Ashared stroked down her back, but a long moment passed before he replied, “I will.”
Only the next day, when she was choosing her outfit, it occurred to her that although it was snowing and freezing here, in Central Faeries began spring.
***
It’s still early, Lannahi thought, trying to chase away the knot in her stomach.
The sky in Blacktower was gray, and although the air was much warmer than in Goldfrost, it didn’t feel like spring. Truth, there was no snow here, but in Goldenshadows it had just started melting…
“Aren’t you tired of winter yet, Lannahi?” Letiri asked. “In Goldenshadows, flowers will be already in full bloom before you even feel the first touch of warmth.”
“You have always seemed like a sunray to me,” King Igal said. “I would never have thought that you would choose the cold and dark.”
“You should visit us soon, Lannahi,” her father said. “I will write to you when the trees in the orchards begin to bloom.”
It’s still early,she repeated to herself.
She was relieved to see that most of Sarkal’s allies hadn’t turned against him, but that relief was short-lived. A chain tightened around her heart. The performances below didn’t manage to cease the feeling of rising alarm, and it didn’t disappear when she said farewell to her family and moved toward the sector where the landshapers gathered. The sight of Ashared loosened the chain for a moment, but when she saw who he was speaking to, the metal seared her flesh.
No, she thought in panic, looking at the enchanter’s tanned face.It’s too soon.
Nihhal seemed to think otherwise. He stood next to Ashared completely relaxed as if he didn’t notice the man’s physical advantage. When he spotted her, he smiled and, having said a few words to Ashared who had a disgruntled look on his face, he moved toward her with predatory confidence.
“Why the surprise, Lannahi?” he asked in a joking tone. “Did you forget our promise?”
Lannahi saw out of the corner of her eye the heads of the landshapers turning in their direction and instinctively began to correct him. Before she could speak, however, he closed the distance between them and embraced her openly as if they were lovers.
“Smile, Lannahi,” Nihhal whispered into her ear. “You don’t want the landshapers to come to the wrong conclusions, do you?”
You must not act to my detriment,the words of the curse echoed in her head.
When Nihhal leaned away, his eyes running up and down her stiff form, her lips curved into a smile against her will.
Satisfied, he stepped back and took her hand into his own. “Shall we go to the stands?”
It was a question, but he didn’t wait for an answer, just squeezed her hand lightly, letting her know to follow him. Her cursed legs moved obediently to fulfill his wish.
She picked out familiar faces from the crowd. Mahrur and Nahid. Mahhir and Kazurr. Lizaar’s cousins. Everyone looked at her with growing suspicion.
Ashared seemed furious, but she didn’t know whether it was directed at himself or her. Did he believe she had broken her promise to him?
“I heard about yourlittleadventure,” Nihhal said softly with affectionate indulgence. “First the courtesans and now a shapeshifter. Are you afraid of powerful men, Lannahi?”
She didn’t answer, but he seemed not to mind. When he led her to the front row in the stands, a macabre understanding squeezed her throat. Nihhal chose a place where no one could get a proper look at her face, but everyone could see how close they sat to each other.
Why the surprise, Lannahi? Did you forget our promise?
Nihhal wanted others to think she was colluding with him, and judging by the harsh looks from the landshapers, his plan was working. From the beginning, they had suspected that she was collaborating with someone else and now they had proof. Everything she had managed to build was turning to dust.
When the opposite stands started to fill, she realized that there was more to it. Her family thought that Nihhal was in love with her. They too would believe that this was a joint plot. If Nihhal issued a Challenge against her, they would see Lannahi submit to him willingly and believe it was the plan all along. Once Nihhal put a collar around her neck, no one would come to her aid.
Clever, she thought. If she didn’t feel nauseous, she might have been impressed.
During the martial arts tournament, she sat like a statue. As she watched the combatants below throttle one another, she imagined Nihhal in their place. Incrementally, the chain of fear cutting into her heart fell away. When Bastet entered the arena, she felt nothing.
When the Arbiter informed that Nihhal from Grasswall Challenged Lannahi, Queen of Goldfrost, to a duel for supremacy over her kingdom, she began to rise from her seat even before Bastet asked her to do so. After all, she knew this day would come.
“The duel will take place in seven days,” the Arbiter announced when the dice stopped rolling inside the brass bowl.
