by Jayne Faith
My mouth went dry as fear began to twist my stomach, binding it tight. I gave her a slow wide-eyed nod.
“Now, while we still have a moment, let me instruct you on some basic social rules,” Iris said, turning business-like.
She gave me guidelines about when and to whom to curtsy, rules about touching Calistans (I should not do it unless they initiated contact first), whether to walk next to or behind a Calistan (it depended on his or her royalty and standing), and questions that were safe to ask (small-talk topics were generally okay, but I should not speak about battles, religion, or anything to do with Earthenfell). I tried to push her warning to the back of my mind and focus on her instructions, but the knot in my stomach remained.
A chime sounded overhead, and Iris stood. “One more thing,” she whispered quickly, eyeing the door, which was swinging open. My Calistan stylist walked in. “Stand strong and be proud of your performance so far and don’t let the other Obligates rattle you.”
My stylist flipped her fingers at me in an upward motion, indicating I should stand. With quick, expert movements she used some of her styling tools to touch up my hair and reapplied some of my makeup, and then she was gone.
“It’s time.” Iris gestured to the door.
I slipped my shoes back on, took a deep breath, and squared my shoulders.
I’d been planning to tell Lord Toric exactly what I thought of a competition where Calistans sent young Earthens to die. As desperately as I wanted to survive—and survival meant winning—pretending that I was thrilled to be here and ecstatic to be his slave was an act I doubted I could convincingly pull off. But now Iris’s warning rang through my mind over and over like the somber toll of a bell. I wasn’t sure what I would say when I came face to face with the alien Lord.
*
With Akantha in the lead as always, the other Obligates and I followed her through corridors in a rustle of dresses and clicks of fancy shoes. Part of me had expected to be taken outside—on Earthenfell our fetes always took place in public squares and parks—but instead we ended up at a wide doorway within the palace. The room beyond was enormous, and I caught glimpses of gauzy curtains and lots of twinkling lights.
Akantha stopped and turned to us. “During this event, you are free to speak to each other. You’re free to do whatever you’d like with each other, in fact.” She raised an eyebrow and smirked. “And you may speak to the Calistans in attendance as well. Take your fill, Earthens. Your opportunities to indulge are very few. Enter the ballroom.” She tilted her head toward the open doorway and waited for us to go in ahead of her.
That was about as close to kind as Akantha had been since our arrival on Calisto, but it didn’t put me at ease. Something about her manner never failed to set my nerves on edge.
When I stepped into the ballroom, all of my anxieties temporarily fled, whipped away along with my breath. The oohs and aahs of the other Obligates echoed my own reaction.
The room literally glittered. Strings of crystals lined the walls, lights sparkled in cut glass chandeliers, and nearly everything else in the ballroom—sconces, cocktail tables, chairs, divans, side tables, even the gauzy curtains—was decorated with twinkling faceted stones.
The ceiling was vaulted, but the chandeliers hung low, not far over our heads, giving the room a surprisingly intimate ambiance for such a large space.
Calistan men and women milled about drinking from goblets, eating from small plates, and talking in groups. Some lounged on settees and chaises, or on giant pillows that were strewn about the floor. Many of them paused what they were doing to peer at us and then leaned into each other, whispering. My cheeks grew warm as I took in so many judgmental eyes on us.
“Akantha gave us permission to make merry,” someone behind me said. I turned to see a bright smile on Kalindi’s heart-shaped face. “I for one am going to live it up!”
She gathered the front of her skirt an inch or two off the floor, and with an excited little trilling laugh, she set off toward the nearest buffet table. She smiled and moved as if an entire room full of Calistans weren’t scrutinizing her. And of course, as the first Obligate to break away from the group, all eyes followed her as she gracefully strode across the room with her head high.
I watched as she made little bowing nods at each Calistan she passed. And I watched how the Calistans reacted to her. Some raised their eyebrows in surprised but approving expressions. A few even nodded to each other, clearly pleased by what they saw.
