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“Everything is merely a suggestion to you. I never wanted this stupid party to be about me. Now all of Denoden thinks I’m home for good. And they’re calling me Kala. Explain that to me.”
As if he hadn’t just been the victim of the assassin’s fiery rage, the royal stole a look at Tenah, sizing her up with a lazy grin. A shiver walked down her spine, despite the fact that his stare wasn’t unkind. An anomaly for someone in such a position of power.
“Who’s your plaything, Sut’hik?” he asked, running his hand back and forth over the velvet material beneath him.
Blinking at Tenah like she’d forgotten her presence at her side, Vesara yanked Tenah behind her. “She’s no one.”
Was blinking the signal? Because Tenah didn’t think igniting a royal on fire was a smart idea.
The royal tsked. “Unfortunate. Here I’d believed your little soul-searching adventure had helped you change your ways. Girl, what is your name?”
“Don’t answer him.” A firm order.
Tenah licked her lips, eyes darting between the high-ranking Embassy assassin and the mysterious royal. Which was more dangerous to cross? After the field incident and too many drinks, Tenah didn’t care to aggravate the one with more power to throw her out of the city tonight.
“Tenah Delemor,” she said.
The royal sat up, pivoting his body toward her. “How very curious. Your father reached out to me a few weeks ago. Shame about his health.”
Shock lifted her brows. Then her hands curled into fists. “What reason would my father have for speaking with Denoden?”
The royal ran his fingers over his lips, mimicking a zipper. “I was sworn to secrecy.”
Rage unfurled kernels of fire through her channels. Her father had discredited the northern kingdom in all of his war machinations. Why had he been in communication with their royals?
The royal dangled a slippered foot off the palanquin. “I might be persuaded to part with my secrets if you paid me a visit at the palace sometime. Vesara only shows up to yell and demand things from me.” He threw her an accusatory look. “It gets so lonely.”
“I suppose if that’s a command, I can’t refuse,” Tenah replied.
His unrefined laughter filled the air, startling her. “Can we keep her, Ves?”
Vesara bristled. “She isn’t a possession.”
“No?” He feigned shock.
“But something thatismy possession was supposed to be returned to me this evening.”
“Calm down. Don’t make a scene.” The royal motioned at one of his guards. A silk bag was produced and handed over to Vesara. Before Tenah could ask, the assassin hauled her back under the cover of the tents, stars and flames blurring in her vision along the way.
“Tonight’s the night. I think I’ll kill him,” Vesara muttered.
“Who was that?” Tenah asked, her voice sounding wrong in her ears.
“Izral.”
Tenah stopped in her tracks. “That was the King of Vristar you just insulted?”
“Yeah, he’s a lech. He thinks everyone is his to play with as he pleases. When he’s intrigued by something, he feels entitled to it.”
Tenah’s brows furrowed. She’d just met the king and disclosed her family name, and he hadn’t immediately thrown her in prison. What the hell was going on? Did her father have some sort of secret connection with Izral, and if so, would Izral have insight into his whereabouts?
Vesara grabbed her by the shoulders. “You are never allowed to visit him. He won’t give you what you want. He won’t spare resources to help you.”
The assassin left Tenah slightly irritated and sashayed over to the feast. Emboldened by the wine, Tenah returned to where Gireth was draped over his mountain of pillows. She took his drink and set it down on the barrel serving as a table. His cheeks were flushed, and his smile worn-in as she struggled to hoist him onto his feet.
“You’re going to fall asleep if you sit here any longer.” She huffed.
His toothy grin was contagious. “Didn’t peg you for the wild type.”
