For the few weeks, I focus on pying my lute daily at lunch with wild success. Envisioning visceral murder is taking me far. It brings me to an iing headspace whereihing seems to melt away, and I’m sort of floating dreamily through indiary versations. It definitely makes me seem dumb, vapid, and i, which is quite funny givehoughts that are really running through my head.

  I end up having to ask e for novel reendations, because I only be so creative when it es to making up torture methods. I tell it’s going to start gettiitive at some point. The books she suggests are really dark, and they are chock full of ideas. My mental library of violence is very well enriched.

  Lunches may be successful for me in the sehat I’m getting good ag practice, but I’m just not overhearing anything worthwhile. And I haven’t heard anything besides gossip in the great hall sihe matter with Sulfeng. I just know that dinners are where I’m going to be able to pick up something good, but I’m still hesitant to put myself in that situation, especially not after the altercation with Vespyn. Even at lunch where I’m not getting ganged up on as much as I would at dinner, people are still often cruel. I thank the gods that Khysmet isn’t there to witness it, since he’s always at his meetings. That wouldn’t be the case at dihough; he’d be there through the whole thing. It's just not practical to give him a reason to want to assault every other person in his court.

  So for now, I’m waiting in limbo, just practig my ag abilities, distributing gossip through the castle staff, and doing whatever Khysmet wants me to do on any given day.

  It’s been three weeks of limbo so far, and I’m waiting outside his meeting room. He’s out te today.

  When he does open the door and e up to greet me, he looks unonly chipper. It makes me nervous.

  “I have," he says, tapping his fiogether eagerly, "aing proposition for you, Miss Catarina.”

  “Oh boy," I say with maximal sarcasm. "I am quivering in anticipation already. Do tell.”

  He starts walking down the hall and I follow. No clue where we're going today, but he clearly wants me to e with.

  “Before I tell you anything," he says, "your participation in this proposition is entirely ti upon your ao my question.”

  “Okay, what's the question?”

  “I overheard an iing s of versation in the dining hall the other day," he says innocuously. "It was between two servants, and they were talking about a person whose name I’ve never heard before. Somebody named Cat?”

  A jolt goes through my body. Some part of me khat this versation would happeually, but I had been holding onto hope that it might not e for a long time yet. Given how many members of the serving staff told me they didn't feel fortable calli except in private, I thought they would keep it under s among members of the court. I should have known that with dozens of people calli regurly, one would slip up soohan ter.

  “I didn’t think much of it," Khysmet tinues. "It’s a name I haven’t heard before, an odd one for someone from Veilsung. But I ’t possibly know everyone in the castle, I? It's not that strahat I didn’t know one of hundreds. However, one of the servants mentioned something very specific about this Cat person that really stuck out to me. She mentioned being asked by her to acquire a certain kind of paste for fixing stiff lute pegs...”

  My forehead is getting sweaty, and my knees are starting to feel weak. I wonder what the ces are that I could just slip away without him notig. Probably quite low.

  “Catarina…" Khysmet says like a parent about to scold an unruly child. "Do you have a niame that I don’t know about?”

  I take a deep breath through my nose, in and out.

  "Yes," I admit. "I do."

  A sly smile spreads across his fabsp; He flicks his tongue.

  “So," he says eagerly, " I call you Cat, then?”

  “No," I say immediately.

  His face falls into a sullen pout.

  "I- I like hearing you call me 'Miss Catarina'," I stutter, fidgeting.

  I don't know how to expin why I do, but I really do. I'd prefer he not know how much though. Fortunately, he doesn’t seem to pick up on my slightly flustered tone.

  Khysmet sighs dramatically. “How disappointing," he ments. "I thought we had bee such good friends. Well, since we’re not good friends, I suppose you don't get to participate in my exg proposition."

  I snort. "I think I'll live."

