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“I know! We’re never at the embassy at the same time these days.”
“Well, we have both had a lot on.”
There was no venom to his voice. But still, Teigra felt the sting.
She didn’t know if the two of them had been heading somewhere. She’d never had so easy a relationship with a male before, apart from Aurelius, back before all this started.
And she’d enjoyed his company. She’d enjoyed him. He’d been a good friend when she didn’t have any others. And she was sure that some part of him had felt similar toward her.
And she’d betrayed him. She’d kept him in the dark.
She gave a heavy breath. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you. I just wanted to say—”
“Are you happy?” he said, his face as open as the evening sky. Little lumps of marble in his fur only accentuated his relaxed air.
“I am.”
She wasn’t sure if her answer was true. But it was the truth she needed to believe in this moment.
“Then I’m happy for you,” he said, giving her the most tragic smile she’d ever seen.
With a suppressed sigh, he brought his chisel up to the nose of the marble bust. He lined the angle up, weighed the force, and swung.
He completely missed the base of the tool, instead smacking the statue right where the nostril would be.
With mocking slowness, the crack spread up and around, encircling the appendage, before it slid to the floor in a shatter of white.
“Oh... bugger,” he said. “I thought we minotaurs were supposed to be good at this!”
“Is there any way to fix it?” she said, stifling a laugh.
“I don’t think so. Although I could claim it’s a new sculptural style?”
“A face without a nose? I don’t think it’ll catch on.”
“Well fine,” he said, dragging a thick block onto the stand without any apparent effort. His face bore a familiar playfulness. “Shall we start over?”
“Yes,” she said, taking a seat beside him. “Let’s start over.”
64
AURELIUS
“A fascinating time to be the herald of Mestibes!” said High Envoy Sophia Fabulosa, as the sunset turned all beneath it to fire. “And how unfortunate that Vatic has fated the duty for you at this time.”
Aurelius sipped his third glass of wine, drawn from her personal cellars. The rooftop of the Ondocian Embassy was replete with libations and exotic foods. It was lined with fragrant lavender and bay plants in large terracotta pots, giving way to the best view in all Ardora—the harbor below, the bay beyond that, and an all-around view into the bedrooms and private studies of the rich and powerful houses of Chrysa Touvla, the suburb where most of the city’s nobles lived. If one was so inclined, there was no limit to the little secrets one could uncover while partaking of an evening drink.
“I expect you will serve as your mother’s chief negotiator during the war? That is traditionally one of the herald’s functions, is it not?”
“Who can say?” he said with forced laughter. “There are many back home who believe Vatic will deliver bad news to the tyrant.”
“Well, may that indeed be the case. And may the rumors of what Rinath does to messengers who bring unfavorable terms be nothing but old myths!”
She flicked a strand of blond behind her silk-lined shoulders. It may have looked casual, but Aurelius was certain that every movement of her body, every tone in her voice was a calculated ploy. It was just like the opulence of the hospitality, all designed to show the power of her polity.
“To happier news,” she said, thumbing a lavender stem. “I had the good fortune of attending the Rose Rain Ball a few nights back. A shame you couldn’t make it. A most enchanting evening.”
“So I’ve heard.”
