Page 22 of A Dance of Shadows

Aurelia

Iwouldn’t have thought it was possible, but Santia looks even more beautiful at night. The amber light of floating lanterns beams off the white-washed buildings around the square and all the way up the hill to the palace. More shine over the nearby sea, reflected in the shallow waves as if there are stars glowing under the water.

Beyond the ring of soldiers guarding both Darium and Rionian nobles, the common folk appear to have set aside any trauma from my husband’s challenge. They brandish bits of roasted barama meat from the several spits now set up along the beach and sway with the melodies played by the local musicians Queen Anahi summoned to entertain us.

There’s a lighter, swooping quality to the Rionian musical style that reminds me of the wind warbling over the ocean waves. Does Lorenzo ever play the songs of his homeland?

He wouldn’t have had much time to learn them before he was taken away.

I’d like to seek him out, tuck myself into his arms, and let his embrace melt away the worst of today’s horrors. The best we could manage was a brief nod after the celebrations moved back into the square, with a hasty sign from the prince to tell me he’s all right.

I wish I could totally believe that claim. How can any of the Rionian royals feel fine about what happened here this afternoon?

Seven civilians were lost beneath the waves, five to the barama’s jaws and the other two swimming past the point of exhaustion and simply drowning. Many more had to be taken aside by the local medics to ensure their wounds result in as little permanent damage as possible. Streaks of blood still darken the beach.

While my husband is occupied in some jest with a couple of his marchion friends, I take the moment to sidle toward the Rionian queen and king. Queen Anahi and King Emilio are watching the revelry around them with subdued expressions. I’ve noticed they’ve barely eaten, only making a show of taking a few bites here and there when Linus is nearby.

I dip my head respectfully and offer a soft smile that I hope conveys the sympathies I can’t voice out loud. “Your people’s hospitality is impressive. As is your dedication to them, joining the challenge alongside them.”

Queen Anahi pushes her lips into a smile of her own, but her dark eyes remain cool. “That’s the sort of ruler they deserve. I believe I owe it to them to serve them as much as they serve us.”

A pang of connection runs through my heart. “I’ve always seen it the same way myself.”

I can’t help thinking her answering gaze looks more skeptical than anything else. How could I convince her of my intentions?

It isn’t as if I can admit to everything I’ve already done—all the crimes I’ve committed against the empire—to protect the kingdom and the people I left behind.

“We’re pleased to serve Your Imperial Eminences as well,” King Emilio puts in with a lower bob of his head than I offered him and his wife. A muscle in his cheek ticks as if he’s nervous of my reaction.

You don’t have anything to worry about, I try to convey without words.I’m on your side far more than Marclinus’s.

But as I grope for a way to make a clearer show of compassion without treading into mutinous territory, my husband makes it appear a lie. Linus sweeps in, slinging his arm around my back, and grins at the Rionian royals. “I’d have a dance, wife, if I’m not interrupting anything.”

His tone doesn’t suggest he’s open to me denying him. I turn my polite smile on him. “I’d be delighted.”

As we step and pivot with the airy tune, my gut twists. I’ve been prepared for retribution for my intervening on the beach all evening, and the suspense is gnawing at me.

I do think Linus is peeved with me. There’s a hard glint in his eyes that unsettles me, and he grips my hands just hard enough to hurt.

He doesn’t voice his displeasure, though. He makes several harshly amused jokes about the Rionian nobles—the shape of this one’s nose, the design of that one’s hat—and releases me at the end of the song.

A baron approaches to offer me another dance and halts at my husband’s narrowed eyes.

Linus clicks his tongue at the other man. “My wife delights in our people, but be sure you’re careful about where you put that gaze and those hands.”

So kind of him to set my boundaries for me.

The baron looks as if he’d rather swallow his own tongue than dance with me now, but he can hardly admit to being terrified of his emperor. He slips his hand around mine so tentatively my fingers nearly fall from his when he raises them and keeps an awkward distance between us for the short time we’re engaged.

When he lets me go, my gaze snags on Raul’s across the gathering. He cocks his eyebrow in a subtle question, and I turn away in answer.

If my husband is being especially critical of anyone who shows the slightest interest in me, the last people I want to bring his hostility down on are my actual lovers. Especially when he’s been so quick to punish them for invented transgressions in the past.

Bianca joins me, sparing me from having to think about dancing with anyone at all. She offers one of the goblets of wine she’s brought over and gives an amused roll of her eyes when my taster darts over to sample it before I drink.

“Our emperor is really looking to make his mark with this tour, isn’t he?” she says. “Now I’m even more glad I’m here to see it.”

I peer at her sideways, trying to decipher her typical arch tone. Is she being earnest or was that understated sarcasm?

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