Emperor's Edge Republic (85 page)

“Yes?” Mahliki asked, frowning at her mother. Why was she already dressed in pearls and her favorite goat leather sandals? “Are you on your way to dinner? It’s still early, isn’t it?”

“Early? It’s two hours to midnight. All seven courses, all of them starring aphrodisiacs from around the world, have been served, and Maldynado has hustled everyone onto the dance floor.”

Mahliki stared, certain her mother was joking. The basement lab lacked a window and a clock. “I... I’m sorry. I only meant to stop in for a half hour. An hour at the most. I was intrigued by Agarik’s letter. Did I show it to you? He wanted to know if the incredibly regenerative plant tissues might teach us some new medical applications, such as for healing burns or even creating new human flesh.”

“I’m sure it’s fascinating, love. You know I’ve missed any number of meals, social and otherwise, because of being caught up in my work, so I imagine you get that from me, but... well, poor Sespian had to sit next to an empty chair all night at dinner, and I... just wanted to make sure you weren’t snubbing him for some reason. He’s a fine young man, and if he made a mistake, I’m certain he regrets it.”

“Snubbing? No, that wasn’t it at all.” Mahliki pushed away from the table and grabbed her shoes. The heated floors Sespian had designed for the basement were wonderful and kept the laboratory perfectly warm. She kept meaning to compliment him on it. “I just lost the time. Is he still there?” Mahliki pitched over while stuffing her foot into one of the shoes. “Do I have time to change?”

“He was there when I left, but he was mumbling about going to check on Mu Lin and his cat. I gather the cat might be in some peril, even with an attentive babysitter on hand. It’s possible that child needs a larger pet to tussle with.”

Mahliki would have cursed if her mother hadn’t been standing five feet away. “I can’t go to a fancy dinner like
this
.” She pointed at her baggy coveralls—how
had
the front gotten smeared with plant guts again?—and waved at her hair, which was falling out of the loose braid she had hastily made to keep it from tumbling onto the microscope lenses. There had been a small explosion earlier as well—a lab mate’s fault this time, not hers—that left her cheek smeared with soot.

“Perhaps you could simply pop your head in and see if he’s still there,” Mother said. “Then invite him for a walk in the gardens if he is. It’ll be... dark out there.”

“Meaning the soot on my cheek won’t be that visible?” Mahliki finally managed to tug both shoes on and stand upright.

“Yes. Oh, and Mahliki...? It’s not just the cheek that’s covered in soot.”

“What?” Mahliki looked herself up and down. The laboratory lacked a mirror more than two inches long.

Mother stepped into the room, turned Mahliki around, and swatted black dust off her bum.

“Dear Akahe,” Mahliki groaned. “I
can’t
show up like this.”

“Just go. He’ll be disappointed if you don’t come. At this point, you could show up wearing a grimbal suit, and he’d be tickled.”

Mahliki snorted and headed for the door. “Sometime I’d like to see one of these grimbals the Turgonians are always talking about.”

“I believe there’s one in the zoo,” Mother called after her. “Perhaps you can ask Sespian to take you one day.”

Mahliki ran down the basement hallway without replying, disappointed that she had missed a chance to sit next to Sespian at dinner. And eat aphrodisiac courses. She snorted. Maybe that would have put him in the mood to finally give her a kiss. Or more likely imbibing a few glasses of wine would do it. She had never seen him drink and wasn’t sure if he did. Too bad. He could use loosening up.

“You’re talking?” she asked herself, taking the stairs two at a time. “How long did it take you to find the courage to kiss him?” And that had been more than a peck. Of course in her present attire, he would probably be repelled rather than attracted. At least she was wearing plant guts instead of frog guts or something truly disgusting. She seemed to remember that happening at a childhood dinner, much to her grandmother’s chagrin.

Mahliki turned into the broad open hall of the main level and almost crashed into the backs of two servers heading from the kitchen to the banquet room with trays of a steaming amber liquid that smelled apple-y—and alcoholic.

“Sorry,” she called, racing past them. Fortunately they were agile enough not to lose their glasses when she jostled their elbows.

