A Spy Princess by Alea Henle

Author:Alea Henle
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Crabgrass Publishing

12

“Give me a moment?” Heron set their hands against the ground, needing the solid feel of the hard-packed earth beneath them. The world seemed to swirl around them, and the air turn thick and hard to breathe.

Nothing had changed—they still sat next to Emmi's tent, with her kneeling across from them. Dirt clung to the hem of her tunic, and her mantle hung limp around her shoulders with threads loose and the hem starting to unravel. Dust streaked her hair, interrupted where she'd run her fingers through the short strands.

Adorable, even more so when Heron considered what she'd admitted: that she'd asked Amara about Kitivan courting customs—and that she didn't know what she wanted from Heron.

Emmi looked relieved that Heron was taking time to think things through. She turned into her usual whirl of motion, retrieving clothes from the tent and sorting them, then folding them into neat piles ready to fill the trunk. In between folds, she sipped water and snuck slices of pepper dipped in yogurt.

All the while also regularly glancing sideways at Heron.

That she wanted to know meant a lot, no matter that she hadn't decided what she wanted from them.

Fair enough, because Heron wasn't sure exactly what they wanted, or what they could offer with their future unsettled. As their uncle had reminded them, they might not Dance for much longer. Still, they were certain and unshakable about one thing, now that the prospect opened up.

“I understand that you haven't figured out what you want, but”—Heron dragged in a whistling breath— “do you want to figure out what you might want? With me?”

Emmi blinked. “Do I what?”

“Do you want to start the courting process with me?”

“Ye-es.” She dropped the mantle she'd started folding atop a pile of neat, squared cloths. One end hung down onto the ground, the rest in a messy heap. That she didn't immediately straighten it spoke to her nervousness.

“We're in Codaros,” they said. “Kitivan customs don't apply here.”

“But Codaros doesn't really have any customs, or maybe too many?” Emmi rubbed her hands. “Basic rules are not to abuse power and consent matters, but outside of that . . . it's very easy to start something and end up somewhere quite different wondering how everything got so messy.”

Emmi's mouth had a bitter twist.

“Happens everywhere,” Heron said, with their own hint of bitterness audible even to their ears.

“Even in Kitiva?”

“One of the kindest things one can do is to make clear up front what one doesn't want.” Without bidding, a two-decade-old memory reverberated within Heron: a biting voice expressed surprise that Heron hadn't understand this was only a few nights of pleasure rather than the start of something more.

“Did that happen to you?” Emmi asked. “Someone not telling you?”

“More than once, but never the same way twice,” Heron said. “I learn.”

“I'm sorry you had to go through that.”

“And I'm sorry for your mess.”

“You guessed?” Emmi clapped her hands against her cheeks, then shrugged. “It probably wasn't hard.”

“Will you give me the gift of telling me about it?” Heron shifted their seat, rubbing legs to head off pins-and-needles pain.

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