Page 62 of Queen of Shadows and Ruin

When Abishek’s friends began asking Zarya and Rabin about the paramadhar bond, it was Amir’s turn to interfere until Rabin threw him a glare so withering that he finally shut up.

Zarya politely answered their queries while Rabin simply nodded, his shoulders tense and his jaw hard.

As the conversation continued, the fairies resumed their entertainment, moving through the crowd and offering favors to interested guests.

Zarya had difficulty taking her eyes off them as heat swirled below her navel. Rabin was conversing with a man across the table, asking about the process of the Bandhan and the procedure they’d undergone with Thriti.

Well, conversing might have been too strong a word. The man kept asking questions, and Rabin kept returning a series of short grunts resembling affirmative or negative answers.

What he needed was something to take his mind off things.

Her gaze once again slid to the fairies and their sensual dance before her hand landed on his knee. She felt him tense, his breath hitching as she walked her fingers up the inside of his thigh.

“And what words did the mystic recite?” the Aazheri asked. “Was it a song or a poem, perhaps?”

“Words?” Rabin asked, his voice dipping noticeably as her hand traveled higher, her fingertips gently brushing the bulge between his legs.

He cleared his throat as the Aazheri repeated his question while she made small circles, her fingers inching closer. Rabin shifted, his shoulders rolling. She clamped down on her grin, delighted at how this was throwing him off.

“Yes?” the Aazheri asked. “What did the magic look like? How did it feel?”

“Feel?” Rabin asked as his gaze slid to her for the briefest of seconds, where she detected a hint of What are you doing? in his expression.

“Yes,” the Aazheri asked. “Are you quite all right?”

“I…” Rabin shook his head.

“My honored friends!” Abishek said, standing up, clapping his hands, and rescuing Rabin from further interrogation. “That concludes dinner. We’ll continue with the entertainment if you all take your seats on the other side of the room. You’ve had a small taste of our special guests”—he nodded towards the fairies huddled behind the bars—“and they have so much more to offer.”

He clapped sharply again, ushering in a string of vanshaj servants, all bearing a silver tray covered with dozens of glasses, each one steaming with frothing clouds of white smoke.

“I’ve also procured some bottles of mist wine that I hope you’ll share with me.”

An excited murmur circled the room, followed by the scrape of chairs as everyone stood to snatch a glass. They shuffled to the far end, gathering around the low tables to continue chatting.

“Zarya, are you all right?” Abishek asked, approaching her. “You’ve been quiet this evening.”

“I’m fine, just a bit tired. Go and enjoy yourself. If it’s okay with you, I might head to bed early tonight.”

“Of course,” he answered with a tip of his head. “But have some wine before you leave. You’ll like it very much.”

“Sure,” she said. “Now, enjoy yourself, and don’t worry about me.”

Abishek smiled and grabbed her shoulders before kissing her on each cheek, pulling back, and staring at her. “You’ve made me so happy, my daughter.”

Her heart leaped in her chest every time he said those words, thumping with the force of all the wishes she’d carried for so long.

“Me too,” she answered before Abishek clapped Rabin on the shoulder and then crossed the room to join his guests.

Zarya watched the servants passing glasses of mist wine around the room, noting how the translucent smoke filled the air around them. “What’s mist wine?”

“A mild hallucinogen,” Rabin said. “Very difficult to find. They skim water from the surface of the hot springs when the moon is full and the stars are aligned just right.” He snorted. “Or it’s all bullshit, and someone just told a very good story, adds some drugs to basic spirits, and charges a fortune for it.”

Zarya turned around to notice Amir hovering in her periphery. Oh, for fuck’s sake. Couldn’t he take a hint? Hoping to discourage any further interaction, she turned the other way. Unfortunately, it didn’t work.

“Zarya,” came his clipped voice a moment later. “I hoped you would join me for a walk in the gardens.”

She willed patience and slowly turned around. “Gardens? It’s a little cold for that, isn’t it?”