Page 53 of To Dance with Death

“Andyourdesires are the only ones that matter?”

“I would very much love to indulge yours as well,” he says, stepping toward me. “Only I doubt you would admit to them.” He taps a finger to my breastbone—right above my décolletage. “How very fast your heart beats for me, dancer.”

“Anger spurs it, Majesty.”

“How fine a line is the one that divides fury and passion. One could say it’s rather pleasurable to blur the two.” Again a smile, this one broadening as he shifts on his feet. “You know, I think I will change the terms of our agreement.”

“You can’t do that.”

“Of course I can. I will continue to allow your presence here in exchange for your nightly dances—and for your joining me for a dinner of my choosing. Tomorrow evening, I think. I will send someone to collect you.”

This time, he walks away fromme.

Chapter Seventeen

Collectme?

Like a toy?

I’m seething the next morning, even as I stalk the walkways of the Abyssal with Arjuna’s codex in hand.

I keep reminding myself that my anger is misplaced, though somehow that makes it all the worse. I can’t direct it at anyone. Anton is only this way because of me. Because he made a choice, sacrificed himself and his memories, so that I might live. And even here, he is doing something good, what with his judgment over the souls.

I know, I know, Iknow.

I inhale through my nose, let it out slowly, and continue my search along the shelves, desperately seeking one that glows when I draw near. After some time, Sundar stumbles across Veer’s glowing codex. One more brother, but no one else. At least this method seems to work.

An hour later, Sundar and I break only for a quick bite from the kitchens, and during our walk back to the Abyssal, he says, “I am waiting, you know.”

“Waiting for what?”

He gives me a knowing look. “For you to tell me what His Majesty said to you when he followed you last night.”

Instantly, my hackles rise. “He was just…I don’t know. Pestering me.”

“Because he wants you.”

“For a night, maybe,” I say. “One night. And then what, Sundar? He would tire of me and send me away.”

“You don’t know that. But don’t you think, at the very least, that you should use his interest in you as an opportunity to glean something? Perhaps about what Moranya really wants? In fact—” He stops in his tracks and swings to look at me. “What if you play hard to get? Make him a little jealous? He’ll probably give you just about anything—includinginformation—to win you over.”

“You are about as insufferable as he is,” I mutter, striding onward. “And I’m not playing ‘hard to get.’ I am rejecting him on principle.” At least when he’s acting like this.

“I’m just saying,” he says, sprinting to catch up with me. “It’s worth a shot. He is only human, after all.” I feel his fingers around my wrist. “Face it, Vasalie. Even if we find his codex, you were right. We don’t know if he’ll bother to read it. Why not try this, too? You might find you have no other choice. Just how long are you willing to wait? Every day, the Syndicate deadline inches closer, and so does war.”

“And if he starts to wonder why I’m questioning him so much about Moranya?”

“Who wouldn’t be curious? I mean, really. It’s reasonable that you would want to know more.”

I let out a burst of a sigh. “He will figure it out, Sundar. He’s smarter than you think.” I couldn’t thwart him last time, either, and he was infinitely more occupied than he is now.

“I have faith in you” is all Sundar says.

I wish he wasn’t right. But his words circle in my mind as we resume our search in the Abyssal.

“How did you find Mantrin’s codex that first time? And Arjuna’s. It couldn’t have just been happenstance.”

Sundar thinks for a moment, scratching his head. “It was strange, actually. I walked right to them, not even meaning to. Like a pull.” He glances at me. “What if you just…walked to where you are drawn? Maybe we are trying too hard.”