Page 80 of Stars May Burn

“Lady Sophie. Ah, a name as beautiful as your face.” The words were accompanied by a flourish of his hands. His words had a lilting accent I couldn’t place, and I guessed he wasn’t originally from Fenland.

I looked down and smiled as if touched by his words. “Thank you, sir, that is very generous. I’m afraid I don’t know your name?”

“Ah, I am Viscount Von Rubeck of Cerith, ambassador of the glorious emperor, at your service.” He flourished a bow. “Now where has the general been hiding you away? It’s a crime to keep such a beauty as you concealed.” Something about the way he was looking at me sent spiders crawling down my spine.

Kasten’s hand touched the small of my back, and I relaxed a little. He still didn’t speak.

“I’ve been settling into Kasomere, Your Grace.”

He pulled a face. “Backwater place. You must be dying of boredom there. Especially with your husband away on his campaigns. He must never be at home. You should visit Adenburg more often. You have a house in Highfair, do you not? Then we can become better acquainted, and the city would be a brighter place. If your husband is absent I’m still sure I would be able to get you invitations to the best parties.” He grinned again and looked me up and down slowly.

Kasten tensed and his arm wrapped around my waist. I inclined my head with a smile and managed, “That’s very kind,” before Kasten pulled me away.

“Please excuse us,” I said over my shoulder.

“What are you doing?” he murmured curtly in my ear. “You don’t have to smile and agree with a man who is?—”

A smartly dressed man blocked our path, forcing us to an abrupt stop. I racked my brain for his name. Duke James. Frederick had mentioned him before, and though I’d seen him across the room at high-ranking social events, I had never spoken to him. He was highly favored by the king and was in charge of something to do with the city guards.

He nodded as he stood in front of us, his arms folded, and I was just about to curtsy when Kasten took my arm and pulled me in a wide circle around him. “Not him. Don’t even speak to him.”

I looked back at the duke, mortified, and inclined my head in apology. “Kasten, these are the most important people in Fenland. We can’t be so rude!”

Kasten pulled me to a quiet corner and took a deep swig of his wine before glaring out at the room. “You don’t have to apologize to them on my behalf, Sophie. You’re not my servant.”

I pulled my arm free from his grip and looked down, swallowing my emotions with a deep breath. “I’m sorry, my lord.”

Kasten took an abrupt step forward, causing me to step back. “Don’t do that. Don’t just apologize and avoid my eyes. Say what you’re thinking.”

Something inside me snapped, and I barely restrained a glare at his neck, careful to avoid his eyes. I spread out my hands and let my words spill out in a hushed voice. “What do you expect me to do? Everything I do or say seems to be wrong.” The words came out sharper than I had intended.

He stepped closer again, causing my heart to leap to my throat, and I was forced to look up into eyes filled with anger and intense concentration—concentration that was completely focused on me. My mouth dried. This man was impossible to please, and it was hard to think when he was looking at me like that.

“Say what you’re thinking,” he repeated, the words slower and softer this time.

With Frederick, I would have retreated inside myself and closed down until there was nothing left of me to see. But this was Kasten, who was—right at this moment—being simply infuriating. I clenched my fists and buried them into the side of my skirts. “Why are you being so rude? I’m trying to smooth over relationships and help your reputation. What’s the point of me working hard to please these people if you undermine everything I do?”

His lips twitched in a small, victorious smile which only made me angrier. Did he want me to argue with him?

He raised his eyebrows. “By fawning and smiling and joining in their fake words and chatter?” His voice wasn’t loud, but he sounded truly angry. “You shouldn’t have to pander to them.”

I frowned, confused, mortified by his behavior, and at a loss of how to respond. “Well, what do you expect me to do? Of course, I’m going to smile and make conversation and be nice. It’s a party. That is what these events are for. That is my job as your wife. Don’t you have a single friend here? A single ally? How are you meant to survive without people on your side? Surely you know that from strategy for your campaigns.”

He turned his intense eyes to the room. “Some of these people are murderers. Many are liars. That pathetic excuse for a man was practically undressing you with his eyes. I could tell you felt uncomfortable. Yet everyone smiles and bows and acts as if nothing is going on. I’m sick of the facade, and I don’t want anyone thinking they can treat you like that.” He lifted his arms to bracket my shoulders. “These people are not my allies and never will be. Don’t be forced into their games, Sophie, I can’t stand it. Don’t smile and pretend that what is going on is all right, saying only what they want to hear. If there is one thing real in this whole world, I want it to be you.” There was a pain and anger in his expression that I didn’t understand at all.

I opened and closed my mouth, shocked by his words. “I was just exchanging pleasantries with people I didn’t know, Kasten,” I said softly. I looked away.

He jerked away at the hurt in my voice with a muttered curse. “Sophie, I’m sorry.”

I swallowed, desperately trying to read him. “I didn’t mean to make you angry.”

His expression softened. “You didn’t make me angry. You’ve never made me angry. Those people do.” He gestured around the room. “And those who trained you in that constant fake smile and the need to please and self-abase.”

I flinched as if he had hit me. Is that really what he saw in me?

Kasten’s face fell at once, and his arms slipped down to my elbows as if trying to cling to me. “That didn’t come out as I intended.”

I looked down, embarrassed by the tears now pressing on my eyes. Fake smile. Need to please. Self-abasing. I sounded pathetic. His words hurt more than any Frederick had used. I had thought I’d made a far more positive impression on him. He had said I was precious. I was trying so hard to be a good wife, but all he saw was weakness and dishonesty.

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