Page 29 of In the Ravenous Dark
I fold my arms and turn away from him and the too-bright sunlight. “Sonowyou want to act like my father. Too late, I’m afraid. And after the help you offered me last night, I’m definitely better off taking care of myself.”
“That’s unfair,” he says quietly, and the hurt in his voice stabs at me. “You know they have your mother. They haveyou. I can’t—”
“Can’t step out of line, can’t fight back, can’t do anything, I know.”
He’s silent for a few heartbeats. “What would you have me do?”
“I don’t know.Something!”
“Somethingisn’t always wise, Rovan,” he says. “You don’t understand—”
“I understand that you’renotthe man who was taken fromMother and me years ago.” He stares at me in shock, but I hold his gaze as I add, “That man is dead. That little girl is dead, too, so it’s best we just get used to it.”
He flinches.
Finally, he says, “Maybe you’re right. In any case, you won’t like what I’ve come here to say, so I’ll just be out with it. You are expected to attend lessons, social engagements, that sort of thing. You’ve already missed an appointment this morning.”
My mouth drops open. “Goddess forbid I miss mysocial engagements.You know what, the crown prince can roll up the schedule he’s made for me and eat it. I hope he chokes.”
“Yes, you’ve made your preferences on that quite clear. But you should know that after last night the crown prince is no longer—”
“Crown princethis,crown princethat. Even if you’re not one of them, you do like to go on about them. I plan to ignore the lot as much as possible, like normal.” I haul myself upright, but instead of moving for the washroom or anything more useful, I fall back on the bed. “You know, sometimes doing nothingcanbe effective. I’m going back to sleep.”
“Rovan,” my father says a little desperately, “you can’t just stay in here.”
“What, are they going to torture me for skipping lessons? And if I can thwart even their smallest plan for me, or even make their day slightly less pleasant, then I will. It’s theleastI can do,” I add, before dragging a pillow over my face to block out the light. “Close the curtains on the way out.”
A few moments later, I hear the swish of heavy fabric and the soft thud of the door. I don’t bother to check that he’s left.
I can swear my father hasn’t been gone longer than a few minutes before I hear the door open again and another voice in the room, startling me.
“Are you awake?” The source of the voice moves to part the curtains with a flourish.
“Japha?” I groan, sitting up so fast my head swims. I throw up a hand to shade my eyes.
Japha stands in a shaft of sunlight, wearing a lovely floor-length peplos of bright orange woven with red and white poppies, the same orange painting the lids of their eyes along with a dark line of kohl. They’ve belted the garment with a leather pteryges, like a male warrior would wear over a shorter chiton.
“Hello, my dear.” There’s a pause, and then Japha fans a hand in front of their face. “One thing’s for sure, you need a bath. It reeks of booze in here. Are you ready to wash and get on with your day yet?”
“No,” I say, dropping back onto the bed.
“Fine, I will entertain you in the meantime.” Japha sits in the chair near the rose desk. “Let’s see, what news do I have… Well, the old king, Neleus, is dead. My uncle, former crown prince Tyros, is the new king, so long live the king and all of that.”
“Hurrah,” I rasp, staring at the leafy canopy as my hands clench at my sides. That’s probably what my father was trying to tell me. In the wake of everything else, the death of one king doesn’t mean much to me, only that a man I hate is now even more powerful.
“My thoughts exactly. The old codger chose to fall on his sword instead of drink hemlock or let sickness take him. Hard as nails until the end—though only Uncle Tyros witnessedthatin the necropolis, so maybe he’s putting a valiant spin on it. Can’t say as I’m sorry to see the old man go, other than it means my cousin Kineas is the new crown prince. The evil squid.”
I snort with enough force to jerk my shoulders against the bed. “Squid?” Although the sea ice is freezing along the coast from the blight, there’s still one channel out from the port and under the veil to the deeper ocean for traders and fishing boats. I’ve seen plenty of squid in the market: sad, pale, limp little creatures when out oftheir element. Imagining a squid with Kineas’s face makes me laugh despite myself.
Japha says, “He’s a slippery one, quick to strike with those tentacles of his, whether it’s to stab someone with a sword or snare some poor unsuspecting girl.Slimymight be the better word.” They give an audible shudder. “I’ve heard more than rumors. Accusations of violent treatment in his bed and even word of some commoner girls gone missing, all of which are quickly silenced with heavy purses and likely heavier threats.”
I sit up, squinting at them, or maybe wincing from the pain. “Do you really dislike your cousin, or is this all some sick game to win my trust?”
Japha meets my gaze. “Iwouldlike to win your trust… but with the truth, if I can. And what you need to understand now is that everyone here is playing some sort of game, sick or otherwise, and you want to be on the winning end as much as possible. I think we would make fine teammates.”
I scowl as my hands twist in the blankets alongside me. “This is my life, and it was justruined, my mother has been taken captive, and… my father…”
I don’t know what to say about my father, really. I should be thrilled he’s alive, but it’s all so much more complicated than that. I still want my father, but the father who was taken from me nearly thirteen years ago.
