Queensmen

Chapter 69

~Whirlwind~

Thankfully, Oris hadn't been drinking tea lest she would have choked on it. She cleared her throat as discreetly as she could, overly aware of Hermes gaze following her every move.

"My assistance, sire?"

She wondered if Hermes had noticed her little hiccup and folded her hands in front of her, trying her best to appear demure though she doubted it would change the opinion he already had of her, whatever it was. "I don't have the power to assist anyone."

It was the honest truth, though saying she didn't already have a vague idea of how to rescue the queen would be a lie. Since she had given the queen her word, she intended to keep it.

"You will," Hermes said, the surety in his tone startling her once again.

"Is that a prophecy, Your Majesty?"

She wasn't able to hold back her reply and she didn't dare to. For surely, if she had kept it in, she would have burst out laughing.

When did the emperor suddenly gain confidence in her abilities? It was almost as though a different person stood in his place, requesting assistance instead of simply commanding it.

It was amusing.

Hermes narrowed his eyes at her, and for a moment she wondered if he had been able to guess her thoughts.

"It is a promise," he answered, and immediately the mirth she felt vanished.

The implications wrapped around those four words parched her throat. How had things come to this already? Her mind couldn't wrap itself around it. "That would be partial of you. . . sire."

"My mother has—" He paused to correct himself. For whose sake? She knew not. "The Empress Dowager has her favorites in this Selection, why can I not?"

"You do not know me."

"I know enough."

Oris just managed to stop herself from asking exactly what he knew. Having his attention fixed on her web of lies was the last thing she needed at the moment. "You do not trust me."

Hermes crossed his arms but didn't deny it. "I do not."

"I do not know you motive, or your purpose," he continued. "For all I know you could be here to kill me, couldn't you?"

The truth of his words stung more than she expected, but his admission made her smile grow for reasons even she could not explain. "Still you left your entourage of guards and are here with me, alone, sire."

Nothing about her wish had specified that they needed to be alone together. Of course, this scenario would lead to better rumors—if there was such a thing—but until they both stepped into this room she had assumed that he would fulfil her wish in the midst of servants, maids and guards.

An Emperor spending time with a woman without his retinue observing her every move was unheard of, and she was glad that he had brought it up on his own.

Because she was curious, and more than curious, she wanted to know just how his mind worked.

"Yes," his eyes left hers as he looked around the room, "You must have wondered why I brought you here. Do you have an answer now?"

His unusually interactive approach to answering her unspoken question had Oris' gaze drifting across the furniture and skimming along the walls until it landed on the slab of stone they had used as a door.

Of course, she had thought about it, but her thoughts were scattered.

Earlier, all her focus had been on not losing to the emperor in a game of words, now that that pressure was gone, her theory spilled out of her mouth almost without warning. "The location is only important to spark this specific conversation. The tunnels however. . ."