Shadows of Avarice (BxB)

Chapter 23

Xia was nervous as he followed Amani to the center of the room. It wasn't as though he had much of a choice. She held onto his hand, so he wouldn't dare try to get out of her grasp in front of all these people. Besides, he could feel the alcohol begin to kick in. He was starting to feel tipsy, which made ignoring all of the stares easier. Amani clearly didn't care about all of the people watching them, so why should he?

The concubine turned to face him, then placed her hand that wasn't holding his on his waist. She planned on leading this dance, which relieved Xia. He wasn't ready to be the one in control. He was still nervous he would mess up and make a fool of himself, but he felt confident enough that he wouldn't step on her toes. Shiva was a strict, but good teacher.

Amani seemed to notice Xia's improvement. A few times during classes, she watched Shiva teach Xia and Alishba. Xia was absolutely horrendous when dancing, but he seemed to be performing well now. Perhaps having all of the nobles watching him made him a better dancer, or maybe it was the alcohol. Either way, Amani was pleasantly surprised. She didn't ask him to dance to make a fool out of him. She only wanted to have some fun and talk to Xia before she handed him off to Osiris.

"So . . . how does it feel to play pretend? Don't worry, I didn't spill your secret to anyone," Amani said, a slight smirk on her face.

Xia glanced away. While she may have figured out his identity, he wouldn't admit to it. He was still trying to figure out what Amani's game was. Shiva and Soraya were obvious about their intentions, but Amani was a mystery. Not much had been revealed about this girl. The only thing he knew about her was her weird obsession with her pet snake, and that she enjoyed causing trouble. Besides that, Amani didn't talk about herself. She seemed more inclined to throw Xia at Osiris than actually getting to know him.

She pouted at him when he didn't grace her with a response. "Don't try to pretend as though there isn't a dick between your legs. While your sister does a good job of hiding your identity, you can't fool me. The day that Osiris went to the desert temple with a few of his guards, he told me that he ran into an elf with purple hair and blue eyes. That elf happened to be a man."

"So? That doesn't prove anything," Xia finally responded. So, Osiris told this woman about their run-in with each other. At least it didn't as though the sultan mentioned it to the other concubines. Soraya would have called him out the moment she met him if Osiris had.

"There are no other elves in Rasea, Xia. There aren't even any humans in Rasea with your unique features. And trust me, I would know. You stand out like a sore thumb and as someone from the streets as well, I think I would have recognized you. I can also guess the game you're playing at. You went to the temple, stole a very important relic, and now you're here in the palace. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that you're here to rob the sultan." Everything that she said was correct. She could read Xia like an open book.

He bit his lips and glanced away. "Am I that obvious?"

"No, not really. Shiva and Soraya haven't figured out your identity, or the reason why you're here. But I also don't think Osiris mentioned meeting you at the temple to them." Amani shrugged. Then with a sigh, she continued, "It might be more obvious to me because I've been in your shoes before. When I was younger, around eighteen, I was a thief as well. Not a very good one, I might add. I was constantly getting caught, but some of the shop owners let it go because I was on my own. I didn't have a family or a home. I had nothing and one day, I saw a wealthy man in the market. Naturally, I targeted him and, of course, that man turned out to be the sultan. I was caught and thought I would be executed for stealing from the most important man in Rasea. However, Osiris decided to take me in. He gave me a home and food to eat."