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When he was done, he returned to the main part of the chamber to examine the clothes that the boy had brought in while he was wielding the razor. In place of his travel-stained garments, he found a patterned sarong of rose, blue, and gold that fell to mid-calf and a short, boxy vest of blue silk that would hang open, plus a pair of supple sandals.
Oh, yes, he could work with this.
Once he was dressed, he went out onto the balcony and opened the door to Seth’s room. The room looked much like his own: plush bed and private bath, sideboard loaded with refreshments. But though Seth’s clothes, weapons, and gear made a tidy stack at the foot of the bed, Seth himself wasn’t present.
Not liking that, Raider returned to his own room then exited it into the foyer, where he found the boy waiting outside his door.
“Where’s my … companion?” Raider asked, using the same word that Seth had used for him. It wasn’t inaccurate, but he didn’t like it either.
The boy bowed. “I will take you to the dining hall. He will be there.”
Frowning, Raider followed the quick-footed boy down the stairs then along several hallways to a large room where columns supported a high, arched ceiling. Arcane lamps hung on long chains, casting clean white light.
Low tables ran along the two long sides of the hall, and a shorter table stretched across a portion of raised floor. Well-dressed courtiers sat on bright cushions at the two low tables, chatting and lounging. Servants wearing dhotis or sarongs moved through the space, bearing flagons of wine and platters of food.
As Raider was led to a place at the end of one table, he scanned the faces again, as though he could possibly have missed Seth the first time.
“I thought you said my companion would be here,” Raider growled at the boy.
“He will be,” the boy replied serenely, motioning for Raider to seat himself on a tasseled sapphire cushion.
“Where is he?”
“With Lord Malik.”
Dropping unhappily onto the cushion, Raider resigned himself to wait. More people were filtering in. Seth would be here soon. If he wasn’t, Raider would go find him, even if he had to tear this place apart.
A young woman bent to fill Raider’s cup from a flagon, but he didn’t touch it. He needed to stay alert. He needed Seth to walk in.
Raider grew more anxious with every passing moment. The hall was filling up, and Seth still wasn’t here.
Then, finally, he was. Seth entered the dining hall with Lord Malik at his elbow, the arcanist’s elegant hands pointing out this and that.
Seth had shaved, baring that strong jawline and revealing all the perfect planes and angles of his face. The sun had darkened his skin, making his green eyes stand out even more brightly, even across the room. And, to Raider’s delight, he was dressed in silk shalvar pants of rich saffron. A sleeveless tunic of brilliant emerald was bound at his waist by a sash of lighter green.
It looked fantastic on him.
Malik seemed to think so, too, because he kept finding excuses to touch Seth’s arm and leaning near to speak. Seth would nod and respond, clearly engaged in the conversation.
Well, then. Apparently Seth was just fine.
So much for Raider’s paranoia.
Seth’s eyes roamed the hall until they found Raider. Did his body relax slightly, or was that Raider’s imagination?
It would have to remain a mystery because Seth did not come to sit with him. Instead, he followed Lord Malik to the raised table and was seated in a place of prominence at the arcanist’s right.
Raider picked up his wine. It wasn’t raaki, but it would do.
Moments later, everyone stood as a man who could only be Prince Rahim entered the dining hall. A cloth-of-gold turban sewn with rubies crowned his head, and his sarong and tunic bore a dizzying array of color and pattern. Rahim was a distant cousin of Empress Zarina, but he couldn’t compare to her in either beauty or grace. Though Rahim’s opulent clothing made up for his otherwise uninspiring looks, his body language conveyed more arrogance than authority. Raider’s skin crawled. He knew exactly how dangerous that sort of arrogance could be.
As Rahim took his seat, with Malik on his right, he gave a bored wave for everyone to be seated. More wine was poured and the food went around. There were platters of seasoned meat and vegetables, roasted almonds and fresh fruit. Raider stabbed a piece of pork from a tray. The noblewoman seated next to Raider tried to talk to him, but he only made vague sounds in response and she soon, thankfully, gave up.
Raider caught Seth’s gaze on him from time to time, but mostly Seth was too busy talking to Malik and the prince.
The more Raider watched, the more obvious it became that Rahim and Malik were lovers. The prince kept passing sweetmeats to the arcanist, kept touching him. And yet … Malik continued his smiling flirtation with Seth right in front of the prince.
It chilled Raider. The two of them were testing Seth. For their bed.
