Eona - Alison Goodman [137]
Vida raised her leg in the water, contemplating the pale row of toes as they emerged above the surface. “It is obvious His Majesty cares for you, too.”
I pretended to peer into the water to avoid her amused glance.
“And Lord Ido,” she added.
That brought my head up. “He does not care about me.”
“He watches you all the time,” she said. “He is a handsome man, don’t you think?”
“Not as handsome as His Majesty,” I said firmly, but I smiled, too. I did not want to curb Vida’s sudden friendliness. This was the skinship I remembered: women’s talk, and laughter, and the gentle teasing about life and love.
“Perhaps. They are handsome in different ways. His Majesty is . . .” She paused, obviously searching for the right word, then gave a small shrug. “Beautiful, in that way that touches the spirit.”
“And Lord Ido?” I prompted.
“Lord Ido is very male,” she said with slow emphasis.
I nodded, meeting her grin. It was a good description.
She shot me a sharp look. “Are you attracted to him?”
“Of course not.” I shook my head, but I felt my face flush.
“I can see why you would be. You have a lot in common.”
“No, we don’t!” I said quickly. “He is a traitor and a murderer.”
Her gaze dropped from mine. Although I sat in a hot bath, I felt a chill: in Vida’s eyes, I was also a killer.
All our ease gone; what a fool I was.
She cupped her hands and splashed water over her face, breaking the silence.
“You are the last two Dragoneyes,” she said, smoothing back her wet hair. “It must be a strong bond. And he has more than just his dragon power.”
I frowned: her phrasing seemed familiar. An echo of another voice within the words. I half rose from the water, driven by a terrible intuition. “Did His Majesty tell you to talk about Lord Ido?”
She shook her head. Too fast. “No, my lady.”
I stood up. “He did. I can see it in your face.”
“No, my lady.”
“You are spying for him!” I raised my hand, wanting to slap away her betrayal.
She shrank back against the wall. “No, my lady. It was not His Majesty! It was Lady Dela. I’m sorry. I didn’t want to do it. I told her I was no good at this kind of thing.”
“Dela?” Shock stilled my hand. She was my friend. “Why would she do that?”
“She says you are shutting her out, my lady.”
I waded to the steps and stumbled up them, catching my shin on a stone edge. Sharp pain spiked through me, opening my fury into full flame.
Vida stood up in the water. “Lady Dela is worried about you,” she called after me. “You have to spend a lot of time with Lord Ido, and she knows what he is like. She was at court with him for years.”
I turned around. “I’m doing it all for His Majesty,” I yelled. “No other reason. Tell her that!”
I grabbed a drying cloth and ran, dripping, to the dressing room, snapping the door shut behind me. The cooler air in the connecting space shivered across my body. I jammed my hand against my mouth, trying to press back the sob in my throat. Even Dela did not trust me.
I had never felt so alone.
With frantic speed, I pulled on the fresh clothes, tying the tunic as I ran through the foyer, my wet hair unbound and hanging like a loose woman’s. I grabbed my sandals from the shelf and pushed my way through the door flags. The old attendant was still waiting outside the entrance, with a man. I recognized the stringy frame: Caido. What was he doing here? They both turned at my abrupt appearance.
The old woman gasped. “My lady, do you need assistance? Did I forget combs?”
“No.” I dropped my sandals and forced my feet into them, then gathered my hair back into my fist.
Caido turned his face away from my immodesty.