by Lani Forbes
At the midday meal, the other princesses had seemed restless too. Teniza, the towering daughter of Millacatl, had finally snapped at Yoli’s morbid musing about how they would likely be sacrificed. The two girls bickered through the rest of the meal.
“You are a beanpole with no brain!”
“You love death so much, why don’t you just marry a prince of Miquitz!”
Mayana dropped her forehead onto the low stone table and waited for it to stop.
She never had to deal with issues like these with five brothers at home. At least if they were upset with you, they could just punch you and be done with it. Mayana was not used to the way women interacted with one another.
The one princess who always remained relatively aloof was the storm princess of Ehecatl. Anytime Mayana came upon her, Itza was deeply involved in prayer or meditation. She had heard rumors of Ehecatl’s piety and devotion to the gods, but Itza seemed to be interested in little else. Twice Mayana had tried engaging her in conversation, trying to thank her for blowing away the smoke after the jaguar incident, but she had never spoken more than three words since then, so Mayana just gave up.
At least she had Yemania, and she planned to ask Ahkin about sparing her life the moment he returned. She also thought about taking Yemania’s advice and telling the prince how she really felt about the codex rituals … but she just couldn’t bring herself to do it. Perhaps part of her wanted to see how he reacted to her suggestion of saving Yemania. If he took that well, maybe he’d be more understanding. If he didn’t, then … Mayana would just have to figure out what she would do later.
She had to find something to do to pass the time until Ahkin returned, or she would go crazy, and sweating out her anxiety in the steam baths seemed like a good idea.
“But it’s so late,” Yemania complained.
“Please, I just need to do something other than sit in my room and stare at the wall.” Mayana made her eyes as big and pitiful as possible.
“Fine.” Yemania sighed. She grabbed a woven white towel from her own baskets of belongings and followed Mayana out into the hall.
They rounded the corner and Mayana, so relieved to finally be doing something, didn’t notice the other person heading the opposite way until she smacked against a hard-muscled chest. For a wild moment, she thought it was Ahkin finally home at last, until she recognized the brown curly hair of Coatl as he stumbled back away from her.
“Coatl? What are you doing in the residence halls so late?” Yemania asked.
Coatl’s cheeks were flushed and his eyes darted around as though expecting to see more than just his sister and her friend. His nervous energy reminded Mayana of a skittish deer cornered by hunters.
“I was attending to the princess. She has been complaining of headaches and I offered her a remedy.”
Yemania perked up at the mention of remedies. “Did you try offering her chalalatli root? I’ve found that to be really helpful.”
“Yes, actually.” Coatl shuffled his feet. “I remembered when you used that remedy for Mother. It really seems to be helping.”
“I’m so glad.” Yemania beamed. Mayana’s heart swelled at the pride she could see practically glowing off her friend. She must be a truly gifted healer when her lack of confidence did not stand in the way.
“I should probably get back to my work.” Coatl fingered the ruby pendant hanging around his neck and refused to meet their eyes. Just as he had when Mayana awoke in his chambers, he seemed to want to be rid of them as soon as possible.
“Alright.” Yemania’s smile faltered slightly. “It was good to see you, brother.”
Coatl returned a smile that was tight and pained. He did not acknowledge Mayana’s presence whatsoever before he marched past them.
“He has certainly seemed distant lately,” Yemania mused as they continued toward the steam baths. “Do you think he’s worried about me being sacrificed?”
“I imagine that’s a great sadness for him. But that won’t happen if I have anything to say about it.” Mayana laid a hand on Yemania’s arm. Yemania looked as though she wanted to respond but thought better of it.
Steam engulfed them when they finally entered the low stone room, but it appeared that they were not the only ones seeking solace in the steam bath.
Metzi lounged across the stone bench that encircled the room, her long dark hair sprawled around her head like an ebony halo. She sat up on an elbow as they entered and greeted them with a playful smile. Sweat beaded along her forehead and shoulders and dripped down her bare back and chest.
