“It was the mates’ bond, don’t forget that. If it hadn’t been written somewhere deep in our DNA to fall in love with each other, I’m sure he would have chosen you. He has respect for you, Marayke, and it would be unfair of me not to admit that he’s got every reason to. You were his right hand in countless battles. You were always loyal to him, no questions asked.”
Her mouth quivers up in a smile. “Respect. I would have preferred to have his love, but I suppose I can live with that.”
Nazarean meows.
“No, Nazarean, I won’t tell her,” I say.
“What is it?”
“He says he likes your witchy nose. He finds you pretty.”
“Well, at least the cat does.”
“Lady Velduros,” one of the fire girls draws her attention. By the look on her face and the tone of her voice, she doesn’t like it that Marayke is softening towards me. Her words sound like a reminder that they’re all supposed to hate me. She hands over some oils for the bathtub, and when Marayke turns to me again and motions towards the bath chamber, she’s changed again. Her features have locked in an iron expression that reminds me this is the same Marayke the Iron Maiden who can manipulate iron even in the blood of people, the Iron Maiden that almost killed my brother a little over a year ago.
“I trust you know what to do,” she says as I disrobe and step into the steaming bathtub, her eyes sliding up and down my frame. “Normally I’d have to initiate you in a few secrets of lustful pleasures, but, it’s not like this is really your first time.”
“Initiate me?”
“No point in talking about it. You don’t need it.”
“I want to know. If I were pure, how would you initiate me?”
Marayke closes her arms across her armored chest as I sink into the foamy hot water to my chin, sparing her the sight of my naked body. She sucks the inside of her cheek and looks around. A darker shade of crimson stains her sharp cheeks as she looks around, her eyes falling on a basket of fruit on a low table by the bed, which she can see from here through the open doorway. There are all sorts of fruit in there, including grapes and bananas.
“I would have, you know, talked to you about things, taught you how to please your king. That’s what the courtesans in your retinue are here for, to prepare you to delight your royal husband on the wedding night. I’m not a courtesan, but since you specifically chose me to come with you, I would have had to do it.”
I look around at the other fae girls that keep busy around the chamber, preparing the rooms but also eavesdropping on our conversation.
“Then teach me a thing or two about how to please my king. But they will have to leave.” I say that out loud.
The girl who interrupted us before, the one whose eyes reproached to Marayke that she was growing soft on me, squares her shoulder and imperceptibly creases her nose.
“You heard the Queen,” Marayke says calmly.
The girls hurry to the exit, only the glaring one remains.
“You, too, Zestari.”
The girl presses her dark lips together, making it more than obvious that she doesn’t approve, but she has to obey. I notice she has very thin lips, and even the way she walks to the door shows that she’s pissed. I think this is a girl used to commanding, not taking orders. I wonder if she’s some sort of chief courtesan.
As soon as we’re alone in the chamber, Marayke heads over to the table. The moment she stops by it I notice the look on her face. There’s a sort of desperation in it, like someone who just found out they’re taking an exam, and they’re completely unprepared. I smile to myself.
“You have no idea what to teach me, do you?”
“I... You chose me to come here with you. Those girls, they have experience, I...” She crosses her arms, her armor shining in the reddish light that floods the room through the window from the volcanic landscape outside. “I don’t. I’m a virgin.”
Well, that’s a relief. At least I know for a fact she never had anything with Xerxes, which is what I wanted to find out, and why I wanted to be alone with her—that, and getting her on my side without the chief courtesan’s influence. But wait.
“Those girls have experience, you say.” Bile rises to my throat. “Hopefully not with the king.”
“I don’t think so.”
“You don’t think so?”
“I’m not sure. He had many women. Before his core got shattered there was a time when he had a different one every night. It’s not like him to sleep with women who serve close to him, in his castle, he always avoided that, but I wouldn’t bet my life he never did it.” She glances to the door. I know she’s thinking the same thing I am. Zestari. Her attitude might come from a belief that I usurped her in some way.
I try to make myself comfortable in the bathtub, spreading my arms over its edges, like a queen.
“Anyway, that’s not why I wanted you here with me tonight. I want to know what happened with that bouquet, and I can’t talk to anyone as openly as I can talk to you.”
She lifts her eyebrows and grimaces like she doesn’t believe me. “You could have asked any of the girls.”
“I only met those girls today. I don’t want to show them any vulnerability. My conversation with people in this castle has been restricted to a few greetings ever since I came here. No one has ever gotten close enough to me so that we could have a real conversation.”
“That’s because they revere you. You’re the Queen. Enjoy it while it lasts.”
“You’re right. I’m the Queen, and therefore you’ll heed my command. So tell me about the bouquet. Xerxes said it was a bad omen. What did he mean?”
“It means just what you and I both know is going to happen. The marriage won’t last.” She lowers her head. “And it means that one of you is going to die.”
The idea clenches around my heart like the tentacles of an angry octopus. That wasn’t in my deal with the Archangel of Death. I fix her with my eyes and, even though she keeps hers on that damn fruit, I know she can feel me. Nazarean jumps on the edge of the bathtub, prowling behind my head, his tail brushing my cheek.
“Marayke, it’s not too late to change your mind. It’s not too late to stop this madness.”
“If that’s your ultimate purpose for getting me here alone, forget it.”
“Marayke, this hatred, it’s not yours. If it was, Nazarean would sense it, he would jump to disfigure you like he did with Kareim when we first met. You’re contributing to his plans, but where is it going to take you?”
She stares out the large window, her sharp cheekbones and her pointy chin glowing in the reddish light. She seems determined to block out my words.
“You think Xerxes is going to take you to wife or even to concubine once I’m gone?” I press on. “He won’t. And if he does, you’re just gonna be the rebound. No man is ready for commitment after such a deception.”
She doesn’t answer, but Nazarean meows, communicating to me what Marayke feels, the vibes he picks up from her.
“You don’t care? You really don’t care what happens to you after he uses you?”
“I’ll find a way to survive. I always do.” Her head snaps to me. “You will as well. You’re a survivor, Cerys Dark, and you’re much stronger than many here, at the Fire Court, give you credit for. But at least neither of us is going to have Xerxes’ heart.”