Kalindi knew what she was doing, not that I’d really doubted it.
“I would like to try whatever they are offering.” A resonant male voice said at my shoulder. I looked up at Orion. “How about you?”
I took a deep breath, gave him a grateful smile, and nodded. “Yes, we might as well. Shall we grab plates and goblets and then walk around a bit?”
I wanted to get a feel for the room, for the way the Calistans interacted. And, curiosity ate at me—I had to know if Lord Toric was yet in attendance.
I disliked the feeling of following in Kalindi’s wake, but we’d have to pass right by the buffet table she’d gone to in order to get to any of the others, and I was afraid it would look like I was trying to hide if I went to one of the buffets toward the back of the room. Iris had said to stay visible.
I held my stomach muscles firm and took slow steps in my heels. My toes were nearly numb from being pinched in the uncomfortable shoes during the trek from the dressing rooms to the ballroom. I could feel blisters forming, but I did my best to focus elsewhere.
“Are you okay?” Orion asked.
I cast him a questioning glance.
“You’re walking strangely,” he said.
I kept a smile on my face, but blew out a frustrated breath through gritted teeth. “It’s these blasted shoes. I’ve never really worn high heels.”
“I don’t know how you walk in the things,” Orion said with a sympathetic shake of his head. “But you do look beautiful.”
“Thank you.” I was surprised by how nice the compliment felt. Kind words were few and far between on Calisto. “You look very handsome. Oh, I should congratulate you on your rank! You are doing extremely well.”
“As are you,” he said. “And I would venture to say that your competition is by far the more difficult one.”
I couldn’t argue with that. But still, the stakes were the same for both of us.
“Do you know if he’s here?” I said in a low voice. “Lord Toric?”
Orion shook his head. “Not yet. My guide told me he would arrive later.”
When we reached the table, Orion handed me a plate and took one for himself. All manner of delectable fruits, tiny sandwiches, cheeses, meats, breads, and other savory treats spread out before us like some kind of fantastic food mirage. Again, I was struck by how strange it was to go from fighting for my life to this scene of comfort and luxury in a matter of hours.
My mouth was watering, but I didn’t want to get too distracted by the party. This was a rare opportunity to speak with Orion. The last time we’d been given permission to talk to each other, we were too focused on staying alive to have any sort of useful conversation.
“Has your guide revealed anything to you? Anything you did not know before?” I asked quietly as we moved down the table, filling our plates.
Orion seemed to consider my question for a moment. “Yes, actually. He said that the Lord’s Earthen manservants are allowed to, ah, mix with Calistan women.”
I looked up at him sharply. “Really? That surprises me.”
“Me to,” Orion said with a short laugh. “What have you learned?”
“My guide told me that the harem is not just for serving the pleasure of the Lord. In the event that the enemies are defeated and the Lord can lead the Return of the Calistans to Earthenfell, the harem will bear his children there.”
He gave me a wide-eyed look, and his hand paused over a stack of sweet rolls. “That is . . . not at all what I expected you to say.”
>
“I know,” I said. “Makes me wonder what else we don’t know. And there’s something important, something that my guide is not allowed to say to me. It’s about what happens to the Obligates who lose the Tournament. She couldn’t tell me, but she seemed to be saying that the losers are not handled the way we’ve always been led to believe. It’s something far worse, if I understood what she was implying.” My stomach knotted again at the memory of Iris’s face as she’d tried to convey to me the importance of emerging the winner of the Tournament.
His eyebrows drew down in a troubled expression. “I had begun to wonder about that myself. It’s very distressing. As if we don’t already have enough to be anxious about. Still, it doesn’t really change our goal. The best outcome for both of us was, and still is, to win.”
Other Obligates had followed us to the buffet, and for a moment I wondered if I should ask Britta or maybe Meribel what they knew. But the truth was I really didn’t trust any of them except Orion.