“Good evening, ladies. Come to enjoy the healing powers of the mists as well?”
Yemania bowed her head in respect and squeaked an inaudible response.
“I hope your headache is improving,” Mayana said, taking a seat across from Metzi.
“My headache?” Metzi’s eyebrows drew together. “Oh, yes. I’m sorry. The healer gave me a root tea that worked so well, I almost forgot I had it.”
“Chalalatli root, my lady. It has many anti-inflammatory properties.” Yemania sat up a little straighter. “It’s a remedy my brother and I often used at home.”
“That’s right, you are Coatl’s sister.” Metzi cocked her head to the side and appraised her. “I imagine you must be exceedingly gifted to come from the same line as Coatl.”
“Thank you.” Yemania dropped her gaze to the floor with a sweet, satisfied smile.
A snort sounded from the doorway, and all three girls looked up to find Zorrah and Teniza standing with towels in their hands as well.
“So much for a peaceful evening,” Teniza said out of the corner of her mouth.
Metzi gave the comment no notice. “Join us, ladies, this will be fun for me to get to know all of you. It’s important for the royal line to be familiar with the noble families of the empire.” She motioned for them to come in. “In fact, I have an idea.”
The prince’s twin disappeared for several minutes into the hallway. Teniza and Zorrah tentatively took seats as far away from Mayana as possible. Mayana crossed her arms across her own bare chest and refused to look in their direction.
“I’ve sent a servant for the other two princesses to join us.” Metzi reentered the steam bath and clapped her hands together in a satisfied way. “Let’s all play a little game, shall we? I have always loved games. A way to ease the tensions and let me get to know each of you better. I can even report back to my brother. An unofficial third task.”
Mayana couldn’t help but notice a gleam of mischief sparkling in the princess of light’s eyes. What were Metzi’s real intentions? She seemed the type to subtly remind everyone who held the true power in the room.
Yoli and Itza finally joined them, both looking thoroughly disgruntled at having been roused from bed to sit in a steam room with the other princesses. Yoli tapped an impatient foot and glared at the prince’s sister. Itza’s eyes were lowered in apparent meditation or prayer, but her lips were tightly pursed.
Metzi didn’t appear fazed in the slightest. On the contrary, she seemed to feed off the negative energy as though it were a challenge—a challenge to prove her superiority.
“Here is my game. I want each of you to tell me one thing about you that is true and one thing about you that is a lie, and I will try to guess which is the lie. It’s a game Ahkin and I played together all the time as children, and I always won. He’s nowhere near as good at reading people as I am. In fact, there isn’t much I’m not better at than he is.” She wiggled a teasing eyebrow.
Zorrah and Teniza exchanged significant glances, but neither responded, probably too afraid of offending the prince’s sister. Mayana was willing to bet that Yoli would be raising her obsidian shard toward her eyes if she had it with her.
“Let’s start with you, Lady Teniza. Millacatl always seems to think it should come first anyway.” Metzi was still smiling, but e
veryone stiffened at the obvious insinuation behind her words. Mayana bit back a laugh.
Teniza straightened her spine and tilted her nose in the air. “Fine. I will tell one lie and one truth. I have many boys back home falling over their feet at the chance to marry me, and I prefer deer pelts for my bedding over rabbit furs.” She folded her woven towel neatly across her lap.
Metzi snorted. “That’s obvious, and completely expected. Your answers show your desire to impress me, even with the lie of what bedding you prefer to flaunt your wealthy status. Deer pelts are needlessly extravagant. What insecurities are you hiding behind that pretty face that you feel the need to work so hard to maintain your facade? Do you really feel you have no worth aside from your beauty and wealth?”
Teniza drew back as though Metzi had slapped her. “Excuse me?”
