Page 103 of A Vow of Embers

When I finished, there was total silence. It was crushing. They had hated it.

I opened my eyes and saw a few people wiping tears from their cheeks, but most were just staring at me.

Alexandros came over and took me by the hand. “That was beautiful.” There was an unidentifiable emotion in his voice. I was trembling and wondered if he could feel it.

Then he brushed his lips against my cheek with a soft kiss and I wanted to melt.

“Thank you, wife.” That strong emotion was still there. I wished I knew what he meant by it.

Then the crowd erupted into loud applause, accompanied by cheering and hollering.

“Another!” someone called out, and a different person took up the same cry. But a legion of servants appeared then, bringing out the food in baskets for the guests.

“I’ll be right back,” Alexandros said and went to talk to the servant who had told us about the entertainers not coming.

Ahyana came over and put her arms around me. “I had no idea you could sing! That was wonderful! Why didn’t you tell me? Kunguru is going to be so jealous.”

That made me smile and I hugged her back. “Thank you. How did your talk with Stephanos go?”

“About as well as could be expected,” she said as she released me. “He still loves her, that much is obvious. He’s in as much pain as Zalira. You should have seen his face when I told him she was here. I worry about what will happen the first time they’re together.”

“That is so awful.”

She nodded. “What about you? Are you all right? I saw you and the prince before the song and I thought the two of you were going to pull your blades on one another.”

“No, I didn’t want to stab him.” For once.

“I don’t understand your relationship,” she said. “I feel like you two use violence as a substitute for intimacy.”

She went strangely quiet when Alexandros returned with Rokh. The prince made introductions, and I was there to witness the very moment that Ahyana fell. Rokh was smiling and looking at her adoringly, as if she were the most beautiful creature who had ever existed, and she had hearts in her eyes as she spoke to him.

“Would you like to join us?” the prince asked.

“Actually, I was hoping I could take Ahyana on a walk to show her ... some things.” Rokh sounded a bit flustered but never took his eyes off her.

“Yes!” she said excitedly. “I would love that.”

She waggled her fingers and grinned at me as she left with him. I waved back and hoped that she knew what she was doing.

Our group did not need any more broken hearts.

Suri caught my gaze and indicated with her head that she would follow Ahyana at a distance. I thought that was a good plan, so I nodded.

The prince reached for my wrist, and the shock of his fingers on my skin made me drop the glass Quynh had given me, which spilled all over the ground.

Quynh was the one who hurried over to help and asked in an impersonal tone, “Would you like more wine?”

I did not need anything that would impair me. “I would prefer water, thank you.”

“I’ll go to Io’s room and get some of yours.”

I hated that this was how we had to behave in public. I reminded myself that I had to accept this situation. It was what Quynh wanted. When she left Alexandros moved closer to me. “Do you remember what we talked about? You can’t jump when I touch you.”

“Maybe you should give me some kind of warning first.”

“That’s not how this is going to work,” he said. Then his hand was on my back and he pulled me to him so that we were flush against one another.

My body’s response was immediate. I let out a short gasp. My bones lost their strength and I went fluid against him, my breath catching. My head was spinning, there was a rushing sound in my ears, and all the blood in my body throbbed with want and excitement for whatever he was about to do.

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