Their mouths opened together, tongues meeting. Katya stood and pulled them together with such force it was a wonder they didn’t wind up on opposite sides of one another. Starbride gave herself to the sudden heat that hammered in her and pleaded with the spirits of both their peoples that no one would interrupt them with the clearing of a throat.
Katya’s hands wandered, leaving Starbride gasping and arching, and her kisses left trails of fire along Starbride’s neck and shoulders. When Katya stepped back, Starbride nearly growled in protest.
Katya’s breath came hard. “This is not the venue I imagined for this.”
“You started it.” She tried to keep from gasping. “And you’re the one that spoke of seduction.”
“I was joking, well, half-joking. But I didn’t want us to be together for the first time on top of cold stone.”
“Be together? What were you thinking? One dinner and I’m yours, Highness? I was just about to stop you.”
Katya leaned to the right, and Starbride held her breath as soft lips trailed along her jaw. “Shall we test your willpower?” Her breath tickled Starbride’s ear and sent sweeps of desire down her spine.
“I was just testing yours.”
After a kiss or two, Katya pulled away again. “My willpower’s in tatters when I’m around you, but I still object to the bare stone.”
Starbride caressed Katya’s face, and her next words tumbled from her lips before she could think too hard about them. “I’ve never been…intimate with anyone.”
“Never?”
“Before you, I kissed exactly one person who was not a relation.”
“And?”
“He ran and told his parents. We were six.”
Katya gave her a sweet look, full of affection. “Then you absolutely cannot have your first time here. You must have a bed the size of a galleon, or at the very least, a large soft rug.”
“And rose petals?”
“A must.”
“And the string quartet?”
“Will be discreetly blindfolded.”
Starbride buried her head in the hollow between Katya’s neck and shoulder. After a second’s hesitation, she let her hands do a little experimental wandering across the dark coat.
“Are you testing my willpower again?” Katya asked.
“Perhaps I want to see how quickly you can arrange a bed the size of a galleon covered in rose petals with a blind string quartet.”
“I can amaze when I put my mind to it.” She lifted Starbride’s hands and kissed them, backs then palms. Her eyes offered pleasure, offered her heart.
Starbride kissed along Katya’s soft cheek. “Then amaze me, dear Princess. I want you to. I hope I can amaze you, too.”
Katya kissed her again, another of those fervent explosions that left her weak-kneed, and then led her down the stairs and through the secret passageways, pausing often to hold her close and kiss and caress her until Starbride thought she would melt like warmed butter. They emerged at last into Katya’s bedroom, and Starbride stopped to gawk at the moon and stars painted on the ceiling, at the general size of the room, so much larger than hers.
Katya released her to lock the doors. “To keep the throat clearers at bay.”
Starbride held out her arms, and Katya was there in an instant, leading her to a bed that wasn’t the size of a galleon, with not a rose petal or a blindfolded string quartet in sight, but the promise was the same. Her heart pounded, and her mind tried to intervene, to speak hidden fears or anxieties. What should she do? What should she say?
Katya didn’t leave her time to wonder. Her touch, her lips, her tongue, her flesh, they drove all thought away. Every time Starbride thought she might surface, passion found her and wrapped her in its tight embrace. The sensations that coursed through her left no room for embarrassment.
Starbride learned, hoping to give a fraction of what she received; she let Katya’s moans be her guide, and Katya writhed, pulling the sheets from the mattress. Starbride took that to mean she’d learned well until Katya rolled her over and taught her all over again, driving the lessons from her conscious thoughts. She had time for one fleeting notion, and it was that Katya’s reputation as a lover was well deserved.
When they were still, both of them sweating and breathing hard, Starbride said, “I’m spoiled, spoiled forever.”
Katya laughed breathlessly and moved over the wadded blue sheets, her skin shining against them. “I certainly hope so.”
