Sapient Salvation 1: The Selection (Sapient Salvation Series) (20 page)

I set down my plate and rose, drawn by the music and the need to see how much approval her playing was garnering for her. Again, I cursed my lack of vocal talent. A beautiful voice like Lana’s required no expensive instrument lessons.

I stood at the edge of the growing crowd around the piano. The Calistan men near me began turning around, peering at me as if I’d marched up and announced myself. Their expressions ranged from curious to a sort of hunger that made me draw back half a step.

I looked past the crowd to see Kalindi narrowing her eyes at me, clearly irritated that I’d taken attention away from her performance.

I shrank back a little, my heart tapping nervously. I should have stayed on the bench and waited for Orion. I tried to take another step back, but my heel caught. I attempted to right myself, but my heel was tangled in the back hem of my dress. I pulled at the fabric, which only served to upset my already-precarious balance. My ankle wobbled, and as if in slow motion I felt myself tipping.

No, no, no. I could not fall flat on my face. Not here. Not now.

A hand caught my arm just above my elbow and steadied me. I let out a relieved breath, and turned to thank Orion. But my words died on my lips as my gaze moved up a broad chest to the face towering over me. It wasn’t Orion who’d helped me. It was a Calistan man.

Somehow remembering that I was supposed to be making a good impression, I managed to smile and incline my head. “Thank you for catching me. If not for your quick reflexes, I’m afraid I’d be sitting in a heap on the floor right now.”

Something about the man’s eyes looked familiar, but I didn’t recall seeing him before. He bent to free my heel from the hem of my dress and then straightened. I had to tip my head back to see into his face. After a brief moment of hesitation I quickly curtsied, keenly aware of my own fumbling. But he didn’t seem to mind. Or perhaps he was just too polite to react to my awkwardness.

“May I escort you to a seat? You look as if you could use a sip of water.” He touched the back of my elbow and steered me away from the crowd around the piano.

“Yes, and thank you again.” I gave him a grateful nod. “The air
is
quite dry here compared to Earthenfell, and I find I always feel a bit parched. I suppose it doesn’t feel that way to you, though.”

I felt more than a little idiotic at making such inane small talk, but the man didn’t seem to mind. In fact, the corners of his lips stretched into a slow smile, as if I’d just delivered a delightful quip.

“The air here is actually quite sterile of the moisture and aromas you’re used to,” he said.

“Yes, that’s exactly the impression I had when I arrived here,” I said. Then I winced, realizing my words might have sounded critical. “Though please don’t take my observation as complaint. Calisto certainly has its beauty. I caught a bit of the sunset, and it was absolutely lovely. And the palace is very impressive.”

My heart dipped nervously when I realized where he was taking me—to one of the curtained areas. But he pulled two chairs to the edge of the space where we’d be able to see into the greater part of the room.

“Please, sit.” He placed his hand on the back of one chair. “I will get you some water.”

I nodded my thanks. After he walked away, I surveyed the party, curious about what the others were doing. Meribel was speaking with her hands clasped at her waist, and a small crowd of Calistans had gathered around her. It looked as if she might be reciting poetry.

Britta was at one of the drink tables. She tipped a goblet back, rapidly emptying it, and then held it out to be refilled and drank deeply again. By the way she tottered a little when she moved away, I imagined she’d already made a couple of previous stops at the wine tables.

When the Calistan man returned, I took the cup he offered. He sat down on the chair next to mine and angled his body toward me, giving me a tilted gaze. The intensity in his eyes made me want to squirm.

After a few seconds, the silence began to feel awkward.

“I apologize,” I said. “I should have introduced myself. I’m Maya.”

“Yes, I remember,” he said. “My name is Jeric.”

“Were you in attendance at the Obligate introduction ceremony, Sir Jeric?” I asked.

“As the Lord’s brother, yes, I most certainly was,” he gave a short laugh.

“Oh! I didn’t realize. I apologize for my ignorance. We Obligates are not made familiar with the royal family. We’re not really told much, in fact.” I’d let the last comment slip out under my breath, and I cast him a rueful glance, again feeling a little silly. “I’m honored to be in your company, Sir Jeric.”

