Page 68 of Of Monsters Of Kings

His voice had curled around me, and he tightened the noose now. “Perantiqua, I give you dawn until dusk to adjust yourself to the idea that I will see you. As day turns to night, I return to this place, and we shall converse, or I shall speak and you shall listen. At dusk, I return to this place that… it would not do for other kings to see. What exactly has happened here?”

I cared not for more riddles. “Go and do not come back, King See.”

I’d intended for our acquaintance to be great and long-lasting, and that things were like this after a short time left a sour taste in my mouth.

Slamming my door, I flopped onto the bed, sending dust glittering in every direction. The press of See’s power disappeared, but his promise lingered to disturb me. I had until dusk. He’d said so, and I believed him. Who did he think he was coming to my hotel uninvited?

“A king, that’s who,” I answered myself.

How bitterly disappointing that sentiments had changed between us since the bodysuit affair. Over and over, I replayed the night in my mind. Why did I let him see through my wool coat? Because I had. Why then did I throw the coat off and the robe too? I’d squirmed on the floor like a… like a… Was there a word for such a display? Then after, to play out his whisperings on my own body.

Where would I have stopped?

I wouldn’t have stopped. That was the shameful truth. I wouldn’t have stopped because whatever bloomed between us in his tower had burned me up with so much wanting that I’d become more animal than person. When he’d stopped proceedings, I’d cried more than when my own mother died. I’d cried like a child, and he’d had no idea why, and I had no idea either.

I felt like a fool and very confused. I felt like King See must know ancient secrets about such interactions that he’d wielded against me. Yet I’d done everything to myself. He hadn’t touched me once and had barely spoken.

Since my last slumber, I’d felt quite ancient. To be rendered nineteen again felt terrible. I wondered if I might hate King See for inspiring such things in time.

Turmoil and strife weren’t great ingredients for a settled sleep.

So like every day this week, though monsters’ slumber held my body still, I was aware of the tossing and turning of my tumultuous mind through sunlight hours. When dusk’s yawn woke me, I stared at the crumbling ceiling for a time, then dragged myself out of bed with all the enthusiasm of attending my own funeral.

Valetise offered a dress instead of oversized garments, and I held the gown high, feeling a slight distrust that it wasn’t hooded and made of thick material.

The simple white dress would leave parts of me bare that I’d thought to cover in King See’s presence until the end of time. My arms, neck, and feet would be left revealed. The material was both smooth and coarse, a mixture of fibers, and that seemed purposeful.

When I slid into the dress, the bodice hugged me, and the feminine flare where the skirt began was more obvious. The knee length of the piece suggested a youthfulness and burning inner beauty. I was surprised to discover that I wanted to portray exactly that. I wanted King See to desire me and witness my unimpaired dignity, while knowing that I was now untouchable.

“Thank you, Valetise. This is beautiful and perfect. I’m sorry for distrusting you. You weren’t to know that I wasn’t ancient enough for the bodysuit last week.”

The suitcase half closed in a curtsy, and I dipped my head at her in response, feeling the air clear between us.

I left my blonde hair down and resolved not to wait for King See to arrive. There were many things to do at Hotel Vitale. Though I’d fortified the hotel with the help of Bring’s princes, I had a list of preserving projects the length of my arm.

I walked outside, and all sight of the evening world disappeared.

“There’s a bag over my head,” I said. “King See, is this your doing?”

My elbow was seized in an iron grip, and my brains were rattled as a person jerked me against their hard body.

“King See isn’t here,” a man told me. “You’re coming with us.”

He must be a monster to know King See.

As low as my white, heeled sandals were, keeping up wasn’t easy as the man dragged me along the landing and down the stairs.

“Could you slow a little?” I asked.

He jerked me upright at the bottom of the stairs.

Snap!

“Ow,” I said crossly. “That was my wrist, you know.”

“Hurry,” someone hissed across the courtyard.

Yes, they’d better. King See would arrive soon.

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