d been wondering whether Eryx was delayed or nervous, or if I’d misunderstood. But he knew I was here. Whatever else had occupied him, he hadn’t thought it necessary to come and speak to me.

I could ask Bion to take me to him. But what purpose would that serve? Was I supposed to stand outside another door while the caretaker explained that the bride wished to see her would-be husband? I’d given up my home to come here. I’d done my duty. What else did Eryx expect from me?

I hadn’t wanted this claiming night. I had no intention of begging for it.

“I’ll speak to him in the morning,” I told Bion. My voice sounded stiff, and I made myself soften it. “Thank you. I’m sorry to have kept you.”

He glanced toward the landing. “Do you need the lamp to get back?”

“I remember the way now.” I drew back onto the upper step, grateful that he hadn’t asked anything else. “Good night, Bion.”

Inside my room, I put down the candleholder and pulled on my robes. The silk caught beneath my arm. I tugged it hard enough to hear a stitch give, then stood still, furious with myself for wanting to cry again. It was a piece of clothing. I could mend it. I wished the rest of this evening were as simple.

He didn’t have to take me to bed. I’d have been relieved if he’d come to say we could wait. But I wanted him to ask. I wanted someone to acknowledge that I’d arrived here with nothing more than a bundle of clothes and a promise made before the village.

Outside, a branch brushed the window. I reached toward it, then let my hand fall. The Forests were here, and Bion had helped. Neither of those things excused the man who’d left me waiting. Tomorrow, he’d have to hear what this evening had been like for me. I didn’t care if it fit whatever arrangement he’d imagined. I wouldn’t just let this insult go.

4

A Proper Conversation

Eryx & Thalia

I was kneeling beside the asphodels when Bion began opening the shutters. He was struggling with one above the courtyard, muttering each time the wood caught. Normally, I’d have gone to help him. This morning, I listened for another set of footsteps beneath the sound of his. I was waiting for my bride.

The grass came loose from the damp soil. I followed each clump down to its roots, careful of the flowers growing beside it. They were the only things I’d brought from Asphodelia that seemed content at Petrion. I doubted Thalia would adapt so easily.

Bion had taken supper to her rooms and assured me she had everything she needed. I’d decided to leave her alone. She’d spent the day standing before strangers while they bid on her. Then she’d traveled here with her father, who had arranged the sale. Surely she deserved an evening of peace. Today, we could talk, perhaps settle whatever fears she still harbored.

Footsteps crossed the entrance hall, and Thalia emerged from the manor. The familiar, vibrant pulse of her life magic made my serpents stir. I drew the nearest coils back against my neck and rose. “Good morning, Thalia. Did you sleep well?”

“I slept well enough,” she replied. “I’d ask you the same, but I shouldn’t have to. My husband should have been by my side yesterday. On our claiming night.”

Her voice was tight with anger. I’d clearly made a grave mistake. “I thought you might prefer an evening to yourself after the journey.” I kept my tone measured. “I didn’t want to disturb you.”

“I took off my robes and waited for you until the room grew cold,” she replied, her voice strained with the effort to keep it steady. “If you weren’t coming, you should have told me.”

Yes, I should have. I should have received her myself, instead of leaving Bion to do it. But I was a Blighted One and she was a shrine maiden of the Korinos Wilds. It hadn’t occurred to me for a moment that she’d want to see me.

“I was prepared to try and make this marriage work.” She came closer, the gravel shifting beneath her feet. “I’ve left my homeland and everyone I knew. You could have done more than send Bion to show me where to sleep.”

There was no defense I could offer, no apology that wouldn’t be worthless. Between us, there could only be the truth.

“You’re right.” A serpent shifted against my shoulder, and I settled it. “I should have welcomed you myself. But I believed a warm bed would serve you better. At least until we can have a proper conversation.”

“A proper conversation?” Thalia repeated. “And what exactly does that mean? When are we supposed to have it?”