Deities of Deceit

Chapter Nine

"No one says things like that," I said.

"To you?"

"To anyone."

"You must change the quality of people that surround you. Leave only the ones that understand the art of words."

"How can we understand? Most people without color don't attain higher education." I leaned into her, my curiosity now growing. "How did you learn?" She laughed widely, it was an earnest girlish laugh. "Why does this question amuse you?" I pressed on, interested in the sound of her laughter. Mesmerized by it. Eager to learn how to make her do it again. "It was a simple question."

"I could tell." She rested her back on the cushion, her thick curly hair falling beside her in the same manner.

Her grip tightened around my palm and she pulled me close. I drew in a sudden sharp breath, falling onto her chest. My chin gently grazed her right nipple protruding through her robe before I could stop myself from going any lower. I lifted my gaze to catch hers on me. Her calloused warm hands cupped my cheek as she softly exhaled.

"I wish more than anything to unmask you, to hear your name and know you." Blinking, I began looking away. She stopped my face from turning and held me in her gaze. "But for whatever reason... you do not wish it." Her hands ran through my hair slowly, making my veil fall to my shoulders as she brought her smooth face so close to mine. "I have no doubt, under this mask is an incomprehensible beauty."

"Why do you speak such words with great ease?"

"When you've seen as many years as I have seen come and go. Time spent with people becomes precious. If you think someone a beauty, you must tell them. Foe, stranger or friend, you must tell them. Soonest, their skin will kiss the ground and the soil will steal all the beauty you never got to praise." She pulled my nose just a little in a tease, and though she couldn't see the entirety of my face, I smiled just a little. "It all comes and goes in the blink of an eye, Little One."

I blinked. "You're still here."

She laughed wholeheartedly, beaming with effortless regality. I joined her in the short laughter, admiring the curves of her oval face. She was a joy to behold. I was a man whose heart was falling faster than Amadioha's rain.

When the laughter came to an end, she kept her gaze on the ceiling, drawing a circle on my hand with her finger without paying attention to it. It felt the same way blooming cotton felt against my palm while I plucked them as a boy. Soft and tender. The same way the warm sun felt on my skin in the middle of a short rain. Her hands might have been rough and calloused from labor of whatever sorts, but they were not void of warmth and care.

"You won't let me kiss you. You won't let me unmask you." She turned to me. "Keep my company then, so I may know you."

Her eyes glimmered with a nurturing affection that compelled me to say words that were not mine to say. I waited a moment as I watched her lips widen into a smile. "There is a place in the city. They provide refuge for servants like you. Protection. They will hide you away from the eyes of the enforcers and find you work. If you choose to escape this place with me, I will see to it that you are brought safely to Uwari."

"Uwari?"

"It is my village. The safest white village in all of Arjana."

"Why would I need protection?"

"Because..." I swallowed, then sat up, making sure to keep the space between us close. "I have come tonight to commit a grave sin. After it is done, I fear enforcers might suspect us. They will retract certain mercies we've been given so far."