Starbride kissed every inch of flesh she could reach. Her entire body hummed, and she’d never felt so tired or alive. Still, even with the bliss, her mind wouldn’t be silent, not now that it wasn’t distracted. “Was it…was I…?”
Katya kissed her urgently. Even as Starbride tried to return the intensity, she wondered where Katya summoned the energy from. “After you, I’m spoiled, too.”
Starbride had just enough energy to pull the sheet across them both before she fell asleep; she let Katya’s words soothe her mind. Her body had already been well taken care of.
Chapter Nineteen: Katya
Katya awoke just before dawn. She’d been getting up at the same time for so long that she no longer needed calling. In any case, Averie would be thwarted by the locked door, as she’d been before. Katya could almost see her knowing smile.
Nestled close, Starbride slept like a log, jewelry her only clothing. Rubies winked from both ears and a golden chain around her throat. As much as Katya wanted to wrap her arms around the soft curves and inhale the warm scent of Starbride’s skin, she restrained herself.
It was hard not to be proud, and for the moment, her ego swelled to the point where she stretched like a cat in satisfaction. Last night, after the third or fourth time—Katya had lost track—Starbride’s sweat-slicked body had gone boneless. She’d kissed Katya with a last jolt of passion before lying back and smiling, her face glowing. What she lacked in experience, she made up for in enthusiasm. That combined with the joy of giving Starbride pleasure had granted Katya everything she’d needed.
She played with an errant strand of Starbride’s hair. Starbride muttered in her sleep, and Katya had to stop or risk waking her. She used as much stealth as she could and slipped out from under the sheets, fumbling in the turned-down light of the wall lantern until she found her robe draped over the chair next to her vanity. With a glance in the mirror, she slipped the robe on and grinned at her reflection. Half her hair had come undone. She looked like she’d been doing exactly what she’d been doing all night.
In front of the mirror, Katya took the rest of the pins out and let her hair fall before she brushed it and pinned it up again in its usual loose bun. She noted the slight love bite on the side of her neck. In one passionate upheaval, Starbride had kissed her a little too hard; there’d even been a few teeth. Ah well, it would add to her persona, but if it bothered Starbride, Katya had a few high collars.
Once she was finished with her hair, she tiptoed to the door and unlocked it, moving with aching slowness, and casting glance after glance back at the bed. She opened the door just enough to slip through and then shut it behind her as noiselessly as she could. In the private sitting room, Averie was already setting breakfast on the table. She cast pointed glances at Katya’s bedroom door.
“No comment,” Katya said.
Averie banged the lid shut on a platter of eggs, put her fists on her hips, and stared.
“You’ve become too accustomed to privileged information.”
Turning up her nose, Averie filled Katya’s plate.
“And I’ve become too accustomed to food without spit in it; is that what you’re implying?”
Averie shrugged, still not speaking.
“She’s in there.”
Averie dropped into the chair opposite, her eyes aglow. “I’m very glad for you.”
Katya pushed the toast rack across the table. “Eat with me.”
Without looking at it, Averie took a slice of bread and set it on a plate. “And?”
“Would you like some eggs, too?”
“It must have been nice if you’re avoiding talking about it this much.”
“One of the best nights I’ve ever had.”
Leaning back in her chair, Averie pressed a hand to her heart. “Ah!”
“You live vicariously through me too often.”
“I’m just happy for you.”
As she stared at Averie’s joyous expression, Katya realized just how much truth lay in her own words. Averie didn’t have a life of her own and probably never would, even if she wanted one. Being the lady-in-waiting of the Princess of Farraday and a member of the Order of Vestra, Averie didn’t have time for anything else. Living vicariously was all she could do.
“Do you ever want to be elsewhere, Averie?”
“Like where?”
“Well, it’s not that I don’t love you. I do, and I wouldn’t trade your service for anyone’s, but if you’re ever unhappy—”
“Stop right there. I will die as your servant. There is no place I’d rather be than with you, Highness.”
“A husband? Children?”
