Page 35 of Ties of Deception

He cleared his throat and stood up, taking a few strides toward me. “Then maybe you’ll allow me to start courting you, Lady Purity.”

I snorted in a very unladylike manner. “Isn’t that what you’ve already been trying to do?”

He grinned. “Barely. I have much, much more up my sleeve.” He stepped closer, and my stomach dipped. He lowered his voice. “But we must continue to keep it secret. If people find out you’re the Grace I wish to take as my wife, you will become a target. And I want you to have the space to come to your own conclusions. Others will also be far more careful of what they let you see and hear, which might hinder our investigations. So forgive me if I’m cold to you in public. I will try to make my feelings abundantly clear when we’re in private.”

I nodded. “I understand, and forgive me for asking this, but how do I know I’m the only one you said this to? If I keep it secret with no public interactions, you could play many Graces, making all of them believe they are the only one. All believing they’re Fated.”

His grimace sent a stab of guilt through me. He rubbed his forehead. “I would never…” He winced and took a deep breath. “The memories. If we focus on trying to restore your memories, you’ll know for certain who I am. You’ll know that you can trust me like you used to. But I…I understand your concern. Somebody who says they’re for you while everyone else is against you is a difficult person to trust.”

His voice grew quieter, becoming hoarse. “I think I would feel more comfortable if you remembered everything before we married. There were good things, but also bad things that happened before. I would hate for you to…” He closed his eyes and smoothed his features so I couldn’t tell what he’d been about to say. “The last Fated could remember at least some of her past life. As far as we’re aware, normal Graces remember nothing.”

I swallowed, the strength of his emotions reminding me to be cautious. But I wanted more of this honesty and freedom and to learn if my past life could possibly be true. Could this god of death really be the man I had once loved? Somebody so confident and capable in contrast to me—not to mention attractive—the perfect balm for my loneliness and restlessness. I didn’t feel worthy of his attention, yet I hungered for his knowledge and wisdom—uncensored by the court or my family.

I tossed back my hair and sat up straight, opting for formality to show that I wanted to move forward slowly. “I agree to us getting to know each other better. But I’m saying you can court me,notthat I want to be your wife or leave Atos with you. I only have your word about Snow at the moment. Forgive me if it takes time for me to trust you.”

He gave a curt nod. “I understand that. As I said before, I will give you millennia if you need it.”

His dark eyes met mine, and my heart squeezed even as I felt the urge to smile at the serious dramatics of his statement. I couldn’t quite bring myself to tease him for it. Instead, I nodded and rubbed my forehead, the adrenaline ebbing away into exhaustion. After a while, I realized Ethen was still staring at me. The muscles in his face were loose and his expression was unguarded.

He looked away with an awkward swallow when our eyes met as if he realized what he was doing. “You might look different, Purity, but you’re still very, very beautiful.”

Heat rose to my cheeks, and I wasn’t sure how to respond. Saying that I thought he was very attractive as well just felt awkward.

He clapped his hands and stood up. “I will leave you to rest. There is more to tell you about my investigations into the Graces, but they can wait. I know I’ve given you a lot to consider.”

Despite my desire to know everything, he was right. I had a lot to think through already. I nodded. “I’ll see you soon then. Goodnight.”

He bowed and grinned that feral grin that made my heart stutter. “Goodnight, my lady.”

He melted away through the curtains into the shadows. When had it grown so dark? It had been hard to concentrate on anything other than him and the words he was speaking.

I walked to the other side of the room and sat down heavily on the bed. Emotions coursed through me, thick and fast, and I tried to steady myself enough to untangle them. Foremost was shock and confusion, but only slightly below it, I felt excitement. I had to admit the thought of me being head over heels in love with this man was not so hard to believe. Not hard to believe at all. Especially when he said things like he had tonight, with that look in his eyes telling me I was his whole world. My heart was still thudding like I had run around the whole of Yienna.

But I barely knew him. I didn’t wish to be foolish or gullible, and it was hard to believe I’d attracted such devotion—even in a past life. I needed time to arrive at my own conclusions and feelings. He simply had no proof, and I had nobody who could confirm his story. Not to mention that the fragments of memories I had were vague and hard to distinguish from my own dreams. If they were memories at all.

Something fluttering in the breeze caught my eye. On the couch in the middle of the room was a woven basket. On the handle was a silver ribbon. Even without being able to see inside, I knew it contained pomegranates.

Chapter

Fourteen

Ilay on my bed though sunlight streamed through the gauzy curtains all around, and maids hovered in the corners as if deciding whether to wake me or not. It wasn’t like I had anything scheduled while in confinement. The basket of pomegranates lay hidden under the bed beneath me, and it was as if I could feel their presence through the mattress.

I must have thought through everything the Aida prince had said a hundred times. Could I really be his lover reborn? The one he had traveled across the world and waited three years for in a foreign land? It was hard to equate myself as somebody who would inspire such love. All I seemed to do was get frustrated or break things. But no. I had healed all those people in the hospital. He hadknownI would want to do that. He had known that Icould.

This was dangerous. I was isolated and alone with little to do other than think about the Aidis. I was vulnerable, ignorant, and friendless. I needed to be sensible. But the way he had looked at me last night—the intensity of his gaze—was intoxicating. I wanted to relive the moment again and again.

I sat up and shook my head. While I couldn’t prove or disprove his story right now, there had to be something productive I could do. So far, I’d been someone everything just happened to. I wanted that to change. If I had the power to change this city, I wanted to be proactive.

From confinement, my options were limited, and I wouldn’t be able to scale the wall at night without Ethen’s help. However, I did have my maids. In fact, I was almost always surrounded by people. The knowledge that I’d never tried to get to truly know them seemed shameful after how much I’d judged other Graces for being self-absorbed.

I rose, bathed quickly in the pool, thanked the maid who had brought me a towel, and asked for my breakfast.

“Flavia, would you join me for breakfast?”

The maid, who was making my bed, straightened in surprise. “I’m sorry, my lady?”

I gestured to the seat opposite me. “Please join me. I would like the company.”

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