Over the next week, the season fell into a pattern.

In the morning, Aria would drop by their rooms to drag her out to be washed and dressed. Then, an event would take place. Sometimes Rae was there, sometimes she was absent leaving only Iliana for the court ladies to flaunt over. It churned her stomach to smile at them--but, she did.

After, if she held her tongue, she'd be taken to lunch. Then, Zuher's office to sit at his side while he flipped through endless forms and occasionally shot her questions that chilled her spine. Because, even if there was no evidence as of yet--each answer she gave, as simplistic or meaningless as they tended to be, felt like it was playing a game of life-and-death.

"Roses or lilies, Pet? Which one should I have cut?"

"I'm bored of the current whelps. What do you think? Should I clean the tower again?"

"Should I reward the lapdog or the wolf, hm?"

Paperwork led to dinner, after which she'd either be left in the tower to lean on Del, or dragged into another changing room for some banquet or ball. It was suffocating and exhausting--Iliana had never had so much respect, and hate, for the peerage. How they smiled at one another all night, danced as if their feet weren't dying, and laughed on cue despite no doubt having heard the same joke every night that week, she had no idea.

Del kept her sane--at least, when he was allowed to attend.

They'd dance, socialize, then slip out of the view of the crowd the moment he felt they'd been watched long enough. On the balcony, or in silent halls, she was free to breathe.

At some point during those nights, studying him in the moonlight became a habit.

The caressing glow it cast over his soft curls eased the sharp edges of her nerves. She could almost forget the conversational buzz of voices behind them, or the guard standing watch just beyond the balcony curtain. With the stem of a wine glass clasped in her fingers, and Del telling stories at her side, Reotak could almost be dismissed as Cieon.

Almost.

"I don't know how your guard didn't off you himself," Iliana snorted. "If every tale is true, you've done enough to deserve it."

Del smirked. His hands spread over the railing at their backs, nearly brushing her free fingers.

"Oren wouldn't kill me," he stated. "If for no other reason than that if he did, he'd get arrested and his partners would kill him. The lord of the house, Shai, hates complicated events like that. Makes the business hard for them to handle. And I've heard Adara, their wife, tell him on multiple occasions that if he goes to jail, she's telling their little one they only have two parents."

Iliana shook her head, it swam with the pleasant buzz shifting through her. "You should be glad he loves his partners, then."

"I am. It's why he's safe, with them and not..." Del drifted off, smirk dying. Seeming to note the questioning look she shot him, he shrugged. "Oren's father is the one who came on the mountain trip with me. Said we were going too close to the border for him to feel comfortable letting his son come along so close to the birth of his grandchild."

"Did he...?"

He hesitated. "I believe so. Can't see a reason for them to have kept the rest of my party alive. I was the only one with worth as a hostage."

Iliana grimaced. Instead of responding immediately, she busied herself with a sip of her wine.

That line was where the 'almost' fell. As pleasant as it was to talk to Del, as warm of a distraction as it provided, there was always an overhanging awareness that this wasn't Cieon, and this ball wasn't optional. Outside their balcony laid a world of politics and false faces.

Del's fingers brushed hers, and she glanced up.

He grinned. "Enough of me. You're always asking of my adventures, but our tales ought to be balanced, shouldn't they? Your turn, Iliana. I'm sure you have something that ended as chaotic as my own."

Right. They were relaxing, not moping. Her glass stilled at her lips as she tilted her head, considering the issue. Did she?

"I..."

The curtains parted.

Del subtly drew his fingers back. She couldn't blame him--someone, anyone touching her while he was around seemed like a poor choice.

If Zuher had any opinions on their positions, he didn't share them. Instead, he merely smiled, eyes skipping between them, then to the open air beyond their backs. Tension pricked her skin as silence stretched. It was another, petty power game. The longer she spent around him, the more aware Iliana became of how much entertainment Zuher drew from such stunts.

It was a full minute before he spoke.

"As pleasant as the view is, staying hidden all night is a breach in etiquette, Pet." His attention shifted to Del. "As a prince should know."

Del inclined his head, that trouble-warning smile on his lips. "Ah, I'm a prince at the moment, then?"

She wanted to smack him.

Zuher must have been in a good mood, because he merely clicked his tongue in annoyance, before extending his hand to Iliana. "Come. You owe me a dance."

Any other time, she might have searched for a way out, but leaving Zuher and Del breathing the same air for more than a few minutes seemed ill advised. So, Iliana forced the tension from her shoulders and laid her fingers in his. A smirk crept along Zuher's face. He didn't move right away, instead raising her fingers to his lips, a belated greeting that built bile in her throat, before settling them at the crook of his arm.

