“You look beautiful this evening, Veralie.”
She swallowed her half-chewed bite, uttering a quick, “Thank you, your highness,” before taking a generous gulp of wine. The prince’s smile never faltered; his eyes riveted to her as if she were a puzzle he desperately wanted to solve.
“My son spoke true; you do look quite lovely.” This time, he didn’t need to add. The emperor sat back against his chair and cocked his head, appraising her. She took another sip of wine, hoping to mask her nerves with a slight buzz.
“I must confess, Veralie, I’m not one for idle chitchat. I find it rather tedious. So, I will do us both a favor and get right to the topic at hand.”
She nodded, pleased. Small talk wasn’t a skill she possessed either.
He drummed his fingers lightly on his armrests. “What all do you know about Bhasura and its people?”
“Not much, your majesty. I know the island resides over the resting place of the gods. And I think somewhere I heard, or maybe read, that the gods blessed the Magyki with superior physical abilities. That they’re faster and stronger.”
“Yes and no.” His lips quirked and he looked down his nose at her as if he found her to be an adorably naive child. “You’re correct that the island does sit above where the gods slumber. However, the gods did not bless the Magyki. The Magyki have such abilities because they stole the power.”
Vera’s eyes widened, and she moved to lean forward before thinking better of it when the prince’s eyes darted below her neck. “How did they steal power from the gods? And why?”
“Come now, Veralie, what motive would one have for such a thing?” He tsked. “Greed.”
“But…how?”
“According to history, the gods left a remnant of their power on the island—a relic of some kind. The how and why has never been clear. The Magyki, who were, of course, natives of the island, swore an oath to protect it. But they lied.” He took a slow, measured sip from his wine.
“They began to experiment and discovered they could drain its essence and imbue their bodies with a power they were never meant to have. It gave them strength, speed, heightened senses, and longevity. The average lifespan for a Magyki is around 200 years.”
Vera tipped her head back; food forgotten. Her mind went immediately to her green-eyed stalker. He’d appeared not much older than she, but if his lifespan were at least double a human man’s, who knew how old he was. She stiffened at the next thought that entered, unbidden, into her mind.
“Veralie?” Prince Eithan was looking at her, concern etched into his face.
“I just realized, if my life span is longer than what I thought it was, I might be completely wrong about my age.” She chewed on her bottom lip, ignoring the bitter taste.
“Elric believed I was around five years old when I was sent to him. But what if I just looked younger than I really was?” She stared down at her lap, twisting her hands into her skirt. Verbally acknowledging how little she knew about herself left a hollow feeling in her stomach.
“You will physically age slower than a Matherin, but your age is correct.”
She raised her head abruptly. “How do you know that?” Belatedly, she realized she’d just demanded an answer from him without addressing him respectfully. He narrowed his eyes, but after a slight pause, he answered.
“Because the Magyki who smuggled you here told me.” He smirked; his tone annoyingly arrogant. He was trickling out information, dangling it by a hook and reveling in the sight of her trying to grasp at it.
Her eyes burned with unshed tears that desperately wanted to fall. He was taking advantage of her ignorance and teasing her with knowledge. And the worst part was she had no way of knowing if he was even telling the truth.
She swallowed hard, looking away towards the windows. There was a pregnant pause as she internally wrestled for control.
Risking the chance she was digging an even bigger hole, Vera asked, “Your majesty, may I speak freely for a moment?” She didn’t look away from the view outside.
He didn’t instantly reply, and she had the distinct feeling he was sizing her up. “I’ll allow it.”
She forced herself to turn and make eye contact with him. His eyes were lit with amusement, clearly wondering what silly little question she might have for him.
“You told me you prefer to get right to the point rather than make idle chitchat, but I don’t feel like you’re getting to the point at all. Allow me to just tell you now, I have no memory of my life before becoming Elric’s ward. I don’t remember how I got here. I don’t even remember my family. So, if your hope was to get me to admit to knowing something, I have to say, your majesty, I will only disappoint you.”
His response was to smile openly at her, and it was almost as beautiful as his son’s. It caught her off guard and she found herself glancing at Prince Eithan to gauge his reaction, but he was smiling at her too. What the fuck in all of Aleron was happening?
“You know, Veralie, for someone with absolutely no experience in court, you’re rather good at this.” The prince winked at her, “I suspect we can thank your family line for your natural talent.”
She felt the blood drain from her face. Did he mean—
“You know who my family is?” Her voice came out higher pitched than she would have liked, but he didn’t answer. Instead, choosing to lean back and look toward his father.
She followed his gaze and felt the world fall out from under her when the emperor said, “I know everything.”
Chapter 13
JAREN
For the third time since encountering that damn zhu, Jaren had found himself shocked to his core. He’d barely been able to force his legs to move and launch himself back out of the window before whoever was at the door came in.
He stood, plastered against the outer wall next to her window, and listened as a man droned on about wasting time and something to do with forks. There was a moment of silence before he heard the shuffling of feet followed by the click of a door closing.
Not trusting her to stay quiet, he took off before she and the unknown man had the chance to come around looking for him. But he didn’t go far. He physically couldn’t. His instincts demanded he protect her, and like the fool he was, he couldn’t resist.
She wasn’t just a Magyki female. Gods, she may not have even set foot on Bhasura her entire life and was clearly still locked. She could be completely unaffected. Possibly the only one left. Her blood could be the key to figuring out the taint and helping their people. There was no guarantee, of course, but Jaren couldn’t take the risk of losing her.