by Ann Denton
She didn’t say more, but I wondered what had happened to her family. She didn’t mention her mother or her other fathers. I couldn’t address it in public, so I simply said what I felt, “I’m delighted to have your family represent Rasle. I’m certain this will be the start of a wonderful relationship for our countries.”
Ember smiled and brought her father, Donovon, forward so I could shake his hand. He smiled shyly at me and kept his greying wings politely closed behind his back. He’d always been a quiet man, the one who stayed home and kept the books, if I remembered correctly.
“I look forward to working with you, Your Majesty.”
I shook his hand.
Thankfully, Connor swept in before I had to say much else. “Well, now that formalities are out of the way, who’s ready to gorge on roast pig?” He offered an arm to Queen Isla, complimenting the train she’d worn as he escorted her toward the dining hall.
I followed behind, allowing Ember and her father to walk beside me. Declan served as my escort, since Ryan stepped aside to speak with some soldiers and Quinn blended back into the shadows.
“We heard about your sister when we landed,” Ember said, peering over at me. A sad smile crossed her face. “Any news?”
I took a deep breath and schooled my features.
Declan jumped in before I had to answer and said, “Interesting. Which servants spoke about that? I’ll have to have a chat with them.”
Ember’s face reddened. “I didn’t mean to get anyone in trouble.”
Declan handed me off to Ember’s father and took the fairy’s arm. “Well, you know it doesn’t do to have servants with loose lips. You and I can go for a stroll and you can point them out to me.” He deftly steered Ember out of the room.
Ember’s father led me to the head of the table, where Jorad had already pulled out my chair. As he helped me into my seat, Donovon said, “I’m sorry about your sister.”
I smiled fakely up at him as I settled into my seat. I wished everyone would stop talking about it.
I turned to grab my wine glass only to realize that Lady Agatha was right next to me. Jorad must have decided to punish me for hitting him earlier.
Agatha’s hair was a big billowing poof of white, strung with pearls. It was so large, I couldn’t see who sat on her other side.
She gave a toothy grin and leaned forward. “Look on the bright side, Your Majesty. The dragon didn’t immediately kill the princess.”
I pushed away the brutal image her words brought to mind and focused on a tingling in my gut. My intuition was roused. Something she said made sense. Somehow. I tilted my head and stared at Agatha. “What do you mean?”
Lady Agatha picked up her own wine glass and gave a shrug before downing the entire thing. She dabbed her mouth with her napkin as she said, “Well, if that dragon didn’t just kill her, he or his master must want her for something.”
Chapter Four
Lady Agatha’s words stuck with me throughout the dinner and the jesters that came to entertain us.
I was still rolling them around in my head as Ginnifer helped me out of my evening gown near midnight.
“Um, Your Majesty?”
“Just Bloss, when we’re alone, please.”
“My Lady, I couldn’t—”
I sighed. “Really, you could. But that’s not important right now. What did you need?”
Ginnifer bit her lower lip. “Um, your bird?”
“My bird?”
“The bluebird.”
“Oh, Cerena’s bird! Yes?”
“It’s still here.”
I furrowed my brow. Ginnifer pointed. Sure enough, the bluebird was in my dressing room, perched on top of a rack of dresses, tilting his head and studying me.
“He’ll ruin your clothes!” Ginnifer wrung her hands. “I’ve tried everything to get him to leave and he won’t!”
I bit my lip to keep from laughing.
What’s so funny, Dove?
Of course, Quinn couldn’t let me laugh without trying to find out why.
You know how you always like to tease me about enchanted animals?
Yes?
I sent him the mental image of Cerena’s bird.
Quinn laughed in my mind, which felt almost like being tickled.
I was right! See, animals are magically attracted to princesses.
Well, this one is Cerena’s. I’ll have to make sure to return him in the morning. It was sweet of her to have him watch over me, though.
No letting him see you naked.
He’s a bird.
He’s a he.
You’re ridiculous.
Just you wait. He’ll go tweeting to all his bird friends and next thing you know a whole flock will be following you around …
He sent me a mental image of a dozen birds perched on my head, my shoulders, the sides of my dress. Naturally, Quinn pictured me covered in shite.
I rolled my eyes.
“Sorry, Your Majesty, I didn’t mean to offend—” Ginnifer jumped in, thinking I was rolling my eyes at her.
“Shite. No, I’m sorry. Quinn’s being ridiculous in my head. That’s all.”
Go away.
Fine. But I’m warning you, if you give that bird a show, he’ll bring back friends.
Any word on Avia? I changed the subject.
Still working on that. We do think whatever Ryan’s man spotted to the south has potential. He will be working late on that.
Keep me updated.
Will do.
Quinn faded from my head as I changed into a much more informal gown.
“I’ll get the bird back to his owner in the morning, Ginnifer.”
“Your Majesty, your dresses!”
I turned to the bird and narrowed my eyes. “If you shite on my clothes, I’ll have Cerena lock you in a cage.”