I looked for Kalindi and spotted her sitting primly on the edge of a settee not far away almost in the exact center of the room. She smiled and nodded at the Calistans who passed her, as if we were at an Earthenfell fete and this was the most fun she’d ever had. If Kalindi’s guide had advised her to stay visible as Iris had done with me, Kalindi was doing a spectacular job.
A Calistan man stopped in front of Kalindi, and after she rose to curtsy, they chatted. After a moment, he went to one of the drink tables and then returned to her with two goblets and handed her one of them. He perched on the settee next to her.
A pair of Calistan men passing by slowed, and when she smiled at them, they stopped. Again, she stood to curtsy.
Orion and I moved away from the buffet with our plates, and I eyed Kalindi as I ate one of the tiny sandwiches. It had some sort of creamy spread and slices of fresh-tasting crisp vegetables, the flavors and textures perfectly balanced.
“Shall we go sit over there?” Orion tipped his head at an unoccupied narrow bench with a low table in front of it that was several yards away. “We will have a decent view from that spot, and you can rest your feet for a few minutes.”
“That’s a wonderful idea.” I was doing my best to walk gracefully, but all I really wanted to do was pull off my shoes and drop them in the nearest waste bin.
“The Calistan men are watching you,” Orion said, tilting his head toward me so he could whisper.
I glanced at him and gave a little shake of my head. “They seem very much interested in Kalindi.”
“Some of them are drawn to her, yes. But many more are watching you.”
I glanced around, suddenly self-conscious. Was he right? Many of the Calistans were watching me and Orion, I now realized, but I was sure it was simply because Earthen Obligates were a curiosity to them. I tried to carry myself as if I were completely accustomed to attending extravagant parties in alien palaces.
My attention had so far been occupied by the main open part of the room, but along the sides there were thin veils of curtains creating semi-private little spaces.
I glanced into one as we passed and let out a shocked gasp. A Calistan man was sitting on a settee, and a Calistan woman sat astride him and they were kissing each other passionately. As if that wasn’t startling enough, I realized the top of her dress had been pulled down, and part of her chest was bare. It was all I could do to keep from letting out shocked exclamation when I saw the man groping her breast. Heat bloomed up my face and chest.
My plate tipped in my hand, and a melon ball rolled off and plopped on the floor. Orion had bent down to pick it up in his napkin, but I was sure he’d looked into the curtained space, too.
“Does that shock you, Earthen?” I knew the voice before I turned to see Akantha standing at a cocktail table nearby. She gave me a heavy-lidded, insincere smile. Another Calistan woman and two men who were with her stared openly at me and Orion. The men’s eyes locked on me, and I tried not to shrink under their gazes. “If you find that shocking, you have no place in Lord Toric’s harem.”
A nauseating combination of embarrassment and alarm coursed through me, and my cheeks burned even hotter.
With his hand at my elbow, Orion angled me away from Akantha and the amorous couple.
“That was . . .” I shook my head, unsure how to finish the sentence.
“Unexpected?” Orion offered.
“Yes. To say the least.” I tried to pull myself together. My mind whirled, clamoring for a change of topic. “So . . . What is the point of this party for the male Obligates? How do you win Lord Toric’s favor here?”
“When he arrives, I will be assigned to one of the royal men. I’ll be his personal servant for the remainder of the evening.”
I wrinkled my nose and pushed out my bottom lip in an exaggerated pout. “I only get you for a little while?”
His cheeks and the tips of his ears reddened slightly, and he looked pleased that I wanted his company. He gave me a little bow. “I’m at your service until then.”
I sat down with our plates, and Orion went to get us drinks. I searched for Kalindi, but the place where she’d been sitting was now occupied by a pair of Calistan women.
A little musical flourish sounded behind me, and I twisted to find its source. About a dozen Calistans were gathered around a piano. When one of them shifted, I caught a glimpse of Kalindi’s golden hair. She was at the piano. I suppressed a sigh. Only an Obligate with a training budget could have afforded years of piano lessons back on Earthenfell.