“I can have those and still be your lady-in-waiting.”
“And when would you see them? Between when you put me to bed late at night and serve me breakfast at the crack of dawn?”
“They could learn to be nocturnal.”
“So, they’d see you while you’re asleep?”
Averie slathered jam on her toast. “Well then, they could see me during the day while you’re out, unless I was supposed to be out with you.”
“Not good enough.”
“I know many ladies-in-waiting, enough to know that I’m unique. Others are not so fortunate. They stand in the corner at attention, waiting for the first dropped hanky. Some ladies are treated worse than illegitimate stepchildren; some ladies are treated horribly by the illegitimate stepchildren. The Duchess of Blenbraddyn would have apoplexy if her lady sat down to have toast with her, and the young Countess Fanchion, though only nine years old, slaps her lady-in-waiting at least ten times a day.”
“Why doesn’t the lady quit?”
“Pride. It’s a good position, nice pay, hand-me-down clothes, and full care by the countess’s physician for the lady’s family. She was the former countess’s lady-in-waiting, too. Perhaps she thinks she can endure.”
“Well, there’s one person who keeps a family on the side.”
“You see? And you don’t even slap me.”
Katya sputtered on her coffee. “Well, I’m certain that Countess Fanchion’s lady-in-waiting is not in the Order of Vestra.”
“I can find a balance. Now, is Starbride a good kisser?”
“It’s rude to kiss and tell. You know that.”
“I know nothing of the kind. Was she very passionate? I’ve heard Allusians can be passionate.”
“Who have you been talking to about Allusians?”
“This person and that. Is it true?”
Katya gave her a dark look. “It’s never too late to start slapping you, I suppose.”
“I knew it.” Averie sat back and crossed her arms, a self-satisfied look on her face.
“I’ll have to get used to people discussing our relationship, I suppose.” Spirits knew it would be better with Averie than with the courtiers with their prying eyes and probing questions. Either the princess’s Allusian lover would be embraced with false sentiment, or she’d be ridiculed. Probably both. Luckily, the embracers would somewhat shield Starbride from the ridiculers. Katya sighed. They were problems for later. “Can you send a message to Dawnmother? I wouldn’t want her to worry.”
“I sent one last night.”
“How did you know I came back?”
“A good servant knows all her mistress’s comings and goings.”
“Then why did you ask me if she was in there?”
“Ah, I meant, is she still in there? Eat your breakfast before it gets cold.”
Katya dug in until she heard a small thump from the bedroom, followed by what sounded like a curse. “I think someone’s stubbed a toe.”
“I’ll make myself scarce.”
“If you don’t think you can control your lustful thoughts, do so.”
Inside the bedroom, Starbride sat on the floor, wrapped in a sheet and rubbing her foot. Katya knelt next to her. “It’s the bed legs. They stick out too far.”
“You need some kind of a sign.”
Katya raised the injured foot to her lips and kissed the top. “Thank you for thinking I have enough people in here to warrant a sign.”
Starbride wrapped her arms around Katya’s waist, and Katya drew her in with her acre of sheet and kissed the top of her head. Starbride tugged at her bun. “I know your hair wasn’t this tidy last night.”
“I fixed it. I can’t stand having it down.”
“Among my people, those who’ve taken up the sword often shave their heads.”
“I’ll threaten my mother with that the next time she tries to make me wear a more fashionable style.”
“You’re fashionable enough.”
Katya kissed her gently, then more deeply. The sheet was easy to unwind.
Starbride stopped her quickly. “Haven’t we been in here for a week already?”
“Only three days.”
“Liar. I need to go back to my room and change.” She played with the top of the sheet for a moment. “I talk to Dawnmother about everything. She can be trusted.”
“Not with all of it, not yet, please. Don’t mention the Fiend or the Order.”
“Is that a royal command?”
“You know it’s a request. If I was throwing around orders, I’d order you back into bed.”