One started to curse, but the other hushed him. “President’s daughter.”

The privileges of being related to someone of rank... instead of cursing her out loud, they had to do it in their heads. At least those drinks meant the festivities were still going on.

She slowed down minutely as she approached the double doors leading to the banquet hall, but not quite enough. Two more servers were stepping out with trays of empty glasses. She swerved, but the doorframe boxed her in, and she ended up knocking a man’s arm. His tray tilted and glasses slid off the side.

Cursing herself—this night was
not
going well—Mahliki caught two of them. The server righted his tray before the whole pile tilted to the floor, but one more empty glass wobbled and fell off the edge. Mahliki lunged for it, but with her hands already full, she only ticked the stem with a pinky finger. It hit the marble floor and shattered.

“So close,” she muttered.

“Sorry, ma’am,” the server said. “I’ll take those and take care of this mess.”

“No, I’m sorry.” Mahliki let him take the glasses, but bent to pick up the shards on the floor. That crash had been her fault. She had only plucked up one piece before he foisted the tray on his comrade and knelt, holding up a hand.

“Please, my lady. Do not concern yourself with this.”

Mahliki might have protested, but she happened to look up and notice all the sets of eyes staring at her. Father was sitting at the table with Dak and two other officers, but most of the people were out in the cleared area, in the middle of some dance that involved couples with hands on waists—and other places. All except one of the drummers in the corner had faltered to a stop, and even the one was only tapping a faint background beat.

“Sorry,” Mahliki said again, feeling more sheepish than ever. Were they staring because she had crashed in and broken glasses? Or because she looked scruffier than a chimney sweep? “Go back to your dancing, please.” And public fondling. She kept that thought to herself, though Maldynado’s special dishes had clearly worked. Or perhaps people were simply relaxing and expressing their relief at having survived the plant invasion.

Even after the server had picked up the glass shards, Mahliki lingered near the doorway, not certain whether she should go in. She searched for Sespian among the dancers. For whatever reason, there were more women than men, so some ladies were waiting out, clapping in rhythm with the drummers. Would he have chosen someone else when she didn’t show up? Or maybe he would have chosen someone else even if she
had
shown up. She sighed in irritation at her own insecurity, which she surely had no cause for, glass breaking habits or not, but the fact that she had kissed him on the submarine, and he had never said anything about it or returned the gesture... that was disheartening.

“You’re here,” a soft voice came from the side.

Sespian was standing against the wall a few feet from the door, holding a sketchpad and a pencil. If he had been there the whole time, he had noticed her ungainly crash. Oh, well. At least he was there. And not dancing with one of the numerous women in the hall. Though they would be foolish not to do so if he asked... He looked quite handsome tonight in his black and gray, the shirt and jacket tidy and trim, accenting his lean form. He had the figure of a warrior, even if there was a pencil stub tucked behind his ear.

“Yes, sorry I’m late.” Mahliki winced, knowing she had said she was sorry at least three times since she crashed into the hall. “Was the dinner good?”

“Lonely. I had to sit next to my father. And he was more interested in talking with
your
father.”

Mahliki kept herself from apologizing again. Barely. Sespian’s smile was wry, and there wasn’t any hint of anger about him. His eyes were more... intent than usual as he gazed at her. “I, uhm, got distracted by... well, it doesn’t matter. I meant to come. And I meant to be clean.”

“You’re beautiful,” Sespian said, then glanced at the guards standing on either side of the door. They were doing good statue impersonations, but he blushed, nonetheless. “Would you like to go for a walk?” he blurted.

“Yes.”

He took her hand and led her into the hall.

“Thank you,” Mahliki said.

“For helping you escape the room full of old people groping each other in the president’s banquet hall?”

Mahliki giggled, then rolled her eyes at herself. She
never
giggled. Ugh. “The word that came to my mind was fondling,” she said, trying to sound mature, or at least not vacuous, “but actually I meant for the compliment.”

“You’re welcome.” Sespian turned up a wide set of stairs.

“Are we going anywhere in particular?”

“Is there somewhere in particular you would like to go?”

