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His ears perked up.
“Dockk dockk. Hama.”
Knight came to her and heeled, his posture perfect.
“Oedann,my brave Knight. You have already shown the Hesperines your good character. Let us give them no reason to doubt it tonight.”
“Don’t look so worried, my lady,” said Perita. “He hasn’t bitten off any body parts yet.”
“It’s true he gets on well with most Hesperines, but Hippolyta and Master Arkadia seem to awaken his sense of danger.”
“At the welcoming ceremony,” Perita reminded her, “the Guardian of Orthros put him on his belly with a look. I doubt he’ll try anything with her again. Now then, my lady, you’d best have a quick bath yourself so you don’t wear half your dog’s fur to the Summit Games.”
Cassia’s hasty scrub at the wash stand was an injustice to the warm, running water that was a matter of course in Orthros but still felt like a luxury to her. She joined Perita at the dressing table so her handmaiden could set her to rights.
As Perita fished in the clothing trunk, Cassia cast a longing glance at a sapphire-blue, diamond-patterned gown. That would match Lio’s eyes and his colors in the coming competition.
But Cassia must carefully follow the plan they had agreed upon for tonight. Crucial politics hinged on the most minute symbolism, and grave dangers lay in a moment of sentiment. She wanted to do her part in their conspiracies so she didn’t let him and his Trial circle down.
“I shall wear gold tonight,” Cassia announced.
“This velvet one, the color of ripe wheat?” Perita held it up.
Cassia nodded. “I must beg Callen’s and your forbearance. I think it only appropriate that I wear Segetian colors to any tournament, regardless of who is or is not competing.”
Perita sighed. “Aye, the way the embassy sees it, Lord Flavian’s your champion, even if Sir Benedict is the only one around to stand in for him. I hate to admit it, but I suppose you’ll have to wear gold until Lord Fancy Soap steps up and gives you better colors.”
Cassia smiled at the epithet her friend had given her mystery lover in honor of the gift she had accepted from him. She had told Perita almost everything about him, except that he was the Hesperine ambassador.
While Perita attired her, Cassia studied her friend. “Why doyoulook so worried?”
“All the men are twitchy about this visit to Hippolyta’s Gymnasium. None of them want to stand around and watch the Hesperines show off their prowess, least of all Callen. It grates on him enough that his leg sets him back against his own countrymen. Being no match for the enemy, and females at that, just rubs salt in his wounds.”
“I would sooner trust my life to Callen on one good leg than to the king’s entire able-bodied guard. Besides, according to the itinerary, tonight’s athletic events are intended as ‘a celebration of valor, a commitment to honor, and a tribute to the battle arts.’ I think the Hesperines are trying to find common ground with our warriors, rather than alarm them with a show of strength.”
Perita’s frown deepened. “You don’t suppose the Hesperines wrestle in the nude, do you, like our men do when they think we aren’t looking?”
“Why?” Cassia arched her brows. “Are you worried our menfolk will remove us from the gymnasium before we get a peek at what’s hidden under all those silk robes the Hesperines wear?”
“Iwill remove Callen before he gets to peek at Hesperine seductresses. There are women who are invisible when they turn sideways because that Arkadia got all the figure.” Perita mumbled something else under her breath that sounded like, “Not all of us can afford to be an armful.”
It was hard to fathom that pretty Perita would experience an instant of worry about how she compared to any fellow female. But Cassia had learned from her recent fears about Xandra just how unreasonable jealousy could be.
“Don’t worry for a moment, my friend,” Cassia reassured her. “Callen sees through the eyes of love, which grant true sight. His gaze won’t stray from you.”
Surprise flashed in Perita’s eyes, and her expression lightened. “That’s quite something for you to say, my lady. Did you learn that from the way Lord Fancy Soap looks at you?”
“Yes. Yes, I did.”
They had just finished pinning a beribboned veil over Cassia’s braid when a knock came at the outer door.
“My lady,” Callen called, “we’re ready when you are.”
“Let Callen in and see if I’m not right,” Cassia said.
With a smile, Perita headed for the sitting room. Cassia followed with Knight, pausing to pick up his training lure to take with them. Seeing that playtime was in store, he perked up his ears and wagged his tail.
Perita opened the outer door for her husband. The sight of King Lucis’s coat of arms here in the middle of Orthros sent a shock through Cassia. Callen wore his leather breastplate embossed with the present-day king’s heraldry over a blue and gold tunic, as befitted a special guard of the royal household.