As if he could understand my threat, the bluebird swooped out of the dressing room and back into my chamber. Ginnifer rushed to shut the door behind him.
“Thank you,” she sighed, holding her chest.
“No problem.” I yawned. “Don’t tell Quinn. He’ll think that bird actually listened to me, instead of just getting scared off by the sound of my voice.”
She nodded briskly and then lowered her voice to stage whisper dramatically at me. “Your Majesty, you have your secret meeting tonight.” Ginnifer went over to the corner of the dressing room and pulled out a hidden pot of tea and a tea cup. “Why don’t you sit down and drink some tea? It’ll perk you up. I’ll go make certain you’re alone before you sneak off.”
In all the pomp and circumstance, I’d forgotten about meeting Connor. My heart jumped nervously at the thought. The very fact that I was nervous made me sad. Once, I’d only have felt anticipation. But Connor and I were still getting reacquainted after four years apart.
When Ginnifer gave me the all clear, I stood and realized my palms were slightly sweaty. I ran them down the sides of my dress before taking the candle she handed me and walking into the secret passage hidden behind the wall of the queen’s chamber.
I saw Connor around the first corner of the passage. He smiled and I smiled, and we turned toward the kitchen.
I stumbled and Connor caught me, saving my face but also saving me from setting my hair afire with my candle. “I suppose the sneaking isn’t technically necessary,” I said.
Connor shrugged. “But it’s fun.”
“Yes. I love tripping.”
He laughed and took my hand, tucking it into the crook of his elbow. “Here. Problem solved. I like the royal passageways.”
“Why?”
“Because if your guards were around, I couldn’t do this,” he stopped and stepped in front of me, threading our legs so that his thigh rubbed my core, even through our clothing. I sucked in a ragged breath as I stared up at him, watching his eyes grow serious and hooded in the tiny flicker of candlelight. Connor traced his fingers over my cheek. I studied his face, his tanned skin, sharp jaw, and the curls that I loved.
I couldn’t help myself. I reached up with my free hand and let my fingers run through those curls.
Connor leaned down and my eyes fluttered closed. He kissed each of my eyelids, the tip of my nose, my cheeks … until finally his lips brushed mine. It was so sweet my heart hurt. So perfectly bittersweet. Because at one point, there would have been no hesitation on his part. No light kisses. Only eagerness. Only joy that was so big it bubbled over and couldn’t be contained. I’d broken that.
It was my job to fix it.
When Connor’s lips pulled away, I leaned toward him on tiptoe and said, “I’ve dreamt about kissing you since I was eleven years old.”
He quirked a grin. “Eleven?”
I nodded. “It was my birthday wish that year.”
“I don’t think you ever told me that.” He interlaced his fingers with mine.
I shrugged. “I thought at that time that you might have had a crush on that princess from Lored.”
“Gildera!” Connor snorted. “She was taller than me!”
I shrugged. “She rode a horse better than you, too.”
“And swung a sword. Ugh, don’t remind me.”
“Well, those all seemed to be things you liked to do, so I was worried—”
“You didn’t need to be,” Connor bumped my shoulder playfully.
I shrugged. “I didn’t know that.”
He grinned. “What else don’t I know about you?”
“Um … I now know how to milk a cow.”
“Why?”
I blushed. “When I left, I didn’t really consider … money. I ran out quickly. I couldn’t steal. I just couldn’t. So, I had to take odd jobs as I searched for a wizard.”
Connor shook his head in bemusement, “And how was that cow-milking experience?”
“After I figured out how not to get kicked … it was still pretty awful.”
Connor laughed and led me around one last corner before he took my candle and blew it out. We slipped out of the secret passage and into the hall that led to the kitchens.
The night staff simply smiled when we arrived hand in hand and the head cook, Meralda, waddled over, rubbing her hands on her apron.
“Marzipan cakes?” she asked.
That had been our go-to for years. It had been my absolute favorite late-night dessert. Until I’d left the palace.
I shook my head. “Can we have bread with quince jelly and farmer’s cheese, please?”
The cook raised her eyebrows but gave a sharp nod.
“Quince jelly?” Connor asked.
“Like a cross between apple and pear,” I winked. “You’ll love it.”
Connor led me to a seat at one of the servants’ dining tables. He sat next to me and grabbed my hand. He immediately went for an arm-wrestling match. I pushed back the heavy sleeve of my gown and freed my elbow. Then I set my arm up on the table and wiggled my fingers.
“Prepare to be owned,” I threatened playfully.
“Oh, I’m owned, Bloss Boss. You know it. But you’d better prepare to lose. And when you lose, I’m gonna collect,” he raised his eyebrows suggestively as his hand clasped mine.
“Collect what?”
He leaned forward and whispered, “Something that isn’t acceptable to say in public.” His eyes glittered.
My breath caught and my nipples tightened. Connor looked so naughty that I had to press my thighs together to ease the ache.
