the dangerous ones. Maybe she was more than what met the eye. More than just some sad and hapless priestess for him to whisk away.
Her glass of wine emptied. He called for another. She was no longer tense. No longer ready to bolt like a frightened rabbit each time he moved. He watched her eat the food that was offered. She asked what each item was before tasting it for the first time. The way her face lit up when she had the puff pastry stuffed with goat cheese made him smile.
“I have lived a simple life. I’m sorry. I must seem like such a plebian to both of you.”
“Not at all.” He placed his hand over hers where it rested on the cushion beside him. “I grew up on a farm. In the West, in fact. My father had one son by his first wife. I was the product of the second. One day, everything changed.” He ran his hand to her wrist, just below her bracer, and he felt her pulse underneath his touch. But she did not pull away from him. “I didn’t have a choice in what happened to me either.”
“What do you mean?” That caught her attention.
“One day, a man with long white hair came to the farm. He rode a dead steed. His army of corpses took my brother and me. He said we were destined to do great things.” He grimaced and downed the glass of wine. “Fucking lies.” He gestured the empty cup at the waiter and held it out for him to refill it. “Fucking useless lies.”
“You speak of Morten? The North Wind.”
“Mmhm.” He sniffed dismissively. “I hate that bastard. I hate all the other Winds. Well, okay, except Hugo. I guess I can’t hate him.” He snickered. “Being my brother and all.”
“What happened to your parents?”
“Why do parents matter so much?” He felt his jaw tick. This topic always angered him. “Your parents, my parents, everybody’s parents. People fuck. They spawn. They make tiny people. Why does it matter where we come from? It doesn’t. We’re just people. Kema’s fucking father is a fucking Pharaoh, and do you see where it gets her? A job as my slave!”
“I shouldn’t have asked…”
He sighed heavily and rested his head back on the arm of the lounge and shut his eyes. “Not your fault.” He paused. It didn’t matter. None of it mattered. They were just people. Stupid people. “Morten killed them.”
Her hand shifted and took his. He lifted his head to look at her. Her features were creased in concern. There was sympathy on her face—actual sympathy. For him. “I’m so sorry.”
“He’s an asshole.” He squeezed Hope’s hand all the same. He wanted to hold it. He smiled. He’d tell her as many terrible stories as she wanted if it made her pay attention to him.
“I’ve heard.”
“Trust me.” Nero chugged his glass of wine and demanded another. He was going to get drunk tonight. “You have no idea what he’s done.” He shifted the topic in the other direction. “Enough of my stupid past. And enough of Kema. What about you, Hope? You’re the lady of honor. Tell us all about yourself.”
“There isn’t much to tell.”
He squeezed her hand again. “I insist. And I am the South Wind. I am the Cardinal Nero Finch. I tend to get my way.”
5
Talk about herself?
What in the name of the gods did he expect her to say?
There was nothing worth noting. She was a slave.
Hope chewed her lip for a moment. “I’m not sure where to start. My life is dull, especially compared to yours. I was sold to the temple as an infant. I was raised to be the high priestess. I—”
“Wait. What?” Nero interrupted. His hand in hers twitched. She kept forgetting he was holding on to it. How had it gotten there? Oh, yes. She had taken his hand at the news that Morten had murdered his family. Now she didn’t want to take it away. His touch was warm, certain and sure. She shouldn’t like it as much as she did.
She wasn’t drunk. But she was not exactly sober either.
This is dangerous. He’s dangerous.
She had hesitated too long. Nero squeezed her hand again. “You were meant to be the Mother Arkhiereus?”
“Sidonia was raising me to take her place when she passed.”
“A slave?” Kema asked curiously. It wasn’t judgmental, just surprised.
“Sidonia was never fond of the practice of keeping slaves. It was meant to be a show of defiance. This is why