  "Well since you're begging," he says, "I'll at least tell you about it. There's a big sp event taking p Dimos tomorrow that I am expected to attend. Normally, it's b as hell, and I have to stay the whole day. I was thinking that this year, I could bring you along so I have someone halfway iing to talk to."

  "Well golly, you make it sound so fun,” I say sarcastically. “How will I survive not being io this b-as-hell event?"

  "Fine,” he cedes, “you don't have to let me use your cute little niame. I'll let you e anyway."

  I stop in my tracks and y arms. Khysmet keeps going a few steps before realizing I'm not o him, then stops himself and turns around to face back at me. He looks at me expetly.

  "You say you’ll ‘let’ me e…" I say hesitantly. "Meaning that I have a choice?"

  I already know the ao this question, but I want to hear him say it.

  He smiles darkly and flicks his tongue. Then he closes the distaween us, ing to stand in front of me. He pats me on the head.

  "Be sure to wear fortable clothes," he says. "It gets hot being outside all day."

  ******

  The event starts early in the m, so Vizs wakes me up at the crack of dawn. I insist on choosing a dress that doesn’t have anything that ches tight against my body. It’s hot enough ihe castle where the sun isn’t beating down stantly. I need my skin to be able to breathe as much as possible.

  After p it for a while, I decided it is a good call to wear my thigh holster so I bring my knife. I’ve always kept a knife on me when wandering through town – any town. You never know what might happen. Even though I’m sure I’ll be surrounded by guards the whole time today, I’d rather have some backup. It always feels reassuring to have the leather against my leg. I’ve kept it sharp since I started occasionally going out into Dimos with my friends, since I’m not sure how well it cut through snake scales. Hopefully I won’t have to figure out whether or not it’s up to snuff.

  The arena isn’t terribly far from the castle. It’s carved out of the side of the mountain like a big scoop was taken out of the earth. On three sides, the tral clearing is surrounded by tiered seats, making a big U shape, and the fourth side opens out where the edge of the clearing starts curving down the mountain again. Under and behind the seating areas, there is a work of cavernous rooms, some that fill with street vendors of all kinds, and some for the athletes and other performers to gregate and prepare to ehe arena.

  I’m enamored with the architecture. I wish I could just run around through all the underground areas and explore. I wonder what happens in this space when there’s s going on. What are the odds that I could sneak in and just wahrough the empty rooms and check everything out? Probably not very high.

  Khysmet has to sit up in this boxed-in area on the south side of the U shape, not too high and not too low, the pce from which he shouts out the opening remarks at the very beginning of the event and will eventually shout the closing remarks at the end. Nothing much for him to do in the middle. It’s got a perfect view of the clearing, but is totally cut off from all the other people iands. I kind of hate it. Isn’t the point of public events to get together with your friends and a bunch of strangers and experiehe shared joy of pointless eai?

  I express this seo Khysmet, and he nods sagely.

  “Yes, that would be why I find it to be so horrendously b each year. Occasionally, some of my advisors will drop by here and there, but most are not terribly good versationalists.”

  “What makes you so sure I’ll be aer of a versationalist?”

  “Miss Catarina, the bar is so low, it’s subterranean. If you make a siatement relevant to what’s actually taking p the field, you’ll be doier than most of them.”

  I hum thoughtfully. “What sort of sports are involved in this event, anyway? Anything good?”

  “Quite a few tests of strength and accuracy, which I don’t personally find to be that iing. What’s the appeal in watg someohrow a rge rock a short distanbsp; I just don’t get it. The duels and hand-to-hand bat, however, are quite fun to watch.”

  I haven’t been to many sp events. I’m usually the oting oertai, not watg it. From the start, I’m at the edge of my seat.

  Khysmet called the feats of strength uing, but the things these people are throwing around are bigger and heavier-looking than I was expeg. The hammer throw specifically scares the shit out of me. People are getting real air with that thing, and I’m vinced one of them is going to slip a go in the wrong dire and take me out. I hide behind Khysmet during that whole event, much to his amusement.

