Page 51 of Stranger's Choice
She shook her head. “No, it is not home.”
“You’ll go home again soon, Auraelie.” Sebin kissed her head. “Whatever it takes, I’ll make sure you go home.”
Auraelie wasn’t sure what home even was at this point. Losesti was a pleasant memory, but would the village ever be home again? She didn’t want to put a damper on Sebin’s hopes, though. If he freed her from the Emperor, she’d have time to figure out where home was. That was good enough.
“I know you will,” Auraelie told him.
“Do you think Heolin will help?”
The enormity of Sebin’s plans hit Auraelie then. The night before, she had focused on his interest in seeing her freed, but now she thought about everything he had told Heolin, the goals he had for the entire empire. Imagining a future where the Emperor no longer had power and the magical races did was hard, but Sebin made it easier. She believed he could do it. He could stage a bloodless revolution and change Pynth for the better.
“Once he trusts you, he will be your greatest ally,” Auraelie told Sebin, lifting her head. “He cares about more than the magical races. He wants life to improve for everyone.”
“I hope so. Without his help, I don’t know how I can approach the magical races. They will be key.”
“What will you do while you wait for him to decide?”
“Arrange a meeting with my contact among the rebels.”
“Have you seen Tjalik since he stopped working as your interpreter?”
Sebin pulled back slightly to look at her. “How did you know I meant Tjalik?”
Auraelie laughed. “He helped you hide your knowledge of Imperial from the Emperor. Besides, last night you told Heolin that you’ve been in contact with the rebels since before you came to Pynth.”
“Five hells,” Sebin said in his native tongue. He switched back to Imperial in the next breath. “I hope you are right that Heolin will be an ally. I did not intend to tell him about Tjalik until after I knew he would help.”
Auraelie felt the tension stealing over Sebin’s body and sighed. Time to get up. “You want to go warn Tjalik, don’t you?”
“I need to check in with him, regardless.”
Auraelie nodded, then kissed him and stood up. She could feel his eyes on her as she walked over to the curtain leading to the outer chamber. Her clothes, such as they were, were all on the other side. She slipped through the strands of the curtain and began gathering up strips of black silk.
She clasped the collar and belt around her body and tried to drape the veils over herself. She had all the veils in more or less the correct spots by the time Sebin joined her in the outer room.
He took one look at her, and his lips twitched.
She made a face at him. “The more I try to fix it, the worse it gets.”
“Allow me.”
She snorted. “I doubt you have any more experience than I do with this outfit.”
Despite her words, she walked over to Sebin and held her arms wide, inviting him to have a go at the strips of fabric.
He started at her neck and smoothed the four veils tucked under the collar over her breasts so that they crossed at just the right spot before continuing down her stomach and under the belt. His fingers slid off the silk, trailing over her bare skin, as often as not. Each stroke sent a shiver of pleasure through her.
“Are you sure you want to help me get dressed?” she said after a moment, licking her lips.
Sebin placed his hands on the bare skin of her waist and kissed her. “No, but I’m going to do it, anyway. You need to eat something.”
He stepped back.
Auraelie glanced down at herself. Sebin had arranged the veils as skillfully as Lhashiki. “How did you do that?”
He smiled, this one a smile she hadn’t seen before last night. It was one of his genuine smiles, with the telltale hints of amusement, but it was also hungry in a way that made her want to pounce on him. When he wasn’t fighting it, Sebin’s desire was a heady thing.
“Auraelie, I was exceedingly aware of the placement of each of those veils the first time I saw you in this costume. I will never forget it. The image of you in that moment is seared into my memory.”
