As she neared, Rayne slid gracefully to his feet and extended his hand to hers. “Lady Magar, a pleasure to see you again.”
Yash placed her hand in his and squeezed lightly. “And so soon! Do you mind if I join you?”
With his free hand, Rayne waved to the empty bench opposite where he’d been sitting. “I would be honored. I was hoping that we could chat. I have a few concerns I thought you may be able to lay to rest.”
Yash’s smile grew wider, her nose wrinkling with her mirth. “I’d be delighted to chat.”
Once she was comfortably seated, Rayne returned to his own spot, his hands positioned around his drink while he took in the woman seated opposite him. She was quite lovely with a delicate bone structure and elegant clothes, but his earlier assessment of her didn’t change. Those dark eyes didn’t miss a thing. He couldn’t guess whether she’d been born to a privileged life or if she’d attained it merely through hard work and ruthlessness. She gave nothing away.
“I understand that you had a visit from one of the High Aspect’s little sycophants this evening,” she began before Rayne could frame an opening to the conversation. “Has the High Luminance turned down your request already?” Her smile shifted into something a bit sharper and pointed, as if she were inwardly celebrating because she realized they were now dependent on Kamal Giri’s invitation.
Rayne cleared his throat; maintaining his own bland expression took little work. His life had been spent hiding his emotions from other political leaders and diplomats. Only Eno could take him apart emotionally. “No, it would seem the High Luminance has requested a sign from the gods tomorrow at Frozen Square.”
Yash’s smile dissolved in the blink of an eye, and she reclined against the back of the booth, her slender eyebrows meeting over the bridge of her nose. “A sign? That’s…interesting.”
“I would assume one reason might be that this is an easy way for the High Luminance to reject our request without seeming to reject it. The lack of a proper sign means it’s the will of the gods for us to not ascend to Mrtyu,” Rayne suggested.
His companion’s expression instantly lightened. “That is very true.”
“However, the High Luminance could be earnest in this request, and it would be in the best interest of Kamal Giri to share any information that might assist us in making sure the correct sign is produced.”
Yash’s eyebrows jumped to her hairline and she laughed. “How do you see that? If you get an invitation from the High Luminance, you don’t need our assistance.”
Rayne turned his hands palms up. “But I would not forget if you provided us with assistance in regard to the sign. Besides, if something were to happen to the High Luminance while we were visiting, wouldn’t it look more suspicious if we were a guest of Kamal Giri? Wouldn’t it be in the High Arcanist’s best interests if we were invited by the High Luminance?”
The woman’s expression turned sly, and she offered a small nod. “You’re good. I can see how you got to be the advisor to a king.” She sat up, sliding her hands across the table toward his own. She stopped just an inch from touching him. “You know, I could very much use someone like you at my side here in Temit. I can guarantee that you would live just as comfortably here as you do in Stormbreak.” She extended one fingertip and lightly scratched her long nail down the knuckles of his left hand.
Rayne held on to his emotionless expression and suppressed the shiver that tried to escape at her touch. “I greatly appreciate the offer, but I’m quite happy in my current position.”
Her sly smile never wavered. “I figured as much, but I thought it was worth a try.” She drew her hands to her side of the table and tapped that same deep-purple nail on the wood. “I’ll admit that I don’t have a clue as to what the High Luminance is looking for in terms of signs. The Frozen Square is a large open space outside the central cathedral for the Dead God. All the holiest celebrations are held there, so it’s not unexpected that it was chosen for the location.”
Sitting back on his own bench, Rayne glared at his forgotten whiskey. He hadn’t seen the cathedral or the square yet, but Caelan and Eno would have crossed through it on their way to see the High Aspect. “Why is it called the Frozen Square?”
One shoulder lifted in an indifferent shrug. “I don’t know that it’s the proper name. It’s just what everyone has called it for centuries. I assumed it was due to the fact that the water fountain in the center of the square is always frozen, no matter what the temperature or time of year. People say the water in that fountain ran from the cave that is the Dead God’s final resting place. Once it pooled so far from him, it froze and stayed that way.”