Page 15 of The Prince's Wife

"Oh, I see," Relanya said, eyes glittering, and Aradishir very nearly threw himself right back into the stream. To cool off or drown, he hadn't yet decided.

As if sensing his thoughts, Heydar curved his arm around Aradishir, resting a hand gently but firmly on his hips, and leaned in to kiss his shoulder, right at the space between throat and shirt where skin was bared. "Shall we return to your rooms, my prince? The meeting with the silk merchants is soon, and I doubt you want to show up looking like…well, a wet cat."

"I hate you," Aradishir muttered, before sweeping Relanya the best bow he could manage under the soaking-wet circumstances. "I'll see you this evening at dinner, Your Highness. Hopefully in a dryer state."

"At dinner, Your Highness," Relanya replied, hand in front of her mouth, eyes still sparkling with something Aradishir could not name.

He smiled stiffly and departed, pulling away from Heydar's touch as they threaded through the gardens until they reached the back entrance of his rooms. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go drown myself in the bath."

"What in the world happened to you?" Merza asked, dropping the papers he'd been reading over and surging to his feet. "Are you all right?"

"Fine," Aradishir said bitterly, jerking away from their attempts to touch. "First I nearly got her killed, and now I looked like a perfect fucking fool. What's next? Hurting her feelings? Breaking a limb like my stupid brother? Getting into a fight with one of those stupid clods on the council? Bah." He waved them off when they tried again to help him, shucking his wet clothes on his way to the bath.

He slid into the hot water and sat so that it was up to his chin.

Normally he didn't mind his propensity to get himself into absurd situations, like the sugar syrup from the previous week. And who cared if his future sister-in-law thought he was a clumsy twit? But the humiliation of it all burned through him anyway, every laugh and giggle and amused glance. Between looking abjectly stupid and the way assassins had nearly gotten to them… the way Relanya had been able to fight, but Aradishir could only cower…

Even if he were the eldest child, she wouldn't want him.

He still couldn't believe that Javed, Heydar, and Merza wanted him. He was the youngest and least interesting of his siblings, and spent his days doing all the 'boring' work they didn't want to do.

The sound of muted splashing jerked him from his thoughts, and he scowled to see all three of the men occupying his thoughts had joined him. "I really think it best if you leave me alone for now. I can barely stand myself; I certainly don't expect anyone else to."

Javed slid onto the bench next to him and kissed his cheek. "You're too hard on yourself, my prince. Or are you forgetting that Bakhtiar isn't here because he broke his leg doing something stupid?"

The barest hint of a smile crept onto Aradishir's lips. "True. But he didn't do it in front of someone he's supposed to be impressing."

Heydar snorted. "He's lucky you're the one making the first impressions." He took Aradishir's right hand and squeezed it gently. "You are too harsh with yourself, like always. There was nothing in Princess Relanya's eyes but fondness." He grinned in that slow, sharp way of his that always spelled trouble. "Especially fondness for how your wet clothes clung to every last detail of you."

Aradishir's face grew hot as he flailed upright. "She did not! Or something."

The others laughed, and it was Merza, moving to stand between his legs, who said, "My prince, there are people who would pay shocking amounts of money to own anything you wore, to see you naked for just ten seconds. I would be astonished if shedidn'tadmire you."

"She's betrothed to Bakhtiar, and it's not the same thing as…" Wantinghim. Plenty of people wanted to fuck him, for all manner of reasons, but none of them because they wanted Aradishir. Even if she wasn't promised elsewhere, wanting to fuck him wasn't the same as wantinghim.

No, he'd wind up married to a woman of the court, more than likely, at most somebody from the Great Desert to continue strengthening that relationship. "I need to get ready for the meeting with the merchants." He climbed out of the bath and fetched a drying cloth himself, though the others caught up in time to help him dress, something he normally enjoyed.

Right then, though, he just wanted to be alone, to lick his wounds in private, regather himself to act like the prince he was, stop being so maudlin and clumsy and hopelessly pathetic.

Once he was clean and dressed again, Aradishir went back to meetings and contracts, until he had to prepare for dinner. He stood still as his harem dressed him in dark blue and green, with gold, sapphire, and emerald jewelry to accent. He'd invited a few merchants to dine with them tonight, mingling with guests invited by his sister and parents, a combination which should make for an interesting dinner, though also a working one. Not something he looked forward to after such an exhausting day, but it was necessary so that was the end of the matter.

"Shall we?" he asked his harem once they were all ready, forcing back the exhaustion trying to creep over him.

They each kissed him softly before falling into place around him as they headed for the banquet hall, royal guards further flanking them for protection. He should be able to wander the palace in safety, hardly needing the same protections as his parents and Bakhtiar—when he actually bothered to be here—but these days it sometimes felt like he was inmoredanger than them.

He really couldn't wait for this whole mess to be settled, but the truth was that it would likely take years, even decades, to effect the kinds of changes he wanted. It would all be easier if he had more help at his level, but getting nobles to assist him was like trying to make his sister's cat behave, and he doubted even the chance to become a princess would motivate any of them. Nobody wanted to fight such a brutal battle, especially when it seemed like someone tried to kill him at least once every few weeks.

Whoever he did wind up marrying, they'd probably be certain to stay far away from the mess, attend other duties, and hope they weren't used against him anyway.

Such gloomy thoughts were for later. For the present, he forced his mind to the banquet, the proper conversations to have, what he needed from the guests he'd invited, and a stern reminder not to stare longingly at his brother's betrothed.

Chapter Seven

The scents of various foods made his stomach growl faintly, but thankfully it was drowned out by conversation and the beautiful music played by Nandakumar, one of his father's concubines, and the soft singing of Aaliyah, one of his mother's concubines.

Aradishir smiled and nodded his head in reply to various greetings he received as he slowly traversed the banquet hall. His parents and Bakhtiar tended to arrive via private entrances, a matter of safety and practicality, but he and Jahanara had always done at least some measure of mingling. His parents had suggested he use the private entrances now that his life was in more danger, but Aradishir persisted.

His parents of course took up the side of the table facing the banquet hall, each with a concubine on either side, so two concubines shared the space between them. Directly opposite them were the three silk merchants Aradishir had invited to dine at the royal table, and a history scholar his sister had invited. Spaced between them were two of his sister's concubines, and the remaining spots taken by Heydar and Javed.

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