Queensmen

Chapter 71

~Which Woman Doesn't?~

At his words, Oris felt herself relax.

Just knowing that she could leave whenever she wanted made the palace feel less like a cage—made it feel like the game was already over.

Of course, that was what it was: a feeling.

In reality, she knew things were far from over.

She took a small step back and curtsied, a wry smile on her painted lips. "You have my gratitude, sire."

"Of course." Hermes took a step back as well, his arms crossed behind his back.

Maybe if he was another man he would have placed a kiss on the knuckle of her heart finger to let her know the promise was true, but this was Hermes—the man who had never laid a hand on her, not even by accident.

All through their conversation, he had treated her with more respect than she thought she could afford, and still she struggled to come to terms with how indifferent he was towards her.

The moment she decided to take Eve's place in the Selection, she had resigned herself to being regarded as another person's property.

She had given up on being seen as a person, on her own, because from then on she became the emperor's woman and how men interacted with her reflected that.

Even if Faeradaigh had been a special case, there was still Mikeal.

The knight had held her intimately after mere minutes of knowing her, just because he could.

The memory was still vivid in her mind.

That night, she had wondered what gave him the courage to touch one of the emperor's brides, yet now that very emperor had proven himself to be the perfect gentleman.

Oris rubbed the skin of her palm where it met her thumb, aware of the silence weighing down on the room's formerly bright atmosphere.

As the person who had requested Hermes' continued presence, it was her duty to continue the conversation and regain his interest but she was too lost in thought to do that.

To be a good homemaker, Oris, the voice of her adoptive mother whispered softly in her ears, you need to know when to pull, when to push and when to cradle.

She took in a deep breath, watching the fingers fold over each other to form the shape of a kite then a symbol then a bridge.

It was a habit she had almost forgotten about so its appearance now was a testament to her unease.

She balled her hands into fists, annoyed with herself. I don't know how much of me I need to be right now, and how much of being a queen to forget.

Hermes was too dangerous to make a mistake in front of, too observant not to notice the depth of her silence. She needed to give him a reason to trust her, a reason that explained why she had spent so many minutes watching him.

She let her hands fall to her side, her mind made up. "Thank you for the tea, sire. I feel much better now."

With the matter of Nian Fey put behind them, she was free to speak as openly as possible. She had been too reckless before, so her goal now was to lighten the conversation to the point of triviality.

"You have a knowledge of teas?"

"You give me too much credit, sire. I just happen to be familiar with this particular one." She looked down at her shoes, loathing the words about to leave her lips.