Page 85 of The Shadows Between Us
WHENIWAKE,the heat of another body curls into me, suffusing me with warmth. At first, I think to drape an arm over the man, whoever he is, but then I register two things simultaneously.
First, I’m dressed.
Second, the body next to mine is unusually fuzzy.
Demodocus, it would seem, maneuvered his way back to the front of the bed whenever Kallias left. He probably went back to his own room as soon as I was out. He can’t risk falling asleep in my bed. What if I were to roll over and touch him?
I scratch my bed companion behind the ears. “Good morning.”
Demodocus tries to reach my face with his tongue, but I roll over and exit the bed.
“No slobbery kisses, thank you.”
When my maid comes to help me in the morning, a manservant also arrives to let Demodocus outside. She brings with her a simple gown, but that is no matter. Today I will begin the preparations for the ball Kallias is allowing me to throw. I think I’ll set the date for one month’s time, which means I have much to get ready. Invitations to send out. A theme to select. Decorations. Food. Table arrangements.
But I know just the two ladies to enlist for help.
A knock sounds at my door as soon as I’m dressed and ready to leave to start the day.
“Lady Stathos,” a man says from the other side as he bows.
“Lord Vasco.” The head of Kallias’s council.
“Please do call me Ikaros.”
I don’t return the gesture of goodwill.
“May I come in?” he asks, glancing behind me to the queen’s greeting chamber.
Who does he think he is, inviting himself to my room? He most certainly may not come in. And how did he know I was staying here already? He must have a spy close to Kallias. Or me.
“I’m actually on my way out.” I pick up my skirts to cross the threshold, then head down the corridor. A small army of servants passes us by, carrying my belongings into my new rooms. “And forgive me, but I haven’t particularly enjoyed any of our past conversations. I have a hard time believing this one will be any better.”
Ikaros follows me as I walk away.
“I’m so very glad you were there yesterday to assist the king,” he says, ignoring everything I just said.
I nearly trip as I come to an abrupt stop in the middle of the corridor. “Assist? Do you mean save his life?”
He crosses his arms in front of himself as he pauses with me. “That’s a bit of a stretch, don’t you think, considering he wouldn’t have been out there in the first place if you hadn’t been?”
“Are you trying to suggest that I had something to do with the attempt on the king’s life?”
He brushes invisible lint from off his robes. “Not at all. I hardly see what you would have to gain by killing the king. Your prosperous future comes from keeping him alive. Which begs the question: Why do you persist in spending time with my nephew when you are being courted by a king?”
I continue walking, not bothering to answer things that are none of his business.
“I know you spent an entire night with Leandros, doing gods know what. You dance with him at parties. You were seen with him outside shortly before the attack in the gardens.”
“Are you having me followed?” I lift my skirts as we descend a set of stairs, refusing to look in his direction.
“There are eyes everywhere. Nothing you do goes unnoticed. And if you persist in acting like a strumpet—”
“Vasco,” I say, rounding on him, showing the utmost disrespect by neglecting his title and refusing to use his first name once he’s given me permission. “You should be very careful of what you say to me. Right now, the king trusts me more than he does you. And someday, I will be his queen. When he comes of age and has no need of you anymore, how hard do you think it will be for me to convince him to rid you from the palace?”
Before he can say anything, I continue, “I will spend time with whomever I like. Just because I’m courting the king, it doesn’t mean I cannot have friends. Thankfully, your nephew is nothing like you. Do not follow me from here.”
To my back, he says, “Do try to stay focused, Alessandra. The king needs an heir, and if you do not show the proper amount of interest, he may just look elsewhere.”