Del's eyes on her back only encouraged her to fall in step as Zuher pulled her from the balcony. The crowd cleared the way for them to reach the center of the room, before music picked up as it had just weeks before.

This time, however, Zuher didn't stop them. He merely lifted her hand as he fell into step with the slow, caressing notes. Iliana forced her discomfort down, ignoring how she wanted to tear her hand out of his, and followed suit. Eyes dug into her skin as she shifted from one motion to the next, as his hands touched more than required, and that smug smile of his grew each second she stood close.

"Everytime I turn around, Pet, you've learned something new."

The song slowed, but Zuher didn't move. He merely shifted his hand from her shoulder and trailed the pads of his fingers along the bare threads of her outer corset, before settling them at the small of her back to tug her close. Fear--chilling and sharp--clogged her throat. But, she didn't jerk back.

Another game. Another test. That's all it was. She could do it. Just an hour longer and you'll be back in the tower. It's fine.

Her heart filled her ears as he brought his curled, free fingers up to brush at her jaw.

It's still a game.

It was in his eyes. Iliana wasn't familiar with how a man looked at a woman, but she was almost certain it wasn't with the gaze of a predator eyeing prey. He was waiting for her to shirk back--to run--so, she couldn't. That was how she stayed out of the black tower.

That was how she made it back to the menagerie, instead.

"Tell me. If I ordered you to smile, would you manage it?"

What sort of question was that?

"How far have you come since you knelt at my feet, cursing me despite the fact your life was in my hands, hm? How much of that pride remains?"

When she didn't answer, pain sparked. Weakness fell along her spine, making it difficult to stand as energy fled her through that simple brush of his knuckles against her face.

His question rang in her mind. Her pride?

"I--"

All of it.

"I could. If you ordered."

She was still her. Still a person.

He raised a brow. The fingers fell away, leaving her gasping as the pain went with them. Eyes burned into her back as he caught his fingers beneath her chin, instead, ensuring she was looking directly at him and nothing else. Not that she would have dared look away--not when they were toeing another, invisible line.

What laid on the other side of this one?

"Go on, then. Smile, Pet, and tell me how much you enjoyed your dance with someone you so admire."

Her conversations with the ladies, Iliana realized. Had it taken this long for the rumors of her response to reach him? Or, had he merely waited to act until now?

Her tongue felt like lead as she searched for the words he wanted. Her lips strained, even as her heart threatened to tear free of her chest.

Somehow, she smiled. "I--"

Doors burst open. Anger, hot and burning stole over Zuher's face as a solider darted across the ballroom, only to slow as they seemed to pick up on what was happening. Like Iliana, they likely saw their life before their eyes as their steps slowed.

"Ah--"

"Well, what is it?" Zuher demanded.

The soldier cleared his throat, before stepping forward once again. Zuher shoved her away as the man neared, before leaning in to softly share whatever information it was he held.

Iliana's ears burned with the awareness she wasn't supposed to hear him.

"They've returned with news of Sol. It is as reported. You ordered the news brought to you as soon as possible, so I thought..."

The soldier cut off as Zuher placed a single finger at the side of their throat. There was a familiar tremble to their frame, but they didn't fall. Instead, like her, they watched as Zuher's anger slipped away. His eyes slid shut with a hum, face settling into a discomforting nothing.

The stranger lasted a minute, before collapsing to their knees. Iliana took a step back, the urge to help warring with the desire to run. Her teeth fell to her lip, the pressure keeping her still where she now stood. Anything more and Zuher's attention could shift back to her.

Gods, how selfish was it that she was willing to watch all of this, silently, if it meant nothing fell her way? That she was almost grateful this had interrupted their dance?

The thud seemed to draw Zuher from his thoughts. His eyes slipped open, before dropping to eye the now gasping soldier. 

"Ayo."

Zuher's general slipped from the crowd. Without a word, he waved to another guard who cleared their throat and seized ahold of the soldier to pull them out.

Iliana had the unsettling thought she likely wouldn't see them again. Or, if she did, it would be in the form of a bleeding figure in the courtyard. All because they'd followed orders at the wrong time.

"Gather what they know," Zuher ordered. "I will be by later..." His attention shifted to Iliana. She swallowed, but didn't move. His lips curled. "My Pet would like to retire to her quarters, I think."

Oh thank gods.

"The Prince will be brought to mine."

Iliana could taste blood.

Ayo bowed his head. "As you wish."