“I told you I have a gift for reading people.” The prince’s sister tilted her head and smiled sweetly at Teniza. Something about the smile churned Mayana’s stomach. She was clever, but what she had just done to Teniza bordered on cruel, like a child who liked to tease others but never knew when it had gone too far. Tears glistened in the corners of Teniza’s eyes, and Mayana’s heart lurched in response.
“Maybe Lady Teniza is just being careful. She doesn’t know us well, and to share such intimate details …” Mayana opened her palms to Metzi, an offering of peace.
“I don’t need you to defend me, daughter of water,” Teniza spat at her. “Fine, you want some real truth? I left the man I really love behind, knowing that I must marry another or perish. My father gave me no choice in the matter, and if I don’t survive, my real love promised to join me in the underworld.” Her voice cracked slightly at the end. “If I win, I must marry a man I don’t love, but if I lose, I will kill the one I do love with my failure.” With that, she wrapped the towel forcefully around her heaving chest and stormed from the steam bath. All of the air seemed to leave the room in her wake, making it hard for Mayana to breathe. She couldn’t imagine being in a position like that.
Metzi’s smile widened. “That’s more along the lines of what I had in mind. Who would like to go next?”
Zorrah and Yoli both narrowed their eyes, glowering at Metzi as though she were a dangerous snake dangling from a tree branch.
“Lady Zorrah? Would you like to play my game?”
Zorrah rose slowly to her feet, but her hands curled into fists at her side. “No, thank you, Lady Metzi. My life has been nothing but a series of games to prove myself, and forgive me if I have had enough of them. May I retire back to my room?”
Metzi nodded. “I expect nothing less from a city whose people treat each other like the beasts they command. But like a proper wolf, you know to submit when faced with an alpha.”
Zorrah bared her teeth but did not respond. Instead, she turned to look down upon Mayana and said, “I also know how to sense the weaknesses in those who are below me.”
Mayana stiffened as the animal princess swept past her and followed in Teniza’s footsteps.
Metzi let her breath out in a huff. “Well, now that they are gone, we can have some real conversation, can’t we?”
Mayana glanced at Yemania and noticed that her eyes were glassy with tears.
“Come now, girls, we all know that the only way to deal with bullies like Teniza and Zorrah is to stand up to them. There is nothing more satisfying than knocking the pedestals out from under those that think they are above everyone else.”
The corner of Yoli’s mouth curved up. “Your majesty does make an excellent point.”
Mayana still didn’t know where she stood. She didn’t at all approve of the way Metzi had just treated Teniza and Zorrah, and yet at the same time, it was slightly satisfying. Disgust immediately flooded through her at the thought. Zorrah and Teniza, despite their faults, did not deserve to be treated in such a way. If her mother had taught her anything, it was that just because others may treat you poorly, it never gives you the right to treat them poorly in return.
“Please. I truly would like to get to know you girls better, to get to know your families and your city-states. It is a princess’s responsibility to be familiar with the intricacies of the empire.” Metzi’s lower lip pouted, her demeanor now light to the darkness it had been moments before.
“What do you want to know?” Itza’s sharp voice commanded from the corner of the steam bath. She fixed the princess of Tollan with a shrewd, calculating look.
“From you, daughter of storms, I would love to hear more about your home, as it is soon to be my own. What can you tell me of Ehecatl?”
“You will find it very different from your life here in Tollan.”
Metzi leaned forward as though waiting for Itza to continue, but she didn’t.
“And that is all? What about your family? Your brother, my betrothed?”
“We prepare for Quetzalcoatl’s return.” The diminutive wind princess studied her nails intently.
“I know that. But how so?”
“I am sure you will see when you get there.”
Metzi slammed her hands against the stone bench beneath her. “Why is everything with you storm lords so vague and mystical? Never a straight answer. It’s maddening.”
Itza rose gracefully and inclined her head to each of them. “I would like to finish my evening prayers now, if you don’t mind.”