  After the regur archery petition, they do a trick archery demonstration, and it’s the most eaining thing I’ve ever seen in my goddamn life. I’m leaping out of my seat iement every three minutes. They’re running and jumping around doing flips and firing three arrows oer the other so fast I barely see it, all with perfect accurabsp; When the demonstration is over, I loudly ment the fad sit and pout for the few petitions.

  The bat isn’t as amazing as the trick archery, but it is still extremely eaining. Partly because Khysmet gets more animated during those events. He has a lot to say about eabatant’s teique, and he even starts waxing poetic about intricate strategies and uanding one’s oppo. It's kind of cute how ear he is about it.

  At one point, when the partits of a duel get close to our side of the field, I notiething strange.

  They’re cirg each other waiting for an opening, then the one fag my dire opens his mouth to hiss and two massive fangs emerge from the roof of his mouth. It almost makes me jump. I always wondered why none of the serpent folk I’ve met seem to have fangs like regur snakes, but at some point, I stopped questioning it. I’m questioning it now, though.

  “Hey, Khysmet?” I ask. “Do all Sungians have fangs?”

  He chuckles. “Yes, Catarina, we all do.”

  “So… why haven’t I ever seen anyone else’s fangs befht now?”

  He ughs more. Like what I’m asking is much fuhan I realize. I’m a little scared to know why that is. I turn to give my full attention to him, fully ign what’s happening in the arena, because my curiosity on this subject is intensifying very quickly.

  “Well,” he says, “for ohey’re retractable. For ahere’s just not a lot of use for them in polite society. They’re only really used for p. Like in fights, or… simir activities.”

  I’m leaning in with rapt attention.

  “Do you have venom?” I ask.

  “Yes, we do have a sort of venom.”

  My eyes widen. “So if you bit me, would I die without an antidote?”

  He’s holding in ughter so intensely, he ’t eve my gaze.

  “If I bit you,” he reassures me, “you would be in no immediate danger. Evolution curbed most of the ive effects of our venom. As it is now, it has…different uses.”

  “Different uses? Like for potion making? What does it do?”

  Khysmet sucks a deep, tering breath in through his hen looks at me square in the eyes.

  “It’s an aphrodisiac, Cat.”

  I blink. Then blink again. “It’s what?”

  “It heightens the senses for a brief period of time. The only time we really bite each other is during sex. The worst it do is give you a slight headache when you e down.”

  I scoff. No. That's not possible. He has to be messing with me. There's no possible way that Sungians run around biting each other on the dibsp; Of all the bullshit things he could possibly tell me, this is the absolute least believable.

  "There's no way that's true," I say.

  "It's true. I swear to you."

  "I don't believe you."

  He smirks aly takes me by the hand, pulling my arm out straight toward his face.

  "Care for a demonstration?" he offers suggestively. Then he opens his mouth aends his fangs inches from my skin. "It's your first time, so I promise I'll be gentle."

  Every nerve in my body kicks into overdrive. My face heats up instantaneously. That should NOT be hot. That should be absolutely terrifying. So why is it that when his fangs slide out, every single muscle in my lower abdomen ches at onbsp; There may be something deeply wrong with me.

  As much as I want to sit here bug-eyed and fusingly aroused, I tug my hand away from his grip, as me go, retrag his fangs and flig his tongue.

  "I still don't believe you," I accuse, rubbing my recovered wrist. "You're just trying to poison me."

  He gives me a positively withering look.

  "Yes, that would make the most sense, wouldn't it?" he says. "That I want to kill yht here in public, as a joke."

  I purse my lips, mad that he's right – it really doesn't make any sense. I'm not going to back down, though.

  "I'm not letting you bite me until I've checked with a third party that you're not messing with me," I say definitively.

  He lights up. "So you're saying when someone else firms this information, you will let me bite you?"

  "Th- That is not what I said!"

  "I'm not hearing a 'no'," he says in a sing-song voice.

  "This versation is over."

