Darken the Stars by Amy A. Bartol

Author:Amy A. Bartol [Bartol, Amy A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Kricket, Fantasy, Romance
Publisher: 47North
Published: 2015-09-06T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 11

BEAUTY GOES DEEP

We exit through the brown leather doors, leaving Kyon’s study behind. A short corridor brings us to tall, thin ivory doors. They remind me of keys on a piano. Kyon pauses before we enter the room. He turns to me, grasping my chin and making me look at him. “You’ll be the most important person in the room, but if you don’t demand their respect, they’ll never give it to you.”

“So they’re normal,” I reply.

“I’m always protecting you, whether you know it or not.” He’s not lying—at least he believes what he says. I wonder, and not for the first time, if he knows just how broken he is.

“We’re on the same team for now, Kyon. I’ll follow your lead. Just tell me one thing: What are they most afraid of?”

“This.” He motions to both of us with his index finger. “You and I aligned and out of their control. To see us together will unsettle them.”

“What if we’re in love?”

“They’d be unable to look away.”

“Hmm,” I respond.

I wish that I’d had time to prepare for this. If I’d been given a moment, I could’ve launched myself into the future for a dry run. No such luck, though. I have to play this one straight and hope for the best.

My feet are heavy as I trudge into the room. It’s grand in a way I’m somewhat accustomed to now that I’ve lived in Rafe’s palace. The left side of this regal room is open to the outside by a series of white wood-framed French doors that run the length of the pastel blue room. Silken, white curtains are draped to the sides. The tranquil breeze brings with it the scent of flowers. I don’t recognize them, but that aroma is lovely. They’re melon-colored and grow on the vines creeping over the outside of the doorframes.

Enormous framed portraits cover the walls. They depict lovely, blond-haired, blue-eyed Etharians. The ceiling is at least two stories above our heads and painted with gorgeous Viking-like rune symbols.

There are three camps languishing in the room. On the left side of the room, by the open doors, there are a few groupings of beautiful blond women. Three of them sit at a gaming table that has a three-tier chesslike board on its marble top. Elegant stone figurines that resemble mythological creatures: dragons, griffins, winged horses, and the like, rove over the game board on their own. The women are each adorned with face candy; black lace adheres to the tall one’s eyebrows, henna lines arch over the thinner one’s brow, and golden chains stretch from ear to ear over the snub nose of the one with golden eyelashes.

The second camp is near the back of the room. Soft music is playing from an instrument that resembles a pianoforte. Every single inch of this priestess’s eyebrows are covered with silver ring piercings. Two women accompanying the pianoforte play stringed instruments that sound like violins. Still another priestess is playing a weirdly shaped guitar that has the resonance of a mandolin.

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