Page 107 of Dark Shaman: The Lost Treasure
It was humiliating.
How far was the pretense going to go? Would Navuh be spending some of his nights with his concubines now?
Tamira shuddered at the thought. It would be torture to spend a night with him even if she slept on the couch and he slept in the bed. Just having him in the same room with her meant that she wouldn't be able to have a minute of shuteye.
Hey, she could spend the next day sleeping, providing material for the household staff to gossip about. They would be convinced that their lord had tired out his concubine.
Navuh must have sensed his mate's distress because he reached for her hand. "The water needs to recede before they can access the lower levels. But I assure you, my dear, that the restoration will begin as quickly as possible."
"Of course," Areana murmured.
An uncomfortable silence fell that someone needed to fill, to maintain the pretense of normalcy, but Tamira couldn't think of a single thing to say.
Tony, bless him, seemed to understand. "The implications of prolonged water exposure on structural materials are quite fascinating." He launched into what promised to be a lengthy lecture. "You see, when concrete is subjected to hydrostatic pressure..."
Tamira tuned him out, grateful for the distraction he provided but having no patience for his scientific explanations. Not when Elias sat mere feet away, close enough that she could smell the soap he'd used, see the way his hair curled slightly when damp,but too far for her to reach and run her fingers through those curls or press her face against his neck and breathe him in.
Instead, she focused on spreading jam on her unwanted roll.
"The porosity of volcanic rock creates unique challenges," Tony continued, warming to his subject. "Water can penetrate microscopic channels, creating weakness in otherwise solid stone..."
Tamira suspected that Tony sometimes made up his assertions. He couldn't be knowledgeable on so many subjects, and by now he knew what each of them was interested in and what he could get away with.
Once he was finally done, Areana turned to Elias. "This experience has been quite traumatic for all of us. Do you have any advice on how to process such an event? Some spiritual guidance?"
Elias set down his coffee cup. "In times of crisis, we often focus on what was lost," he said, his voice taking on the particular cadence that meant he was choosing each word carefully. "Meditating on gratitude for what was preserved is the best antidote. Every life saved was a victory over chaos."
"Beautiful words," Liliat said, and for once, she didn't sound flippant.
"The Sufis speak of finding the gift within the trial," Elias continued. "Perhaps this displacement, difficult as it is, offers opportunities for reflection and growth."
Tamira almost laughed. Growth? The only thing growing was her desperate need to be alone with him, to drop this suffocatingpretense and have her way with him. But she couldn't laugh, couldn't react at all beyond polite interest.
The damn servants were watching.
"Speaking of growth," she said instead, proud of how steady her voice remained, "I've been having difficulty sleeping. Do you have any herbal recommendations? Perhaps a calming tea?"
It was such a transparent excuse to speak to him that she nearly cringed.
"Passionflower and chamomile." Elias played along seamlessly. "With a touch of lavender for scent. I could prepare something for you if Lord Navuh permits."
"That would be helpful," she managed, when what she really wanted to say was that she needed him, that last night or rather this morning, she'd thought she'd lost him to the flood, and now she was losing him to these stupid rules and watching eyes and?—
"The hotel should have these things," Navuh said, effectively ending that line of conversation. "You can prepare the remedies there."
The meaning was clear. Elias would be at the hotel, not here. Not with her.
After a few more minutes of mind-numbingly stilted conversation, Navuh pushed back from the table. "I have business to attend to. Elias, Tony—the guards will escort you to the hotel."
He kissed Areana's cheek with a formal flourish and then swept from the room, leaving them to navigate the goodbyes without his oppressive presence, not out of the goodness of his heart, but because he had things to do.
The household staff remained, though, watchful and judgmental.
Areana rose from her chair gracefully. "Gentlemen, thank you for your assistance during this difficult time. I'll speak with Lord Navuh about arranging regular visits. The ladies and I benefit greatly from your company."
"You're most kind, my lady," Tony said with a bow that looked theatrical rather than genuine.
Elias stood and Tamira forced herself to remain seated. Every instinct screamed at her to go to him, to throw her arms around him and refuse to let go. Instead, she folded her napkin next to her plate.
