Page 121 of What Fury Brings
“What’s going on?” he asked.
“You’re finally going home.”
He held up the garment with both hands and clenched his jaw. It was a white skirt, thick enough not to be transparent, but it was covered in faceted beads. He would shimmer as he walked. At least it was dark outside.
“If I’m leaving, then why do I need to wear Amarran clothing?”
“Stop stalling. Start dressing.”
“I want answers, Ydra.”
“You can put it on yourself or I can put it on for you.”
He growled as he turned his back to her. He made quick work of the skirt and didn’t spend too much time looking down at it.
“Smart choice,” she said. “You can come in now.”
Eunuchs from the palace entered, and they got to work putting on his jewelry and, for the first time, makeup.
He coughed when a brush got too close to his nose. Prior to coming to Amarra, he thought makeup was only to be worn on the face, but the eunuchs trailed creams and powders over his chest, arms, and neck, too.
He caught his reflection in a nearby mirror. They’d painted silver swirls on his shoulders. His cheeks were dusted with silver sparkles. They’d outlined his eyes in some sort of thin black paint.
He looked like an Amarran husband through and through.
But why?
They didn’t remove his armband, but they added a silver necklace and the anklet. Thankfully, he was allowed to wear sandals this time. And they didn’t bind his hands or ankles.
One eunuch adjusted his armband, which must have turned in the night, so the hanging onyx was shown front and center. The mark of Olerra as his woman. Sanos hadn’t removed it, even after she’d sent him away.
Olerra entered the room.
She was beautiful in her leather armor. She wore a weapon at each hip and carried a helmet under one arm. Her hair was braided back from her face. War paint was slashed under each eye. The eunuchs were dismissed.
Sanos opened his mouth to speak.
“You will say nothing,” Ydra hissed.
“The fuck I won’t. What is going on?”
Olerra nodded to Ydra, who left them alone.
“Atalius is here with an army at my gates.”
Sanos felt his heart rate pick up. When Ydra said he was going home,he’d thought that meant they were taking him to Brutus, not that his father was hereto collect him.
“I have a plan,” she continued, “but it requires you to wear this and play along. If you do this, you will get what you’ve always wanted. To go home.”
Her voice was so devoid of emotion, they could have been talking about the change of the seasons. She looked tired but strong. Ready for battle.
But he had no clue what she was feeling.
“What if I don’t want to go home anymore?”
“You must. It is the only way to prevent war. Or would you see our people slaughtered here tonight? You’re a general, Sanos. Think like one.”
He held himself tall. “Send me over to the Brutes. Let me talk to my father. I will prevent—”
