Page 97 of Tashama
“Here, in front of all of the gods and everybody?”
“In the temple.”
“I must congratulate the prince.”
“Later.” Carissian took her arm.
“Congratulations, Prince!” Tashama shouted over her shoulder as Carissian led her away.
“King, you little fool,” a man said to her.
“King, you little fool!” Tashama shouted back to the prince, then she turned to the man. “My mistake.” She patted Carissian’s hand, gripping her arm. “Is this to be our first date?”
Carissian shook his head. “The king is in such good spirits today, he has ignored your little antics and not had you removed from the proceedings as I would have done.”
“That is because he wants to kiss me.” Tashama quickened her pace toward the temple.
“You were the one who asked for him to kiss you.”
Tashama stared at Carissian for a moment, then smiled. “You only say this, but it is not so.”
“You cannot read my thoughts truly, can you?”
“What makes you think that?”
“Just a hunch.”
“If I cannot read thoughts, how will I know which of the women came to my room last night?”
“You have other gifts.”
They walked into the temple where one of the priests greeted them. “This is highly irregular.” He twisted his belt between his fingers.
“The procedure will only take a few moments,” Carissian said to the priest, then turned to Tashama. “Begin.”
Tashama stood before one of the women, then touched her wrist. She moved to the next. As she made it halfway through the line of women, the king walked into the temple. “Has she identified the woman yet, Carissian?”
“Not yet, sire.”
Tashama touched the correct woman’s wrist, squeezed her wrist tightly, then moved onto the next. Carissian frowned.
“What?”
“The princess showed no recognition, but the woman she just passed up feared having Tashama touch her.”
Tashama finished with the women and turned to Carissian. “None of these visited me in my chambers. The woman must have been an imposter.”
The king said, “Carissian will speak with the woman the tenth from the right on the first row. I wish her name, as well. That’ll be all.”
“I said nothing about the woman, Your Highness,” Tashama said in front of the women before they disbanded from the temple.
“No, the woman told on herself to Carissian.”
“Oh, then I cannot be held at fault.”
“Are you feeling better?” Aleron led her out of the temple.
“I’m feeling much better. Did I have too much wine to drink last night? I cannot remember much about the evening, except for the woman invading my sleep.”
