The Blood Mirror

“If that was meant to soothe me, I’m afraid—” Teia started.

“Satrapah Azmith died at dinner. Had all the signs of a heart attack, but a woman dies at dinner with you, you check the food for poison, right? You’re a Blackguard.”

Teia feigned shock. “The satrapah? Now? I knew we should have left right away.” She mumbled a curse.

“People are blaming your mistress—” the captain said.

Oh hell no.

“—for putting such strain on her with her message. Please stay inside for the night until tempers cool. You’ll have orders in the morning.”

Orders? The Nuqaba wasn’t in authority over them. That her men casually assumed she was wasn’t a good sign.

“Uh, thank you, then,” Teia said.

He turned to go, but she stopped him.

“Um, sir? Before the screaming just now, the party sounded, uh, pretty exuberant. Should I advise my lady not to bother the Nuqaba too early in the morning?”

He looked at her as if deciding whether to take offense or not. Then he relented. “She usually switches from alcohol to other things before dinner for that reason. Morning she has her poppy tincture first thing. It levels her out. Early is probably best. Ten minutes before dawn rituals on the east lawn. Orholam go with you, and may there be only light between our lands.”

“Thank you,” Teia said.

“I’ll tell the watch captain to announce you.”

“Thank you,” she said again.

Maybe she’d put too much friendliness in her tone, because he looked at her again with something new in his eyes. He waved for his men to head out, but he didn’t follow them. “So,” he said. “Crazy times, huh?”

“Huh?”

“Crazy times we live in,” he said. “Really makes you think that you’ve gotta seize the opportunities for the good things that life sends your way.”

“Um… right. Sure.” Oh no.

“Where are you from? You look like you’ve got some Parian blood?”

“I grew up in Odess, actually. But yes. Think my family emigrated, immigrated? I can never remember when you say which. Um, a couple generations back. Dad got into debt, so…” She fingered her notched ear.

It probably wasn’t her smartest move to flag that she’d been a slave. Not usually a quick route to getting more respect.

“Huh, right,” he said in a tone that made it clear he wasn’t listening to a word she said. “How old are you?”

“I’m sorry,” she said, “but you’re making me uncomfortable.” And if I have to kill your ass, I am really in deep shit.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be… whatever. Just, you’re here tonight. War’s on the horizon everywhere. I think you’re beautiful, and you know, you don’t even have a book. What are you going to do all night? Pretty boring here, right? What better way to pass the time? Do you know you have the most beautiful lips?”

He stepped forward and caressed her cheek. She had to control herself not to flinch away from his touch. He looked a bit tipsy, and Teia doubted it was from her beauty. Shit. She bit the inside of her cheek hard. “Oh, I wish I could,” she said. “But… uh, I’m sorry, it’s embarrassing…”

“Are you on your moon? I don’t mind. You don’t have to be embarrassed about that, and there are certainly other—”

“Oh no,” she said. “No, I love swiving during my moon blood. If my daddy won’t swive me then, I just find a boy who will. No, it’s, uh… my infection’s flared up.”

“Infection?”

“You know, the boy who gave it to me swore I wouldn’t get it if I just used my mouth, too. And I believed him. I guess that’s what you get when you start swiving in back alleys at ten to get money for sweets.” Teia grabbed her cheek and turned it out so he could see the lumpy, bloodied flesh she’d just bitten.

The look on his face was one of pure horror.

“And if you think that looks bad…” She glanced downward and scratched at her groin. “See? It’s terrible. You’re disgusted now, aren’t you?”

“No, no,” he said, backing away.

“I just didn’t want you to take it personally, you’re very handsome.”

“No, no, I understand. It’s fine.”

“It is kind of burning right now. Maybe I’ll just sleep tonight and let myself heal,” she said.

“That… that sounds best,” he said. He left quickly.

Benighted jackass. Dammit. As Teia closed the door, she rubbed her cheek. It hurt like hell, but she silently thanked her Archer sisters for the stratagem.

That you can kill a man easily doesn’t mean he knows it; even if he knows it, it doesn’t mean he’ll act in a rational way with that knowledge. Their fault, but your problem.

She grabbed her gear and went to her window. Her room had no balcony, but that was just as well. The window opened wide enough for her to wriggle through. She popped the first climbing crescent and affixed its sticky side to the wall and then poked her head out. This side of the palace sat over a cliff, with retaining walls leaving barely enough room for a row of low flowering bushes before the palace itself sprang from the ground. Teia’s window was only about ten feet above those bushes, but if she fell and didn’t grab on to them, a fall of several hundred feet onto rocky beach awaited.

Good thing I’m not afraid of heights.

Much.

There was no one else out here. No balconies hung out above the cliff face, though there were inset patios on the roof, Teia knew.

She moved carefully and took her time. She didn’t have enough climbing crescents to make it all the way to the top, so she planned on getting into a window on the next floor. Quick and easy.

The window was locked.

Nothing is ever quick and easy.

She made it to the next floor up before she ran out of climbing crescents. The window was cracked open, but there was a couple inside. They looked like they’d be busy for a while.

Teia wasn’t exactly fond of clinging to a wall while the autumn-evening breeze kicked up, chilling her fingers, but she didn’t see that she had many good options, so she waited.

She peeked again. The couple—younger staff, servants both—were still sitting on the woman’s bed, only kissing. The woman had her legs spread and was arching her chest toward the man, but he barely had his hand on her thigh. Awkward kisser, too.