Page 20 of Stranger's Choice
Chapter 7
“Auraelie,” Lhashiki heldout her hands, but didn’t actually move to touch her. “How are you?”
Auraelie smiled. “I am doing well. How are you of late? I see you at His Imperial Majesty’s side so often now, but we haven’t actually spoken in what, weeks?”
Not since right after Prince Sebin had come to Kalitalo, Auraelie remembered. Had he really been here nearly a month?
“In too long, certainly.” Lhashiki walked back to the cluster of cushions in front of a small table and folded herself gracefully onto one of them.
Auraelie dropped onto another on the opposite side of the table and unclasped her veil.
Lhashiki frowned, lowering her own veil. “I’ve taught you better than that, Auraelie. Now that you are attending to Prince Sebin, it is especially important not to fall into bad habits.”
“The prince doesn’t care how graceful I am.” Auraelie spooned some of the fresh-cut fruits from a bowl onto her plate.
Lhashiki plucked a single grape from a nearby platter and brought it to her lips. “Of course he cares.”
Auraelie sighed. It was going to be one ofthosemeals with Lhashiki. The other woman would act as though she were before the Emperor and expect Auraelie to mimic her.
When she first came to the palace, Lhashiki’s kindness had been enough that Auraelie tried to learn what the woman wanted to teach her. But she did not need to make her every move a seduction—nor did she want to. Once she learned to move gracefully enough to not stand out among the Emperor’s Will, she had stopped trying to master the other arts Lhashiki taught.
Apparently, now that she was serving as a prince’s companion, the other woman wasn’t content with the deficiencies in Auraelie’s training.
Auraelie shoveled a forkful of fruit into her mouth.
Lhashiki’s nose wrinkled. “You cannot expect to keep the prince’s interest that way.”
“I don’t want the prince’s interest.”
“Of course you do. He’s young, handsome, and kind, from what I’ve seen. You’d be a fool to squander this opportunity.”
Auraelie knew Lhashiki wouldn’t understand, but she tried to explain, anyway. “It is not an opportunity I desire.”
“You don’t think he is handsome?”
Sebin was distractingly handsome. The way his eyes lit up with laughter, even while his mouth remained stern and uncompromising, drew her in. When he gave in and smiled—the real smile—it made her feel like she was the only person in the world who mattered to him. And yes, he was fit and muscled in all the right places. She knew better than to admit as much to Lhashiki. “He’s attractive enough.”
It didn’t matter if he was the handsomest man on the earth. Not to Auraelie.
Lhashiki leaned forward slightly. “And he is kind to you? Gentle?”
Auraelie thought of all the times she had tried to provoke him, and he just let his eyes crinkle in amusement. His assurances any time she flinched away from him that he would not touch her. The way he didn’t question how she followed him into his room every night and stayed for an hour before departing. After the awkwardness of the first night, he had started offering her a glass of water flavored with lemons or juice—not wine, never anything that might lower her inhibitions—and telling her about his homeland during that hour.
She had even asked him to teach her a few words in his own language.
“He is considerate.”
Lhashiki smiled. “Good. Not all men are considerate of their lovers. Believe me, Auraelie, you do not want to throw this away. The next time His Imperial Majesty finds a man you can touch, he may not be as nice. Why don’t you tell me what the foreign prince seems to prefer, and I’ll give you some pointers to keep him interested longer.”
“I don’t . . . he . . .” Auraelie should have expected this. She hadn’t, though, and she let the truth slip out. “He isn’t sleeping with me.”
The older woman’s brows drew together, and she pursed her lips.
“I told you he doesn’t care how graceful I am. He isn’t interested in me.” He hadn’t once tried to touch her or even so much as give her a lewd look. And Auraelie was grateful. She was.
“Nonsense. I’ve seen how he looks at you. He desires you, Auraelie.”
“He doesn’t.”