Metzi waved a dismissive hand, obviously too frustrated with the daughter of Ehecatl to continue her questioning.
“Does that mean we can all go now? Since the game doesn’t seem to be going anywhere?” Yoli rose to her feet.
Metzi laid her head back down on the bench and rubbed at her temples with the tips of her fingers. “If that is what you wish, daughter of fire. My headache does seem to be returning.”
Mayana and Yemania took that as a cue to leave as well. They made their way toward the door of the steam baths, but before they could leave, Yemania hesitated.
“Your majesty?” she whispered nervously.
“Yes?” Metzi did not open her eyes as she continued to rub little circles against the side of her head.
“Would you like me to send for more chalalatli root?”
“Thank you, daughter of healing, but I will probably summon Coatl back. It seems to be worsening. I do appreciate your thoughtfulness.” Her voice strained with sudden exhaustion and fatigue.
“I hope you feel better,” Mayana added before grabbing Yemania’s wrist and leaving the princess of the sun to herself.
Chapter
39
Mayana stood frozen at the entrance to her bed chambers. Zorrah had apparently sent a monkey into her room and ordered it to go berserk. The musky scent of the beast still hung in the air. All of her baskets had been upended and most of her clothing torn to bits. Her door curtain hung half off its rod and all of the creams and makeup her aunts sent along with her now decorated her walls like a painted pot. Mayana just laughed at the pettiness. At least there were no more scorpions … for now.
Flumping onto the many rabbit furs on her bed mat, she threw an arm across her eyes. The steam baths were supposed to be relaxing, but tonight they had had the opposite effect. At least they had been a distraction. Dear gods, if she did not hear something about Ahkin soon she would—
“You expect me to honor the codex and wait until we are married with you sprawled out across a bed like that?”
Mayana’s breath caught in her throat and she sat straight up. Her eyes roved the messy room until she saw him, leaning casually against the frame of her doorway and fingering the lopsided curtain.
“I must admit, I thought you would be a little cleaner than this.” His mouth ticked up into a crooked smile and Mayana swore her heart would stop right then and there. His eyes took in the paint- and cream-smeared walls, the shredded baskets and clothing across the floor, and he chuckled as her cheeks flushed.
“I—it wasn’t me—there was a monkey—”
“What did you do to make it destroy your room?”
“More like what did I do to its master …” Mayana growled. She moved to push herself up and hissed at the pain in her leg, buckling slightly as it gave under her weight.
Ahkin rushed forward and caught her in his arms before she fell.
“Thank you. It’s just still a little sore when I put pressure on it.” Mayana tucked her hair behind her ear and refused to meet his eyes. She waited for him to steady her and then step away, but he didn’t.
He didn’t let her go.
Instead, he gently turned her around until they were face-to-face, her hands splayed across the bare muscles of his chest. He still held her firmly, but she was sure she’d collapse anyway if she met his eyes.
She lifted her gaze to peer at him through her lashes, and the desire that raged within them came to the surface as he crushed his mouth against hers.
And then she did collapse. But this time, he collapsed with her, and his arms guided her gently onto her bed mat. The mostly bare skin of her back tingled at the warmth of his hands and the smooth, soft feel of the rabbit furs. He smelled like sunlight, if that even had a smell, and like something distinctly male. He shifted his body as he towered over her, letting his weight fall and yet also holding himself up on his forearms so he didn’t overwhelm her. But Mayana didn’t care, she wanted the weight of his body overpowering hers. She snaked her arms around his chest and ran her fingers over the muscles of his shoulders. She dug in the tips of her fingers, trying to pull him closer to her.
He groaned in response and deepened their kiss. She could taste the urgency between them as they explored each other’s bodies with their hands, learning every curve as though they were afraid they would be separated again.
The urgency behind their movements reached an almost fevered pitch until he broke their kiss and leaned his forehead against hers. His breath came in heavy pants, and Mayana let out a small giggle she couldn’t hold back.
