Chapter 2

I became aware of the silence when the last note faded away.Sometimes,theRegent’s audiences ignored me,but more often than not,they appreciated my performances,treating me with a respect I’d experienced only sporadically before coming to Ymoro.When I opened my eyes,I found three men watching me.

The Regent,at the rear,a small,pleased smile curving his mouth.

A dark-skinned stranger several feet away,clad in a form-fitting black suit that looked nothing like the styles I usually saw traipsing through the conservatory.

And the third,mere inches from the gilded bars of my cage,staring at me with an expression of such awe,my throat went dry.

The two strangers were obviously brothers,with the same muscular build and slight slant to their dark jade-colored eyes.But where the one in black looked like he would be more comfortable in the military,his back ramrod straight,his features closed and unsmiling,the one closer to me seemed to welcome liberty,wearing his emotions like an added accessory,his brilliant yellow suitcoat fluttering around his strong legs.

“He is absolutely stunning,”this one said.

Though I didn’t blink,my heart skipped a beat.It was the first time in years anybody had referred to me by my gender rather than as an“it.”

“The diplomat was very generous,”his brother added.“Astinian,you said?”

“What’s his name?”the first jumped in before the Regent could respond.

“It’s called Dek.”The Regent came up to join him,ignoring his brother.“So you know,Tylen,it probably understands us.It doesn’t perform randomly.I tell it to play,and it plays.”

Tylen.That made the somber one Dourack.

He accepted the Regent’s statements without question.“Is it different every time?”

“No,it has a specific catalog of pieces.That one is one of my favorites.”

Tylen glanced up at the Regent and smiled.“I’m honored you shared it with us.”

“Oh,that wasn’t me.That was Dek.”When Tylen’s eyes widened and snapped back to me,the Regent chuckled.“I told you it’s a smart one.”

My earlier desire to speak resurged,to confirm my choice for the Regent,to offer something else for this beautiful young man.But to do so in frontof guests would risk my privileged status in the Regent’s household.He might like to show me off,but I was very much his,and I couldn’t betray further skills without granting him the right to know of it first.

In the doorway,Johaf cleared his throat.“The Banrales have arrived,your Eminence.”

The reminder that this wasn’t a private audience shattered the delicate spell between us.Tylen stiffened and backed away from my cage to stand at his brother’s side,while the Regent turned his back on me to return to his seat.Both Merodines dropped to their left knee in deference,but while they waited for the Regent’s touch of dismissal,I caught Tylen glancing at me out of the corner of his eye.

I knew I should look away.But I was as amazed at Tylen Merodine as he was of me.I not only maintained the contact,I nodded my head once in gratitude.

I started the next song before they left.This time,I chose a slower ballad that utilized a more delicate registry.

Tylen broke protocol twice more to look at me.

The rest of the day was a blur of music and faces as the Regent welcomed therest of his party.Though many asked questions about me,none were as bold as Tylen to approach,and certainly nobody deigned to refer to me by eithermy name or as“he.”My fingers were tired when the Regent left with the last,and I collapsed in the corner of my cage,gulping down the rest of the water in my reservoir.

I was asleep within moments.Images of Tylen’s brilliant smile followed me into my dreams.

****

The soft swish of the conservatory door sliding shut woke me from my nap.Ilifted my head and blinked into the fading light,expecting to find Johaf to retrieve me for a dinner performance.Instead,Tylen’s broader outline filled my vision.

He froze just inside the doorway.With the watery afternoon sunshine casting long shadows across that end of the conservatory,I couldn’t see him as clearly as I had before,but the details weren’t necessary.His body language said it all.

I didn’t move,for fear of driving him away.After several seconds passed,he glanced behind him,his head cocked.I could’ve told him nobody was out there,but speaking would frighten him into even more movement,I suspected.

His next words confirmed that.

“I’m pretty sure you can understand me,”he murmured.“So please be quiet.If anyone finds out I’m in here without the Regent’s permission,I’ll be cast out of the Circle,for sure.”

My brows lifted in surprise.He’d sneaked in to see me?That was a first.The conservatory remained locked whenever the Regent wasn’t in attendance.He was too scared somebody would steal me.Only he and Johaf had the key.Somehow,Tylen must’ve stolen it.

My continued silence emboldened him.He ventured one step,then a second nearer.“I just wanted to see you again without anybody else around.You really are stunning.I’ve never seen anyone like you before.”

I was hardly unique in other corners of the galaxy,but I knew my worth here on Ymoro.Still,his flattery both thrilled and embarrassed me,and I felt my skin grow hot in spite of the cooling temperatures.

More steps,and now he’d moved into softer lighting,easier to distinguish,better to behold.He wasn’t the only one who could gaze at his heart’s content.I could stare back,just as curious,just as fascinated.His coloring was more distinctive than the Regent’s,though in keeping with the darker tones prevalent in the population.It wasn’t rare—his brother was darker,and in my travels throughout the galaxy,I’d seen every color visible to the naked eye—but something about his skin glowed,a health,a vitality,an intangible I rarely encountered.

Then there were his eyes,as jubilant and alive as the rest of him.The hazy sunshine didn’t hide it.I wasn’t sure it even could.It burned brighter with each advancing foot,until he stood in the same spot he’d occupied the first time he’d been in the room.

“I don’t know why they call you a songbird,”he said.“You’re obviously not a bird at all.”

The observation was so blunt,I smiled.He was correct,but appellations like that were easier than truth for almost everyone.

“I’m sorry I woke you up.You must’ve been exhausted.I could hear you playing for most of the day.”He hooked a thumb toward the western wall.“The Regent put me and Dourack in rooms not far from here.At the very back of the citadel,which isn’t exactly an honor.Dourack says it’s my fault for not restraining myself when we were presented,but I think it’s so it’ll take us longer to get to most of the festivities.That way,the Regent won’t have to get stuck with Dourack for conversation.”

The more he said,the more I liked him.His matching opinion of his brotheramused me,but it was the echo in his voice of the same animation that lit his eyes that compelled me to sit up and meet his attention more directly.

“My name’s Tylen,by the way.Tylen Merodine.”

He bowed his head as he spoke.I’d seen similar gestures of manners in countless other people,but never directed at me,never for me.It proved the respect he’d shown earlier by addressing me as an equal wasn’t an act.

And for that reason,more than all the rest of the combined,I broke my self-imposed suppression.

“I am Dek.”