Page 51 of Golden Queen
"I did. When do we leave?"
He shook his head, chuckling ruefully. "You'll need to accompany me, Aelia. In a place where it will be expected for us to at least appear to be...close, intimate even."
I thought he was waiting to see horror on my face, but I was stuck—stuck on the way he had said my name,Aelia, as though it was an endearment.
All he did was use my name. But it affected me just as much as if he had leaned over to me and trailed one of those long fingers across my collar bone.
"I can do that," I said, willing my pulse to calm and shrugging as though it was no big deal. "I am rather good at playing pretend."
I added the last in some vain attempt to quell the hunger that I felt licking up my spine at the idea of usclose, intimate even. The truth was I was as bad an actor as I was a liar.
But he seemed to accept the answer with some relief. "Can you come tonight?"
Eight
Imet the Prince on Merchant's Square. He stood on the darkened street holding the reins of a single large horse.
He took one look at me and said, "That will never do," regarding the demure dress of pale gray linen. "But the hair—that's a nice touch."
I had used a tint on my white hair to turn it a soft shade of brown.
His approval rolled over me like warm water, making my cheeks burn. It almost shamed me that it could make me feel so fucking pleased. After all, didn't I already know the darkened hair was a nice touch? I didn't need anyone's approval.
We rode through the streets, his body behind me a presence that seemed to nearly scald me where his chest lightly touched my back.
When we reached the road leading to the Mercury District, he let the horse make its own pace. He wrapped an arm around my waist to steady me, and my breath hitched in my throat. Such a ridiculous reaction from so small a touch. I was sure he could feel the shaking in my legs, the nervous energy coiling in my limbs in response to it.
I wanted to reach down and lay my arm across his, slide my hand down to his and feel the long fingers that ever so slightly curled around my side.
But I did not, and by the time we dismounted at Master Juriae's manse, my back ached from the tension of holding my body rigid so that I would not lean back and rub against him like a cat.
Since the Radune party was still ensconced in the castle, the house was empty save for a few servants and Aben and Britaxia. The two mages were lounging in a sitting room, looking for all the world like a couple at home for the evening, reading in front of a fire.
After the Prince explained what we needed, Britaxia smiled, rather like a cat herself, and led me up the wide marble stairs to her chambers.
It took going through the entirety of her very sizable wardrobe before we found something that would fit. A slinky, black dress with a vee so deep it nearly reached my navel.
I looked positively inappropriate. My cheeks burned with shame to even be standing in the privacy of Britaxia's chambers like that.
"You look delicious," she told me as she straightened the edge of the filmy material where it lay across my breast. I wore no undergarments beneath the dress, but at least the deep black color did something to hide the outline of my nipples through the fabric.
My own soft gray slippers finished the look, and by the time I was back beneath my cloak, and we re-entered the sitting room, I had convinced myself that I need not ever remove it. In that case, I could go through with this little adventure.
We left by carriage. It surprised me by turning further into the Mercury District instead of where I had imagined we would be going out to Antevemer street.
"There's a party of sorts at the home of a merchant called Mikas Terrathin," the prince explained after I asked where we were going.
He paused, mulling something over as he looked across at me. He shook his head. "We should not be doing this. This is a terrible idea. Maybe the stupidest thing I have ever—"
"I can do it," I interrupted.
"I have no doubt that you can, but this party...it's known to be wildly lascivious."
"Have you forgotten where we met? I am no blushing maiden, Your Highness."
He winced a little, and I hardly blamed him. I was not a good liar, and that was a particularly bold one.
But he surprised me. "Call me Io...please. At least where you can. And I won't be attending this party as myself, so the title and my other name will not do."
