Page 25 of Thief of Hearts

It was then that I put the dress on and sighed with how wonderful it felt. I wondered what time it was—I didn’t know how long I’d been in here or when the party was supposed to start.

When I reached my room, I opened the door expecting to only see Dagger. But Zain was waiting for me.

His midnight-colored hair was still damp at the ends, curling slightly. He again had on a dark red tunic, but this one was made of silk. His whole face lit up when he saw me, and my heart stuttered.

He slowly stood, taking me in. “Illora, you look like a goddess come to life.”

Was I blushing? I didn’t know how to take this flirtation. It was on the tip of my tongue to return the compliment because he looked breathtakingly handsome.

Instead I opted for what felt safe. “You seem to really like wearing dark red.”

“Hides the blood.”

“Yours or someone else’s?”

“Both,” he said with a wink. “Shall we go?”

We went out into the hallway. He seemed to know where he was headed and I followed.

“I would have draped you in jewels, but I got the distinct feeling you might object to the method through which I would obtain them,” he said. “But it’s fine that I didn’t because you don’t need them.”

I was grateful that the hallway was darkened, lit only by torch. Having such fair skin made blushing obvious.

When was the last time before meeting him that I had blushed? I couldn’t remember and felt foolish that I kept doing it now.

We walked in silence for nearly the entire length of the hallway before he asked, “Did you enjoy your bath?”

That felt like safer territory. “I did. How do they heat their water?”

“I don’t know,” he said. “I could investigate and find out.”

He didn’t need to go to that kind of effort. “You don’t have to. Honestly, I don’t care that much.”

“That’s why I can’t pique your interest. You don’t always need answers.”

That was true. Not everything in life needed to be examined and understood. Obviously I still asked questions and was curious about things, but it wasn’t a burning feeling where I absolutely had to know. “No, I don’t.”

He made a soft humming sound and looked as if he was absorbing this information. We continued our quiet walk but it wasn’t uncomfortable. I found that I enjoyed just being near him.

Music and voices got louder and louder as we approached the celebration. When we reached the doors, he turned to me and said, “My apologies, but you are not going to blend in. I would guess that you always stand out wherever you go.”

It was true—I was taller than most men, stronger, too, and had flaming red hair. I never faded into the background.

He opened the doors and I put a hand over my stomach, completely in awe of what I was seeing.

Chapter Nine

I had been to parties and celebrations at the palace in Troas. But nothing that they had ever done came close to this.

Bouquets and garlands of fresh flowers seemed to cover nearly every surface. An artificial pond had been constructed in the middle of the room. I could see from here that there were beautiful, golden fish swimming in it and black swans gliding along the surface.

Sheets of gold silk hung from every wall and across the ceiling that soared above us. It almost felt like being inside a jewelry box.

Every woman in the room was covered in silks and precious gemstones so that they reflected light in every direction. The silverware, the plates, the goblets, all made out of gold.

A servant approached with a tray, offering us a pair of gold goblets. I shook my head. I did not want to be sick tomorrow for the first event.

Zain did not seem to share my concern and threw his drink back in one gulp.