past her waist.
Naif closed her eyes. She didn’t wish to think of her body at all, or Lenoir, but Graselle’s words had fashioned a filigree of hope around her sickened heart. Power.
‘Look at me,’ demanded Graselle.
Naif’s eyes flicked open. Graselle was so close that she could smell her perfumed skin and see the moth-shaped flecks of black in her tawny eyes.
‘You know what Enlightenment means now?’
Naif glanced away but Graselle would not have it. She seized Naif’s chin with strong fingers and forced her to look back at her. ‘Tell me what it is.’
‘It’s … I think … it’s … pleasure,’ Naif gasped.
‘Pleasure. That’s right. And that’s what you came here for. To Ixion.’
‘No – I … I …’ But Naif could not say the rest. She’d lost the trace of her purpose.
‘Everyone comes here for pleasure. Even if they think they don’t. Embracing it is harder for some and they go mad before they truly accept it. Most of the places they come from are founded on guilt and rules. The Ripers want us to break away from that – some wish to tear it from us while others are more subtle.’
Guilt and rules. Grave was like that. But it seemed so far away now. So distant. Grave belonged to Retra, the person she was – not Naif.
Graselle went on. ‘Lenoir fights his own battles. There’s plenty here among the Guardians that would be him. He has to show Brand that he’s still the one with the power. Perhaps by turning one like you – a Seal – to pleasure, gets him more kudos … or per’aps …’
‘Wha-at?’ croaked Naif.
‘Per’aps he just fancies you.’
Naif forced more words out, something to distract from the notion of Lenoir finding her attractive. ‘He says … I owe him … my life.’
Graselle collected her washers and the bucket and went to the door. ‘And you do. But the “owing” works both ways. He’ll have got what he needed from you. But there’s a bond between you and Lenoir now and others will know it. Watch yourself.’
‘How do you know all this?’
A sheen of moisture glazed Graselle’s eyes. ‘He has bonded before.’
‘To you?’
‘You don’t speak of your bonding to anyone. See,’ Graselle hissed.
After Graselle left Naif lay, thinking, feeling. Something had changed inside her since Lenoir had healed her. Her body was no longer shadowed by pain. But more than that, her mind felt so light and free that it might fly away.
‘Naif?’ Lenoir was standing at the door, watching her. The intensity of his gaze thrilled her. She had expected to be repulsed by him, but strangely she felt only fascination and gratitude.
‘Yes?’
‘In the Circle chamber you said you saw danger for the boy, Markes.’
Naif slid her feet to the floor and sat up on the edge of the bed, feeling only a little dizzy. ‘It was … nothing,’ she said. ‘You spoke of sending him out to attract Ruzalia. I was frightened, that’s all.’
‘Why do you care what happened to him?’
His question confused her. ‘What do you mean? Why does anyone care for … anything? I-I like him, I suppose, and I w-wouldn’t want him to be hurt.’ It was the truth. Markes had protected her from Ruzalia, and been kind to her when Cal had been so cold.
‘Ixion is a place for hedonism. Selfishness. Yet you’ve risked dire consequences to help others. What makes you do that, I wonder?’
Naif tightened her arms around herself in defence. ‘I am no different than anyone else.’
He thought about what she said. ‘Perhaps not. But Enlightenment has saved your life and freed you from your moral restraints. You will feel different. What I am curious about is whether the selfless part of you died with its release. Is it the rules and restrictions in your life that have made you self-sacrificing? Is guilt the foundation of kindness?’
He came over to the bed and sat down, placing his hand gently on her injured thigh in an intimate gesture. ‘I will watch and see. You are well enough to move around Ixion as before. There is only one difference. We are bonded and you will come to me when I require it.’
‘Why would you?’ Naif asked.
Lenoir’s smile was enigmatic. ‘That I could not predict but I may need you at some time. Now tell me, little Naif, what do you know of Dark Eve and Clash?’
Naif’s heart thumped at the sound of her brother’s chosen title. Did Lenoir know her secret? Was he probing her honesty with