So this was Lord Toric’s brother. That’s where I’d seen those eyes before. Jeric bore a vague resemblance to the Lord, though in my observation he did not have the same regal, magnetic quality. But it couldn’t hurt my chances to try to ingratiate myself to someone so close to the Calistan Lord.

“And do you have any other siblings?” I asked.

“Yes, a sister. Her name is Cassiopeia.” He scanned the room and then nodded. “There, see the woman in pink with dark hair? That’s Cassi.”

She was too far away for me to discern whether she looked like her brothers, but I made a mental note of who she was.

“Do you have siblings?” he asked.

I glanced up at him, surprised that he would bring up the topic of the family I’d been ripped away from—that the traditions of
his
people had ripped me away from. For a split second, I bristled. Then I told myself that the smarter reaction was to assume that he was sincerely interested, possibly even sympathetic.

“I have a twin,” I said. “Her name is Lana.” I tried to keep a pleasant expression, but felt my smile faltering.

“A twin . . . two of you,” he said, his tone oddly wondrous. The intent look on his face was disconcerting, and I shifted in my seat. “You must miss her terribly.”

“I do, more than I could ever describe.” My throat welled, cutting off any more words. I stared down into the cup I held.

I felt him watching me. He leaned closer, and when I turned to him, I couldn’t help a little flinch. His face loomed only inches over mine.

“I believe I could find a way for you to contact her,” he said. His eyes gleamed. “But you can’t tell anyone. If you tell, the consequences for both of us will be extremely grave, and you’ll surely never speak to Lana again.”

My heart leapt, but a wisp of skepticism followed. I gave him a sharp look. “Obligates are not allowed to communicate with anyone on Earthenfell.”

“We call you Offered, not Obligates. Obligates is the Earthen term,” he said absently. His focus seemed to have shifted to something across the room.

I frowned in confusion at his abrupt change of subject. Before I could formulate a question about how I would get to speak to Lana, Jeric muttered under his breath, clearly irritated about something. A second later, two Calistan men towered over us. My pulse jumped at their sudden appearance.

They were giving Jeric nearly identical flinty looks. “Clear out,” one of them said. “By the order of the Lord.”

Jeric’s eyes darkened as his expression transitioned from irritated to angry. He glared at each man in turn, and then slowly rose from his seat. He straightened the front of his shirt with a sharp tug and then turned to me.

With a smile that failed to touch his eyes, he bent over me in a formal bow, grasped the fingers of my right hand, and planted a kiss just behind my knuckles. “It was my pleasure to make your acquaintance, Maya. I regret that I must leave you now, but our paths will surely cross again.”

Then, with his back blocking the view of the two guards, he gave me a secretive little smile. “I will come for you so you can speak to Lana,” he said at barely a whisper. He let go of my hand and touched the side of his index finger to his lips. “Remember—do not breathe a word to anyone.”

I wanted nothing more than to shrink back from his gaze, which bored into me. His demeanor was gallant, but something about his manner felt threatening.

With wide eyes I nodded, unable to come up with any appropriate response before he disappeared around one of the curtains.

As soon as Jeric was gone, another tall figure appeared in front of me. For a second I thought Jeric had returned, but when I looked up, Lord Toric’s blue-green gaze—so similar to his brother’s and yet so very different—seemed to pin me to my chair and still my breath. The alien Lord did not look happy.

Just behind Lord Toric’s left shoulder, Akantha’s slitted eyes glared down at me.

The Calistan woman who stood with Akantha in the throne room—the Priestess—was at Lord Toric’s other side, her face unrevealing.

My mouth went dry as I stared up at them.

14

Toric

I ENTERED THE ballroom with the Priestess, both of us walking behind Calvin and Palovich and a handful of Calistan nobles trailing behind us. I immediately sensed Maya among the swirl of energetic auras of the Earthens in attendance. She was somewhere midway back, near the left wall.

I’d intended to make my way slowly around the room, but something shadowy bristled through Maya’s energy like a ghostly intruder, driving me to move straight to her instead of taking my time.

