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Where was Chrysanthos? Trying to break away from one of the princess’s friends, it seemed, without success. The curly-haired, blond female Hesperine ensnared him in conversation. One by one, the princess’s peers picked off Cassia’s escort. A female with long, straight dark hair put Eudias at ease. Lyros drew Benedict and Severin into a discussion of fighting techniques while Mak showed Callen a place Perita could sit down. Even the indefatigable Semna dozed at the hearth, and her attendants breathed sighs of relief.
At the edges of the room lounged a dozen other Hesperines, just as well-dressed, but Cassia recognized them from the clandestine Charge patrols she sometimes saw at the guest houses when sneaking out with Lio. A couple of the disguised Hesperines errant attached themselves to Skleros every time the Gift Collector moved. It appeared they were his intimate companions for the evening, compliments of the First Prince. Finally Skleros parked himself at the hearth at the far end of the room and took the liberty of using the princess’s fire to light a smoke. He leaned on the mantle, puffing and scowling.
Before long, Lio and Cassia stood before the princess, free of any retinue or enemy. Knight wagged his tail, the princess smiled at him, and Cassia had to tell him to heel three times while trying not to chuckle.
A subtle, superfluous motion of Lio’s hands caught Cassia’s eye. Had he just stopped himself from putting his hands behind his back?
Lio cleared his throat. “Eighth Princess, allow me to introduce Lady Cassia.”
The princess winked at Cassia. “I’ve heard so much about you, I feel as if I know you already!”
Cassia smiled back. “The feeling is entirely mutual, I assure you, Eighth Princess.”
“Yes,” said Lio. “I understand you’ve already learned a great deal about Princess Alexandra this week.”
Realization stung Cassia, and her throat closed. The princess’s name was Alexandra. Alexandra.
Liowastrying not to put his hands behind his back.
The princess was the famous Xandra, who had for so many years been the sole focus of his affections. The one he had believed he would avow.
Cassia tried not to look at the rug under her feet, but she must still stand on it.I always went to her at her family’s House,Lio had said.As intimate as we were… Xandra and I explored…
Cassia’s hospitality to Lio in her own hearth room had not been such an exceptional experience for him after all. What was a threadbare Tenebran rug compared to silk carpets and cushions?
Cassia’s voice came out too high, too pleasant. “Can you imagine, the one thing I have not heard about you, Princess Alexandra, is your name.”
Xandra gave her a rueful look. “Well, I would rather you know of my character. First impressions are very important,” she reminded Cassia.
Lio was looking back and forth between them, and the panic in his eyes told Cassia this was not going as he had planned. At all.
When they had spoken of her conversation with the princess, he had thought Cassia knew everything. He hadn’t realized he needed to warn her.
Warn her of what, precisely? Cassia insisted of herself. What more could they do to make her feel welcome? It was surely only she who struggled with petty feelings. They were the perfect hosts. They were perfect.
Xandra cleared her throat indicatively. “This is my guest from the Empire, Harkhuf Addaya Khemkare…” She recited a dizzying list of lineage and titles, resting a hand on her companion’s arm in a way that made it very clear precisely how she was entertaining her guest.
He smiled, and the frosty maidens of Chera probably melted behind their veils at the sight. This Imperial challenger would usurp Flavian and Chrysanthos’s devotees, were they here to glimpse his handsome face. He might be mortal, but his dark ochre skin was smooth and devoid of scars, and his teeth were as clean as a Hesperine’s. His gold jewelry and embroidered tunic looked to be worth more than a free lord’s entire treasury.
“Please excuse my Vulgus,” he said in perfect Vulgus. “As the Divine Tongue is the predominant language here in Orthros, it has occupied the greater part of my studies.”
Xandra beamed. “How fortunate that both were included in your education for office in the Imperial administration.”
“Yes, for I rejoice at this opportunity to meet Tenebrans for the first time. Please call me Harkhuf, as my friends here in Orthros do. Is not the respectful egalitarianism of our Hesperine hosts a breath of fresh air after life at court?”
“I’m so glad you could be here tonight.” The princess caressed his arm again. “Harkhuf had to receive special permission from his cousin, the Empress, to meet Tenebrans despite her strict laws against allowing your people any contact with hers.”
“We are…outlawed in the Empire?” Cassia stumbled onward. Politics. She must seize onto politics, the program of the evening that would see her safely through this painful course.
“No visitors from Tenebra or Cordium are allowed to set foot on our shores,” Harkhuf confirmed, “and Imperial guests to Orthros must not associate with the Tenebran embassy without express permission. I regret to say the brief contact between our peoples in the distant past had long-lasting consequences.”
Lio started talking politics as well. “It was the Order of Anthros’s only expedition that reached the Empire. Their conduct was such that they destroyed both Cordium and Tenebra’s chances of a relationship with the Empire.”
“Should Tenebran or Cordian ships be sighted in Imperial waters again,” Harkhuf said, “they are to be warned to turn back. They only receive one warning.”
So Harkhuf was the princess’s share, but possibly also the Empress’s eyes upon Orthros’s proceedings with the Tenebrans. Cassia met his gaze. “I deeply regret that anyone from my part of the world behaved so dishonorably in the Empress’s lands. I hope tonight will provide us with an opportunity to make amends.”
“Speaking of misbehaving mages…” Lio said through his teeth.