Starbride chuckled and threw her hair over one shoulder. “I’ll keep your secrets.”
“Thank you.” Katya kissed her again and helped her hunt down her clothes before leaving Starbride to dress alone. She couldn’t promise to keep her hands to herself. “Breakfast?”
“Dawnmother will have something for me.”
The thought of sending her away made Katya’s chest ache, but she couldn’t ignore her responsibilities forever. “Will Dawnmother forgive me if I send you back to your room with an escort that isn’t me?”
“She’ll have to. Besides, I don’t want to wait on my breakfast until you’re dressed, and you can’t go through the hallway in your robe.”
“You’d better go, then. If I get ahold of you again…” Katya started forward, and Starbride darted for the door, laughing over her shoulder.
“When will we see one another?”
“As soon as I can manage it, I swear.”
“And you’ll tell me any new developments?”
“Yes, I will. And I’ll talk to Crowe about you. And you will know all.”
“You know what?” Starbride’s bright eyes filled with mischief.
“What?”
“I love you.”
Katya’s breath caught, and she took a step forward. “Ah, Star, I love you, too.”
“Back, back, before I stay another three days! My escort, please.”
“Averie! Escort this rascal back to her room before I order her imprisonment in our royal apartment.”
Averie curtsied as she entered, her cheeks taut with a contained grin. Starbride gave one wink over her shoulder, and then they were gone. Katya sat and ate and reveled in recent memory, smiling again and again until it hurt. When she finished, she pushed away her plate, closed her eyes, and prayed to Matter and Marla for wisdom. “It is love, oh spirits, it must be. I’ve seen it now, and I’ve felt it. She’s seen the Fiend and the trouble in my life, and she hasn’t run away. I was ready to play the rake forever, but now I want one person. Spirits, I’ve used the gifts you’ve given me, and all I see is love. Put my doubts to rest.”
Her heart lighter, only a single great hurdle remained, and Katya doubted that even the spirits could help her with her mother. She’d put that off as long as possible.
O
nce Averie returned, Katya forced herself to look ahead to the unpleasant task of dealing with the traitors. Averie helped her dress in midnight blue and black. Setting her face to stone and her mind to the forthcoming task, Katya strode through the secret passageways until she reached the anteroom to the dungeons. Crowe leaned against the wall, facing the door as if waiting for her. His wrinkled face seemed more haggard in the shadowy light.
“Crowe? I thought you’d be in there by now.”
“I was.”
Katya frowned. “I expected to catch at least some of the interrogation.”
“Both Darren’s and Cassius’s minds are closed. They’re either pyradistés, or they’ve both been warded by a pyramid user of incredible skill. I might have known.”
Katya’s stomach went cold. “By the bearded man?”
“What makes you think so?”
Katya told him about the bearded man trying to hypnotize Starbride, about him calling her a pyradisté.
Crowe ran his fingers through his hair, making it stick out at the sides. “It might be him, I suppose. Starbride’s a pyradisté, eh? Ha. Well, now I know it was useless to offer to erase her memories when she found out about the Fiend.”
“I…I didn’t know you offered. You can’t break through these wards?”
Crowe rubbed the dark circles under his eyes. Katya wondered if he’d slept at all. “I don’t know. Given time? I still don’t know.”
Katya watched him stare into space and frowned again. She wanted to be kind, but they had a job to do. If he’d become incapable, she needed a way to either motivate him or replace him. “Pennynail taking care of you?”
“I don’t need taking care of.”
She resisted the urge to glare. Her father would’ve barked at him, but that wasn’t the way she wanted to play it. He’d do his duty, but she didn’t want his mind clouded by resentment. A way out of an impending argument leapt to mind. Starbride was again to be her salvation. “My father wants you to begin training your inevitable replacement.”
“What?” The pallor of his face gave way as two spots of red bloomed in his cheeks. “He said what?”
“He said—”
The Pyramid Waltz Page 20
