Taking his wrists, she lurched him into the pool, where he stumbled and splashed before finally plopping down on the bench. Soon he was surrounded; two girls sat along the pool’s edge organizing pink soaps and white sheets, while the others waded through the water, fiddling with rags and pitted stones. A tattooed servant more woman than girl poured one, two, three vials of perfume into the pool, smiling his way.
“Relax yourself. We’ll take good care of you.”
“Consider this an afternoon of utter serenity,” another girl said.
A third popped her head in front of him. “He looks confused.”
“Don’t be silly, he’s perfectly content.” The fourth girl spun toward him, her eyes bright. “Isn’t that right?”
Tobias hesitated. “I suppose—”
“Good!”
A torrent of water splashed down on his head, drenching him. Orion’s laughter rang out in the distance, and when Tobias opened his eyes, he found a servant girl in front of him clasping an empty pitcher.
“Are you enjoying yourself?”
“Hemera,” another girl spat. “The pumice. Give it.”
“There’s no need to be pushy.”
“Just give me the pumice.”
The girls went to work, wiping him down with rags and lathering him up with creams, and he flinched when pumice scraped at the soles of his feet. He tried to study the servants, to find some order amid the confusion; there was the woman with tattoos spiraling down her arms, and of course the girl with the long, black hair. Loon stole my pants. The servant at his side was plump and pink with red locks tied into a bun, and he was positive there was a fourth, though based on the number of hands on his body there could’ve been hundreds.
“How do you like the palace?” the redhead asked. “It’s lovely, isn’t it?”
Tobias ignored her question. She worked a palmful of oil into his arm, and the moment became oddly familiar. “How come Delphi isn’t handling all this?”
She giggled. “Why would Delphi handle this, of all people?”
Tobias stared at her, confused, until a rag was suddenly forced down the crack of his ass. He bolted upright. “Mother of—”
The girl with the long black hair popped up at his side. “Is there a problem?”
“You nearly shoved your hand up my ass.”
“Don’t mind me, I’m just cleaning.”
“You’re cleaning my ass?”
“Of course!” she said. “It’s my duty and pleasure.”
“I do believe I can clean my own ass.”
“Oh don’t be silly, you’re in the palace now. You needn’t worry yourself with that.”
“Hemera,” a voice from behind him spat. “Lavender.”
Hemera. The girl with the black hair—that was her name.
“Oh, right.” She grabbed Tobias’s shoulders, shoving him into the water. “Sit.”
Tobias’s ass smacked down on the bench, sending a wave splashing onto the floor. Once more he was surrounded in a whirl of white dresses, of hands touching his naked body, of creams and perfumes and a blade. A blade? He braced himself as the blade’s edge tugged at his cheek, and the redhead shaving his face smiled.
“Relaxing, isn’t it?”
A girl darted into his line of vision—Hemera, except her long hair was suddenly short, ending at her ears. “Are your eyes black?”
He hesitated. “Your hair…it’s different.”
Another girl popped in front of him—Hemera, again. “Don’t be silly, it’s the same as always.”
Tobias’s gaze panned between the two—same golden skin, dark eyes, and shiny black hair. “Twins?”
“You’re just realizing this now?” The girl with the shorter hair threw her hands into the air. “Unbelievable.”
“Oh, don’t mind him,” the redhead said. “He’s disoriented, the poor thing.”
Hemera waved her sister away. “Ignore Nyx, she’s testy.”
“It’s just insensible,” Nyx said. “People see twins and lose all reason.”
He scanned the two, attempting to memorize them: Hemera with the long hair, Nyx with the short. “Apologies, I didn’t mean to offend—”
“It’s not that bizarre.” Nyx shot him a scowl.
“I know. I’m a twin as well.”
All four girls burst into squeals—“Oh, how divine!”—and the sound rang in his ears, enough to make him regret speaking entirely.
“Does he look like you?” Hemera asked. “Is he just as handsome?”
“He’s a she.”
“A twin sister!” She clasped her hands together. “How endearing.”
“That means he has a deep understanding of the complexities of womanhood,” the redhead added.
“I knew he was special.”
Nyx scoffed. “Please, we all knew he was special.”
The girls went back to work, buffing his fingernails and lathering his hair, while he lingered over their words. Special?
A hand made its way to his groin, and he lurched away. “Shit—”
Hemera poked her head up. “Have I startled you again?”