Page 19 of Ties of Deception

“Whatever you wish. It’s a gift and a sign I mean you no harm. A truce.”

I stared at the smooth, hard fruit for a minute. “You think giving me apomegranatewill convince me you’re not trying to seduce me?”

His voice dropped. “Oh, I never said that. I just said I wouldn’tkidnapyou.” Despite my annoyance, his words sent a warm shiver down my spine and heat to my cheeks. The feeling made me hate him even more. “But it is a sign that I mean you no harm. I won’t touch you again without your permission.”

I narrowed my eyes and walked to the edge of the marble steps so I could see his features. I didn’t want him to think I was afraid of him, and I wanted him to see my glare. “Yet, you won’t leave me alone?”

As I made out his broad, strong face between the shadowy bushes, a strange emotion flickered across it as if I’d triggered an unpleasant memory. Something more than sorrow, maybe closer to pain. But it was quickly masked by a sincere expression as he finally met my eyes.

“There you are.” His voice was annoyingly gentle. “I will go now if you ask. But my offer will stand until I have shown you what you need to see.”

What I need to see…What could he mean by that? How could he presume to know what Ineeded? Yet, I couldn’t help but be intrigued even against my better judgement.

I sighed in frustration, throwing the pomegranate back and forth between my hands and enjoying its cool smoothness against my palms. Something pressed sudden and warm against my mind, like a memory I couldn’t quite reach. A sense of strong familiarity with the fruit in my hands. The Aida nearby. A sensation that was…pleasant. It lasted a few moments before vanishing. Was my mind merely recalling the strange picture I’d had of the pomegranates before? The sensation left me unsettled.

“I don’t trust you.” But the words didn’t come out as hard as before.

He smirked, far too much humor entering his voice. “Few ever do.” He paused and his smile became more genuine. “But maybe, I could start to prove my trustworthiness to you. If you’d let me.”

I half turned away from him; I had no energy for his games. “Leave me, please. I…need to think. Maybe we can talk another day.”

“As you wish. But I wanted you to know—that girl you met in Fierro? I tracked down her home and gave her food, medicine, and money. Her father won’t die. I thought you’d want to know.”

Something fragile buried deep inside me, cracked and rushed to the surface. It should have been me. It was my role as a Grace to help the people of Atos. I could have done something, somehow. My very purpose was to make people’s lives better. Yet I had failed to help somebody who had needed me the most.

I blew out a long, shaking breath, allowing his words to alleviate my guilt. I was so glad she was all right, even if I had failed her. A weight lifted, and tears rose unbidden. I bit them back. I wanted to thank him, but I couldn't speak. I looked back at him, but he’d already gone. I stayed there, staring into the darkness long after his words had been swallowed by the wind.

When I finally returned to bed, his words still tumbled around and around my skull. I needed to find out about this world. He could act when he wished and save those he wanted. He had knowledge and power that brought him freedom. Surely I could deny any romantic advances from him while accepting what he offered so I could gain that same knowledge and so to find my strength and purpose?

While I didn’t know his motives, it felt like a dangerous game to play. But right now, I wasn’t sure I had another choice. I couldn’t languish here in ignorance. I needed to finally do something.

Drusella burstthrough the atrium in a flap, a scroll of parchment creased in one hand. “What did you do? The empress has summoned you! I told you to keep your head down.”

My stomach dropped and my mouth went dry. “Am I in trouble?” I had given no remarkable impressions. No positive ones anyway. Was it because I had left the main road at the festival? Or was she as annoyed as Charity that I had been speaking alone with the prince?

“Goodness, no. It’s a sign of favor, but this is too soon, all too soon. You’re not ready for that world yet. Attention is not necessarily a good thing. Every little mistake you make has lasting consequences in court.”

If I wasn’t in trouble then why…

I swallowed down my frustration and impatience—Drusella always gave the same unhelpful, vague warnings—and ignored the nerves tightening my belly. “Would you explain exactly what you mean?”

Drusella stilled for a moment, frowning in thought at the floor as if deciding how to explain something complicated to a child. I swung my legs over the side of the recliner, wondering if I was about to get more specific information from her. What had happened to other goddesses that had her so worried?

She sat beside me and took my hands. “Purity, my dear. Do you understand what your role as goddess is?”

I nodded, trying not to fidget. “It’s to bring prosperity by being happy.”

“And you understand that this”—she paused to wave one hand across all the finery around us— “all this luxury and wealth is to ensure that?”

“I do.” I started to fidget and stopped myself. My patience for her dramatics was starting to wear thin. She took both my hands again.

“And that all the sacrifices of the people in the Riverside District are to make you happy.”

“Yes.”

She leaned even closer. “And surely, you yourself want to be happy?”

“Of course.”

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