her to order a little of everything, so you should find something you like.'
'Do you always have to be this circumspect when you dine out?' Taya asked, as he filled his own glass and sat down. Unlike Cristof, he didn't place himself on the opposite side of the table from her, but sat at the end, his chair angled toward her. Gas flames played off the golden ornaments in his clothing and hair.
'No, not always. We could have gone to an exalted-only restaurant, but people would have stared at you, and I was afraid you would find it embarrassing.'
She nodded. 'I would have. In fact, I'm — I'm a little nervous about attending Exalted Octavus's party. Am I going to be very out of place? Are any of the exalteds going to mind that I'll be seeing them without their masks?'
'Of course not. You will be our guest of honor, and we're all accustomed to dealing with icarii. I think you're very fortunate to be an icarus. It must be very liberating to move freely from Tertius to Primus and never worry about masks and propriety.'
Taya glanced down at her glass. 'I worry about propriety all the time, exalted. When you have to work with all the castes and foreigners, it's hard to remember which rules apply, even after taking the diplomacy exam. Like just now — one of the rules I was taught was never to touch an exalted.'
'Certainly you wouldn't in public, but you can't believe that exalteds never touch lower castes in private.'
'Well…' She blushed. Of course she knew that exalteds had personal lower-caste servants who saw them unmasked and helped them dress and do their hair, and she was sure that occasional cross-caste friendships and romances occurred. But those were special, necessary exceptions. 'I've never touched an exalted before.'
'Liar.' His smile made the accusation playful. 'My cousin told me she clung to you like a baby while you were falling.'
'That's not the same thing.' For that matter, she realized, Cristof had touched her to tend her wound. 'I wasn't thinking about caste then,' she protested, and it was true of both occasions.
'But you are now. That's understandable, but won't you try to set your qualms aside for a few hours? I could have waited to talk to you at Viera's party, but I wanted to get to know you before then. It will be more comfortable to have a friend at the ball, don't you agree?'
Taya gave him a shy smile. 'I think you could make anyone feel like a friend, exalted.'
'Alister. Call me Alister, but feel free to flatter me all you want, because I adore flattery.' His green eyes twinkled. 'Were you also taught that diplomats should flatter exalteds?'
'No! And I'm not a diplomat yet. I just took my exams a few weeks ago. I might not be accepted.'
'So, you're still waiting for the board to make up its mind. I detested waiting for my examination scores at the University. I detest ambiguity of any sort. That was another reason I wanted to get to know you. Let the rest of Primus wonder what kind of person you are — I'll know first.' He sounded like a mischievous child, and Taya couldn't help but grin.
'Will that matter, exa — Alister?'
'Only to me, but I'll take great satisfaction in it.' He cocked his head. 'Why do you want to become a diplomat? It can be dangerous work, and you might be sent away from the city to work in a foreign embassy, if you're especially unfortunate.'
'No, that would be perfect! I'd love to see another country. Wouldn't it be wonderful to see Mareaux's famous vineyards, or a Demican bear hunt, or the Cabiel jungles?'
'I see. You're a true-born icarus, full of soaring dreams and aspirations.'
'Haven't you ever been out of Ondinium?'
'I'm not permitted. Everyone who studies programming at the University signs a contract swearing to remain in the city. I've heard rumors of an elite group of lictors that is sent after escaped programmers to bring them back — dead or alive.'
'No!' She stared at him. The story sounded like something Pyke would tell her. 'Really?'
'I'm not making it up. Well, I am embroidering, a little. I expect the lictors are quite ordinary, and I imagine they would prefer to bring the wayward programmer back alive. Still, programmers are required by law to spend their life in Ondinium, in order to keep the city's technological secrets intact.'
'Then you'll never leave?'
'I don't want to leave. I can enjoy the same wines and bearskins and jungle fruit here that I would in any other country. ‘All roads lead to Ondinium,’ after all.' Humor lines crinkled around his eyes. 'Now you'll think I'm boring and lose all interest in me.'
'No. I love Ondinium, too. But I'd like to see more than wires and smog. I'd like to fly over an ice field or an ocean before I die.'
'You must have been a merchant or a soldier in your last life.'
'Or a bird. A lot of icarii think they used to be birds.' She took a sip of the wine, then set it back down again. It tasted all right, but she'd feel more comfortable with a plain ale — something she was used to drinking.
'If you were a bird in a past life, you would have been one of those little hunting hawks I see carried by Mareauxan ambassadors,' Alister speculated. 'Red-headed and neatly trimmed, agile and fierce.'
'Now who's being flattering?' she scolded him.
'Not at all, Taya Hawk.'
'I'm a hawk without my wings right now.'
'Just for tonight. I look forward to seeing you in your wings again the next time you come to Oporphyr Tower.'
Taya looked down, reminded of her flight suit. 'I'm sorry about the suit… I don't have anything formal to wear to dinner.'
'Don't apologize. You look charming. Remember, I belong to a caste in which everyone hides their bodies under layers of heavy robes.' Alister gestured to the glittering lapels stacked three-deep on his chest. 'I'm enjoying the privilege of being able to sit here and ogle your legs without giving offense.'
Taya laughed again. Cassi would enjoy hearing that. 'Traveling to the lower sectors must be a real thrill for you, then.'
'It would be if all the castes decided to adopt form-hugging fashions. Perhaps the Council should make it a law.'
'Do you… do exalteds always dress so formally, even in their own homes?' Taya looked with open curiosity at his clothes, deciding that after his jokes he could hardly protest if she stared. Not that he seemed like the kind of man who'd object to being admired. 'Isn't it hard to get any work done?'
'We wear lighter robes at home. Just one or two, made out of softer fabrics with less decoration.' He tapped a flower spray embroidered across his top robe; small garnets picked out the shape of a bouquet of roses. 'These are just for wearing in public. We have to be very careful when we choose them. One only purchases a robe that has gemstones sewn across the rear once.'
'Sitting down in wings isn't much easier.'
'I see we both suffer for our caste.'
'What about your hair? Do you dress it when you're at home, too?'
He seemed amused. 'Not as elaborately. If I intend to spend all day inside, I simply pull it back.'
Taya nodded, imagining him in a light, open robe that would show off his well-built frame and dark copper skin, a curtain of black hair hanging loose over his shoulders. She felt a pleasant tingle. He was handsome in his exalted's jewels, but….
A smile played on his lips as he watched her, and she dragged her thoughts away, afraid he might see them in her eyes.
Besides
, she sternly reminded herself,
I'm not that kind of icarus
She'd never been able to shake off all her famulate ideas about respectability.
'And what do you wear in private, Taya?' he asked, with a teasing smile on his lips.
