Page 76 of The Assassin's Dancer
Throwing my cloak over a chair, I collapse onto my chaise longue. “Yes, I’m back,” I say, settling into the soft fabric. “And I’m actually quite tired, so I’d really appreciate if you could?—”
“Where in the realm have you been?” Dahlia charges over to me. I yelp as she pulls me to my feet, shaking me like I’m possessed. “You’ve been gone for two nights, Ami! Two whole nights!” She folds her arms. “I saw you sneaking off, you know. At first I thought you’d run off to be with Prince Orion so I told your maids you were ill, but then both Father and Orion were looking for you yesterday, and Father almost came in here! So I had to make something else up!”
“Like my bird dying?” I narrow my eyes.
She grins cheekily. “I was put on the spot. I had to get creative. And that’s not even what I told Father.” She brings up her hand to stifle a laugh. “I told him that you were simply too in love with Orion! Poor Ami, too overwhelmed with emotion to speak to anyone without swooning, let alone leave her room. He looked quite pleased, actually. You ought to have been there.”
My lips flatten.
I suppose I should be grateful Dahlia was looking out for me. Things could be a lot worse for me right now. I could be being interrogated by Blossom and Camellia, or worse – Father. But still, ‘overwhelmed with love’? Just thinking about Orion makes me feel queasy.
“Oh, stop looking so miserable, Ami,” Dahlia scoffs, throwing her hands down. “Look, I’m sorry for getting carried away with the excuses. After a while, I just got bored and decided to have a little fun with it. But hey, it’s not so bad! You can just pick the one you like most and blame the rest on me.” She grins, and I can’t help but laugh a little.
“Thank you for covering for me,” I tell her. “I’ll admit it’s nice to not come home to a thousand questions.” Very nice, actually. An uninterrupted nap on my bed has never sounded so appealing.
“You’re welcome!” She nods. Then her smile turns into a sly grin. “But don’t think my services come for free.”
“What do you want?” I sigh, drifting over to my bed. “You want more romance books? Heather knows someone who gets them from the inner city.”
I hear Dahlia scoff as I flop onto my freshly cleaned sheets. “I don’t need any more of those. If I want romance, there are plenty of men in the palace.”
I’d shoot her a warning look, but I’m too tired to care. Instead, I edge my way up to the pillows and sprawl out over my bed.
“More chocolate then?” I offer, my voice tired. “I probably have some in here somewhere.”
“I’ve eaten that already.”
This time, I do shoot her a scowl.
“I wantanswers, Ami,” Dahlia throws herself onto my bed. “You were gone forages. Where were you?”
My chest tightens. I can’t tell her. Even if I wanted to, it’s too risky. If anyone were to find out about last night, or even just the whorehouse… All it would take is one slip-up on her part and my reputation would be ruined.
“Ami?” Dahlia prompts, her tone soft. “What is it? Did something bad happen to you?”
“No!” I snap, but then Orion’s green eyes flash through my mind. “Oh, I don’t know.” I roll onto my side.
Dahlia rubs the bare skin of my arm in a soothing motion. “If something bad happened, you can tell me,” she says, for once not a hint of snark in her voice. “I won’t tell anyone if you don’t want me to. I swear on the Stars.”
Tears blur my vision. “Last night wasn’t bad.” I need to stop. I cannot tell her. No one can know.
“Ami.” Dahlia meets my puffy eyes, unblinking. “Did you go back to the Scorpion?”
My heart lurches. “Of course not,” I stutter, but the words come out all wrong and breathy.
“Oh my Stars, you did go back to him!” she squeals. “Did you kiss him?”
Much more than that… But my lips remain sealed.
“Tell me. Tell me. Please!” She kicks her legs against the sheets.
“Nothing happened between us,” I lie.
“So you did go and see him?” she squeals again, delighted. “Oh, this is so scandalous! And exactly what I would do if I were in your shoes. I mean, Orion is handsome and all, but he’s no assassin.” She giggles. “What was it like? Did he throw you against the wall? Stars, I’d love a man to throw me against the wall.”
“Stop!” I bury my burning face into my bedsheets as Dahlia huffs.
“It’s too bad that Orion will probably propose today,” she continues. “At least if you weren’t marrying the prince so soon, then you could always keep going back there.”