  By some miracle, he actually does let it go, though he acts exceptionally pleased with himself the rest of the day. That little versation makes the rest of the bat somewhat hard to watch, though, sin the occasions that I catch a glimpse of someone baring their fangs at their oppo, a tiny jolt goes through me as I relive my moment of weakness. Sometimes I g Khysmet during those times to find him watg me instead of the fight and flig his tongue.

  It’s a long, hot day, and toward the end, maybe an hour or so before su, I find myself getting antsy in my seat. People have been bringing us refreshments during the day, which has bee and all, but I really wao check out the publidor stalls ihe caverns. I want to get up and walk around and explore and talk to people. I express this urge to Khysmet and, predictably, he is not super stoked about the idea.

  "The arena is packed today," he says, brow furrowed. "It will be extremely chaotic around all the vendors, especially si's right around diime."

  I shrug. "So I'll take a guard. It'll be fine."

  "I don't like it. I'd rather you stay close by."

  I tell right away from his tohat he actually doesn't want me going, as opposed to his usual attempts to arbitrarily bother and tease me into submission. Being obstinate won’t get me anywhere here. I have t out the big guns. I y forearms on the arm of his chair and lean in, blinking up through my shes.

  "Please?" I beg. “I’ve been sitting around all day, and I just really o stretch my legs. I’ll be quick, I promise. Please?”

  I see on his face pin as day the exact sed that his resolve crumbles away like a pilr of sand. I never beg. Not to him anyway. It’s even more effective than I thought it would be. To my surprise, his face even starts to take on a slightly pink hue. Now that’s iing… I lean in more for a closer look.

  He takes a hand and puts it over my whole fad gently but firmly pushes it away.

  “Ack!” I choke.

  “Fine,” he says. “You go for fifteen minutes. But after that, I’m ing after you and you will not enjoy what happens when I find you.”

  I grin toothily, the up and find a guard to apany me. Rhys isn’t here sadly, but I’m sure I mah someone else. I pick a man whnize, named Omagh. He’s been more talkative with me than most of the uards. I ask him to e with me and then lead him through the door out of the boxed area we’re in.

  On the way in, I’m pretty sure I saw a sign direg the way to the vendor stalls, so I retrace my steps to that, Omagh hot on my heels. Sure enough, I e across the sign again after only a minute or so of walking through hallways and down stairs, and I excitedly follow the dire the arrow is pointing.

  In the span of seds, we go from having no one else around to being enveloped in a throng of Sungian bodies, all packed into a huge room that stretches a long ways in both dires. I even see some humans, elves, and other races dotted amongst the crowd. When I look up at the ceiling, I see it curve around in the distanbsp; There are a couple guards in front of the opening we just walked through that leads back to the isoted hallways. I make a note of where it is retive to the designs on the wall and ceiling, and of the stalls closest to it. It won’t be hard to find again, even through the crowd.

  I wander from vendor to vendor, watg them cook and perusing their wares. Most of the stalls are selling food, but there are a lot of them that sell little tris, and I’m enamored with the variety of bits and bobs avaible. I run through my allotted time very quickly, acc to the big clock high up on one of the walls, and I’m thinking about how irritating that is, when I turn around to look for Omagh and find he isn’t there.

  I sigh. We must have gotten separated at some point. I’m a couple inches shorter than the average Sungian, so I think he might have a hard time finding me again if I don’t find some high ground. I notice that there are some benches along the edge of the long room, so I decide to go stand on ay one and make myself more visible.

  I climb up and peer over the crowd. Omagh is bright green, so hopefully that makes him slightly easier to spot, though it’s not an unon color for Sungians. I’m only looking for a minute or so before I decide it would be better to just go back to Khysmet without him. I’d rather be on time a shouted at for losing my guard than have to deal with the sequences of being te, whatever they might be.

  I hop down and move to rejoin the crowd, but before I take more than a step forward, I feel a hand around my upper arm.