Calistans bowed as I passed, and the young Offered gaped at me with widened eyes before sinking into bows and curtsies. The nobles who’d entered with me dispersed to find the Offered men who were assigned to them for the evening, as a test of their skills of service. But I was only partially aware of these things as I sought out Maya.

The one thing that did distract me from Maya was Akantha, when she spotted me and left her table to join my little entourage. It was an unfortunate rule of the Tournament proceedings that she and High Priestess Lunaria were required to be in attendance when I interacted with the Offered men and women in events that figured into the rankings, even the ones that weren’t formal Tournament challenges. The company of the Priestess I appreciated, but Akantha was a splinter in my thumb that had worked itself too deep for extraction.

When I came into view of Maya and I saw my snake of a brother sitting next to her, his body curved toward her and his eyes locked on her face, a searing wave of anger pulsed through me. My hands clenched, and I took a step forward but then stopped myself. It was not the time or place for a confrontation with Jeric, not with so many eyes watching.

“Get rid of him,” I said through gritted teeth to my guards.

Akantha let loose a string of curses under her breath, and I shot her a glance over my shoulder and felt a little welling of satisfaction at her aggravation. By the look on her face, she was nearly as unhappy to see Jeric with Maya as I was. Akantha would likely make my brother pay for it later, but I had no sympathy for him.

When Jeric rose and then kissed Maya’s hand, my anger flared again. Every muscle in my body strung tight. He shot me a smug, heavy-lidded look as he passed, and it was all I could do to stay where I stood.

“She’s very special,” he said to me, smiling darkly.

I managed to not give him the satisfaction of a reaction, but anxiety stirred through my anger. Of all the Earthen women, he’d singled out Maya and it gave me a deep feeling of unease.

I turned to Maya, who had not spotted me yet. Her eyes were huge, and she looked around dazedly, obviously agitated.

Jeric. He’d done or said something to her.

I swallowed back my fury and forced the tension from my muscles. It wouldn’t calm her agitation if I seemed irate.

The flash of alarm in her eyes when she looked up at me suggested that I hadn’t masked my ire toward Jeric well enough.

She stared in surprise for only a moment before she composed herself, rose, and sank into a deep curtsy. Her energy signature washed over me like a seductively fragrant evening breeze.

As much as I wanted to hide away with her among the curtains, I needed to put her at ease. I darted a furtive glance to each side, looking for something suitable. Four of the palace’s most talented musicians were set up near the piano, waiting for someone—Kalindi, I recognized—to finish the piece she was playing.

“Please rise,” I said to Maya. “I would very much like for you to accompany me, the Priestess, and the Mistress of Tournament to listen to the royal quartet.”

Maya’s eyes flitted nervously to Akantha, but then Maya smiled at me, and my heart seemed to falter for a second under her blue-eyed gaze. “Yes, of course it would be my honor, my Lord.”

She still seemed a bit rattled from the last few minutes’ events, but I thought I read genuine gratitude in her eyes. Part of me was thankful that etiquette dictated she walk a step behind my left elbow. If she were beside me, I surely would have made a fool of myself staring at her. But another part of me hated that she was out of my line of sight, even if only slightly. Jeric had moved off into a group of nobles, but his presence still aggravated me and made me want to surround Maya with a wall of guards.

Rows of chairs had been set up in a curve around the music area. I went to the empty front row, which was always reserved for me, and gestured with an open hand at a chair. She stood in front of it, but did not sit until I did. So far, despite her nerves, she’d remembered her guide’s etiquette instructions well.

She sat to my right, radiating that complex signature of energy that was uniquely hers. Akantha stepped ahead of the Priestess to take the seat to my left, where Akantha sat rigidly, clearly still seething over Jeric’s attention to Maya. Not far away, my brother was studiously avoiding the darting glares Akantha kept shooting his way.

Kalindi finished her piece, and I joined in the small crowd’s polite applause. She rose gracefully from the piano bench and placed one had on the edge of the piano to give a little curtsy. When she looked up and noticed me in the audience, she blushed prettily and gave me a deeper curtsy.

Though she did not affect me in the unique way Maya did, I could not help but admire Kalindi’s training and natural grace. Her every movement and expression were nearly perfectly formed. I couldn’t deny that even now she matched or even surpassed many of the women in my harem.