"I'm glad to hear it," Qismat said, smiling over another sip of wine before he set it down and cocked his head curiously. Sniffing her wine? Did she honestly believe he might poison--oh. Perhaps not poison her, he realized with a sympathetic, sickening pang, but drug her.
He bit back his grimace and kept the pleasant smile on his face, even though his body had tensed at the realization, the knowledge of just what sorts of men a slave--especially a woman--might deal with. Hakeshna, he hoped she'd escaped that, at least, for he'd housed his share of women who hadn't, and had seen first hand the effect it had on them.
It went even deeper than that.
He quickly pushed those darker thoughts from his mind and took another bite of falafel to cool his head. Another sip of wine had him feeling leagues calmer, and he looked back over at Lani as he swirled his wine absently.
"All that aside, I'm sure the biggest question on your mind is, 'what happens next?' Am I correct?"