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“The people know that if the shadow is split in half, it will be weak enough to control. They swallowed half and gained mastery over the shadows.”
“Oh, is that how you can—” She wiggled her fingers. “You know, do the thing?”
“Yes. The karu were not able to save us from the darkness, but they joined us, and together we are stronger than the darkness.”
Lenore sat still, as if absorbing his words. “That’s really lovely. Thank you for sharing. I suppose it’s my turn now.”
“Only if you want. I will not insist.” Though he was curious.
She sighed. “It’s not original or that exciting. I met Brad in college. He was charming and good-looking. We were both studying to be doctors. We wanted the same things, or so I thought. I took some time off from school to work and support him while he finished his residency. I didn’t mind. We were building a life together, you know? When it came time for me to do my residency, suddenly, it became a problem. We argued all the time about housework and cooking meals. He wanted a hausfrau, which is fine, but it’s not me.” She paused to take another sip. “Long story short, he started sleeping with a colleague, and I moved back home to my parents. Three years happily divorced, and I was finally getting my career back on track when the portals happened.”
“If he expected you to tolerate being treated so poorly, he did not know you in any meaningful way,” Baris said.
“That’s kind of you to say.”
“Do you miss him?” he asked.
“Not really. Not anymore. At first, I was too upset, then sad, and I felt like a chump. A huge chump,” she said, stretching out huge for emphasis. “But I don’t miss his lack of respect. I don’t miss the way he talked down to me, like I was a kid playing with one of those pretend doctor kits.”
Baris wished all the worst things for Lenore’s former mate and regretted that the male was on the other side of the universe, too far away for Baris to make those terrible things happen.
“My mate was chosen for a political alliance to bring peace between our houses,” he said. “I did not know her well, but I hoped we could grow fond of one another. That did not happen. Her family and traitors within my court orchestrated my abduction, forced a union between us, and brutalized me.” He lifted his right hand to demonstrate. The Starshades had done worse, taking the life of his karu. He wanted Lenore to understand that there had been no affection in his union.
“They forced you? Like they’d—” She drew a finger across her throat.
“What a delightful gesture. I assume it means to decapitate. Yes, they threatened me, thinking pain would beat me.”
“Pain’s a pretty strong motivator,” she muttered.
“I am not one to be intimidated. All they accomplished was to give me the motivation to seize their assets, confine them to an outer planet, cut off communication, and execute the conspirators.”
Lenore whistled. “They fucked around and found out.”
“You are not disturbed by my brutality?”
She shifted in her seat, folding her legs in the other direction. “Was it necessary?”
“Regretfully.”
“Did you enjoy it?”
That was more difficult to answer. “It did not upset me. It also did not bring the satisfaction I craved.”
“You’d be a real monster if it did,” she said.
The moment stretched out between them, comfortable and amiable. Outside, the world hurried on. In this room, they were still. If he could stay in this moment, carved out from a busy life, he would.
Lenore slapped her thigh and stood up. “Time for a bath. You stink, Your Majesty.”
Baris resisted the urge to sniff himself. He was a king. There were standards to uphold. “I apologize if my…personal aroma is offensive.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Don’t worry about it. Bodies are gross. That’s the default. But a bath will go a long way to making you feel human again. Like yourself again,” she quickly added.
He hadn’t felt like himself in so long, he couldn’t remember what he felt like before, but he saw little point in arguing the finer details with her. Lenore had been right on every account so far.
“Join me,” he said.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
