Page 99 of The Concubine King
“But nothing.Leave me be.”
By the silence, he assumed she had left.Usually Gionan was the one who fetched him; it was rather a relief it wasn’t this time or he would have never gotten rid of him so easily.He crept to the wash room with the mad hope of not running into anyone, but of course at least three servants passed by him on the way there.He stared forward and pretended not to notice or care about their glances.
He cleaned himself with a thoroughness Gionan would approve of, and picked through his clothes for something the gods would approve of.They seemed to love garments with revealing slits; what he had first mistaken as a leftover style from Verusias he had learned was simply an understood preference for the audience it was made for.So he put together the gold pants that opened on the sides and the purple tunic that was also slit up the sides and laced together with ribbon.He finished the self-made look with gold bangles around his wrists and his favorite earrings.
He was fully expecting Gionan to burst in at any time with complete disregard to his orders of being left alone, but it never happened.Poyut fetched him from his room and walked with him through the palace, her resolute presence a great comfort to have beside him.
At the temple entrance, he paused and turned to her.“Why don’t you go back to the palace and come get me in the morning?”
She blinked at him and opened her mouth to argue.
“My body isn’t in the room to protect anyway,” he pointed out.“And when’s the last time you had a good night of sleep?You look exhausted.”
“You don’t have to worry about me,” she told him firmly.
“But I do… I am.”He raised his eyebrows at her.“Do you want me to make it an order?I’m with the gods all night, I’ll be fine.”
She sighed, glancing around as though she could find a reasonable argument in the air.
“Poyut—”
“Alright, alright,” she conceded.“But I’m going to tell Klara and have her keep an eye out.I won’t be able to sleep otherwise.I assume you’ll approve of that, Your Divinity?”She smiled at him.
He narrowed his eyes and puckered his lips, but couldn’t stop a smile breaking the false irritation.“Very well.If it’ll help you get restful sleep.”
“It will.”
He nodded and they split down different paths in the temple as he went to the offering room and Poyut followed the corridor to Klara’s room.The priest Klara had chosen to fill her place was a waify woman named Lanaya, who passed Ethyr the flower petals with no fanfare and watched him eat them before taking the bowl back and walking out.
He sat on the bench and waited resignedly for the exhaustion to overtake him.
The delicate music convinced him for a long minute that he was still in a dream.Then he opened his eyes to the sight of Langath sitting cross-legged on a seat across the room, eyes closed as she played a light, languid melody on a lyre.
The other gods all sat leaning on the table watching her, as mesmerized as Ethyr.The music was beautiful, and pining, and Ethyr’s heart wanted to split open.He fought the feeling, and the tears, reminding himself of where he was.
A sense pulled his gaze to the side.Kiaro leaned against the wall, one foot lifted to rest against it, arms crossed and eyes fixated on Ethyr.
He met Kiaro’s stare boldly, straightening his back, daring the god to break eye contact first.He didn’t.And Ethyr realized Kiaro did not watch him with the casual intensity of the other gods.In his eyes was a tender sorrow that begged for solace.
The music stopped.Ethyr’s eyes tore from Kiaro on reflex alone, returning to Langath.She smiled across the room at him and the rest of the gods turned their heads to see.
“Ethyr!”Gallus chirped, bouncing over to him and taking his hands to pull him up.“I missed you.”
“Bring him here,” Gnaeus beckoned, and Gallus obediently tugged Ethyr over and sat him beside her, wiggling himself between Ithna and Ethyr to remain at his side and drape himself over his shoulders.
Gnaeus pulled him into an embrace as well, stroking his hair.“Have you been faring okay, little mouse?Yorith’s death surely hit you harder than most.”
“Oh.”It fell from his lips before he could stop it.He was wondering what the sudden sympathy was for.Yorith’s death already seemed so far in the past, and drowned out by so many other things, he’d almost forgotten it was something he’d been upset about.Was this some kind of funeral service for the priest?
They all seemed to be anticipating an answer.
“I’m okay,” he said hesitantly, head crushed to Gnaeus’s bosom and other side weighed down by Gallus.
“Should Langath play another song for you?”Gallus asked.
“Don’t volunteer me,” Langath said, irritated.
“Something happier, perhaps?”Varuut suggested.Langath narrowed her eyes.“Lang, get the lute.”