I set down my plate and rose, drawn by the music and the need to see how much approval her playing was garnering for her. Again, I cursed my lack of vocal talent. A beautiful voice like Lana’s required no expensive instrument lessons.
I stood at the edge of the growing crowd around the piano. The Calistan men near me began turning around, peering at me as if I’d marched up and announced myself. Their expressions ranged from curious to a sort of hunger that made me draw back half a step.
I looked past the crowd to see Kalindi narrowing her eyes at me, clearly irritated that I’d taken attention away from her performance.
I shrank back a little, my heart tapping nervously. I should have stayed on the bench and waited for Orion. I tried to take another step back, but my heel caught. I attempted to right myself, but my heel was tangled in the back hem of my dress. I pulled at the fabric, which only served to upset my already-precarious balance. My ankle wobbled, and as if in slow motion I felt myself tipping.
No, no, no. I could not fall flat on my face. Not here. Not now.
A hand caught my arm just above my elbow and steadied me. I let out a relieved breath, and turned to thank Orion. But my words died on my lips as my gaze moved up a broad chest to the face towering over me. It wasn’t Orion who’d helped me. It was a Calistan man.
Somehow remembering that I was supposed to be making a good impression, I managed to smile and incline my head. “Thank you for catching me. If not for your quick reflexes, I’m afraid I’d be sitting in a heap on the floor right now.”
Something about the man’s eyes looked familiar, but I didn’t recall seeing him before. He bent to free my heel from the hem of my dress and then straightened. I had to tip my head back to see into his face. After a brief moment of hesitation I quickly curtsied, keenly aware of my own fumbling. But he didn’t seem to mind. Or perhaps he was just too polite to react to my awkwardness.
“May I escort you to a seat? You look as if you could use a sip of water.” He touched the back of my elbow and steered me away from the crowd around the piano.
“Yes, and thank you again.” I gave him a grateful nod. “The air is quite dry here compared to Earthenfell, and I find I always feel a bit parched. I suppose it doesn’t feel that way to you, though.”
I felt more than a little idiotic at making such inane small talk, but the man didn’t seem to mind. In fact, the corners of his lips stretched into a slow smile, as if I’d just delivered a delightful quip.
; “The air here is actually quite sterile of the moisture and aromas you’re used to,” he said.
“Yes, that’s exactly the impression I had when I arrived here,” I said. Then I winced, realizing my words might have sounded critical. “Though please don’t take my observation as complaint. Calisto certainly has its beauty. I caught a bit of the sunset, and it was absolutely lovely. And the palace is very impressive.”
My heart dipped nervously when I realized where he was taking me—to one of the curtained areas. But he pulled two chairs to the edge of the space where we’d be able to see into the greater part of the room.
“Please, sit.” He placed his hand on the back of one chair. “I will get you some water.”
I nodded my thanks. After he walked away, I surveyed the party, curious about what the others were doing. Meribel was speaking with her hands clasped at her waist, and a small crowd of Calistans had gathered around her. It looked as if she might be reciting poetry.
Britta was at one of the drink tables. She tipped a goblet back, rapidly emptying it, and then held it out to be refilled and drank deeply again. By the way she tottered a little when she moved away, I imagined she’d already made a couple of previous stops at the wine tables.
When the Calistan man returned, I took the cup he offered. He sat down on the chair next to mine and angled his body toward me, giving me a tilted gaze. The intensity in his eyes made me want to squirm.
After a few seconds, the silence began to feel awkward.
“I apologize,” I said. “I should have introduced myself. I’m Maya.”
“Yes, I remember,” he said. “My name is Jeric.”
“Were you in attendance at the Obligate introduction ceremony, Sir Jeric?” I asked.
“As the Lord’s brother, yes, I most certainly was,” he gave a short laugh.
“Oh! I didn’t realize. I apologize for my ignorance. We Obligates are not made familiar with the royal family. We’re not really told much, in fact.” I’d let the last comment slip out under my breath, and I cast him a rueful glance, again feeling a little silly. “I’m honored to be in your company, Sir Jeric.”