Mahliki’s mind went blank. A library? A closet? Somewhere they wouldn’t be interrupted and where they could... do what? Sespian hadn’t indicated that he had anything... touchy in mind. And she was hardly dressed to seduce him. “My mother suggested the zoo,” she said, then rolled her eyes again. The zoo? Really?

Sespian paused on the landing. “In the middle of the night?”

“No, just in general. She said you have a grimbal there. I’ve never seen one. Maybe we could go for a walk there sometime. When it’s light.”

“That would be nice.” Sespian tilted his head toward the next set of stairs, then led her up to the third floor.

He must have had some destination in mind. As far as Mahliki knew, there were mostly meeting rooms and spaces up there for further expansion. All of the offices and common areas were on the first floor and the personal quarters on the second.

Only every third gas lamp was lit in the hallway, and Mahliki found herself thinking that there was no reason they had to travel farther. They hadn’t passed anyone on the floor, and there were more shadows than light, perfect for two people to have... private time together.

Sespian took her into a large unlit room. Enough moonlight filtered in through glass double doors on the far side that Mahliki could make out a conference table and walls full of maps.

“This is the war room, isn’t it?” Mahliki had received the tour when the family had moved in.

“Yes, though I would like to think it’ll be used more for signing treaties and negotiating with diplomats than for convening about war.”

Not the place she would have expected Sespian to lead her, but they
were
alone. If someone kindled a fire in the hearth and dragged over a couple of chairs, it might be cozy.

Sespian continued through the room, though, not stopping until he reached the doors. “This balcony happens to have the best view in the house. Technically, it’s so any president standing in here can see enemy ships entering the harbor, but I thought we might appreciate the lake for other reasons. Especially now that it’s mostly free of dead plant matter.” He pushed open one of the doors and stepped aside, inviting her out with a gesture.

A large balcony overlooked the newly planted rose garden below, and they were high enough up to see past lower buildings to the lake beyond. They walked to the railing. Gentle floral scents wafted up from the garden—the roses would take a while to grow to maturity, but someone had planted nasturtiums and marigolds to enjoy this year. A three-quarters moon laid a silvery path across the water. The air was cooler than it would be on a Kyattese night, but Mahliki wore enough clothing that she wasn’t chilled. She stepped closer to Sespian anyway, in case he had any notions about putting an arm around her.

He turned toward her, an elbow on the railing, his face lit by the moon. “I vowed that when you came to dinner, I would sweep you into my arms and kiss you.”

Mahliki bit her lip, delighted by the admission. For so long he had seemed either oblivious or disinterested. That he had such things on his mind meant... everything. “And then I didn’t come.” She caught herself before she could apologize again, but was certainly regretting that she had missed this experience.

“I took up a strategic position by the door in case you wandered in late,” Sespian said. “And then you did, and I was ready to act... only you knocked the server’s glasses on the floor, and I was afraid kissing while standing amongst shards of crystal wouldn’t be romantic.”

“I wouldn’t have minded.”

“No?” Sespian leaned closer and took her hands.

A flutter of nervous delight ran through her at his warm touch. “No. Though... I’d like to clarify that I only knocked
one
glass to the floor. The others I caught. Quite deftly, you might have noticed.” Mahliki inched closer as she voiced her protest, until little separated their bodies except their hands, fingers now entwined.

“I did notice that. Most impressive.” He was kind enough not to point out that her deft catches wouldn’t have been necessary if she hadn’t crashed into the server to start with.

Mahliki meant to thank him for the compliment, but she found herself watching his lips instead. She scarcely remembered them from their last kiss—the one he had been too startled to respond to—and vowed to savor the moment this time. When his lips touched, warm and sensual, with a hint of whatever minty last course had been served, she closed her eyes, her own lips parting in invitation. He was gentle but intent, and she allowed herself to believe he had been thinking about this for some time. The notion filled her with warmth, or maybe his kisses were doing that. His hands slipped free of hers to ease around her waist, inspiring delicious goosebumps wherever they touched. She slid her hand up his arm to his shoulder, feeling the lean muscle beneath his shirt. Warrior and artist... an unlikely combination, but she liked it. She also liked what he was doing with his hand and wriggled closer.