He’d never teased me like this before. Not this explicitly. Everything we’d done was covert. Stolen kisses, stolen moments. Even after he’d been officially announced as one of my knights, we’d had to maintain a sense of propriety in public. We’d tested boundaries, as teenagers do. But not like he was doing now. Not like the suggestive way his tongue traced his upper lip. Nothing remotely close to the way he rubbed his lips together as he leaned toward me and whispered, “What I have in mind is gonna taste even more delicious than dessert.”
I was sure he felt the pulse of desire that surged up my spine and made me light-headed. His cat-ate-the-cream grin assured me he did.
Of course, he took advantage of my distraction to slam my hand into the table.
“Rematch!” I cried.
He gave a nonchalant shrug and held his hand up, waiting for me to straighten my own.
I narrowed my eyes as I clasped palms with him.
“Go,” he murmured.
I pushed. I did. But his sarding hand didn’t move an inch. He’d gotten stronger in four years.
I cheated. I put my other hand on the back of his and pulled. I put both hands on the same side and pushed, but I couldn’t even get him halfway down. “What the hell?” I’d never lost this badly before. I’d lost, sure. But he’d at least had the good grace to pretend I was strong enough to make it a struggle.
When I stood up to push on his arm he laughed and let his arm flop backward onto the table.
“You let me win,” I sat back in my seat and folded my arms over my chest, pouting.
“Yup,” Connor leaned back. “Now you know something about me you never knew. Your turn.”
My jaw dropped. “You used to let me win?” Fury and admiration rose in me at once. I’d never suspected.
“All the time.”
He was so sweet and so patronizing at the same time. I wasn’t certain which of my emotions would win out against him, the anger or the respect. I narrowed my eyes. “At what?” We’d played countless games growing up.
He shook his head, “Your turn.”
I glared at him. “I don’t like that a bit, Connor Doyle … Hale, I mean. Connor Hale.”
His eyes darkened, pupils dilating. Both of us stared intensely at one another. It was the first time I’d said his married name aloud. He’d always belonged to me. We’d always belonged to each other. But hearing it … I blinked, before I started to get emotional in front of the servants.
“I hate mosquitoes,” I admitted, changing the subject.
He laughed, “Who doesn’t?”
“You don’t understand. If I could make them cease to exist, I would. Every night, every night, they bit me. And I’d scratch in my sleep. I’d wake up with welts the size of your fist.”
Connor leaned toward me and asked in a low voice, “What were you doing out late at night?”
I faked a laugh, “Well, there aren’t a lot of inns in the wilds of Cheryn and Macedon. I spent a lot of nights sleeping under the stars. That turned out to be much less romantic than the poets pretend.”
A servant walked within earshot, so I added a little more for that man’s benefit. “I mean, when you’re dragon-hunting you don’t get cozy castles every day.” I hadn’t been dragon hunting. I’d been wizard hunting, for a cure for my powers. Of course, the mention of dragons made me think of Avia.
Connor’s lips thinned. He leaned closer and brushed my hair back as he whispered, “First of all, we’ll find her.” He knew what I was thinking without me having to say a single word. “Second of all, you’re an idiot for ever leaving and not telling me everything. Every one of those mosquito bites was your own fault. Third, I’ll kill every mosquito I can from now on, in your honor.”
I laughed. “You’re so brave.”
“You know it.”
His hand came to rest on my cheek. “I feel like I’m getting to know a new you. And yet, you’re the same. Does that make sense?” A slight blush crept over his cheeks.
I put my hand on top of his. “I feel the same. I still love you, Cee. It’s just … now, I get to have the fun of falling in love with you all over again.”
He smiled.
The things his smile did to me—my heart grew warm and fuzzy. My thoughts sparkled. He’d always had this effect on me. He’d always been able to make the world around him recede. So that nothing mattered but the two of us. I sighed and grinned, content for the moment just to bask in his attention.
We were back together. Circling one another like binary stars. Shining. The connection between us felt like a living thing.
It pulsed and pulled me toward him. I couldn’t resist those sea-foam eyes. I leaned over and was about to kiss Connor again.
But Meralda, our cook, cleared her throat. “Your Majesty, normally I might clear the kitchen for a moment for you. But with Rasle here we’re working all hours—”
I laughed, unlacing my fingers from Connor’s so I could pat her shoulder. “You’re fine, Meralda. I’ll behave. And if you need more help, send someone down to the capital to round up a few extra hands. I’ll tell Jorad it’s approved.”
Meralda ducked her head and bowed, nearly forgetting to give us the platter of food in her hands. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”
I nodded and smiled as she set the plate down between us.
Connor stared down at the meal suspiciously. “You’d rather eat this than marzipan cakes?” He touched the dark brown bread suspiciously, as if it’d bite him.
I grinned and shrugged, suddenly feeling a little uncertain about my choice. “I wanted to show you something else you didn’t know about me.”
“Your taste buds have died?” he teased.
I pretended to smack his arm, but he captured my hand and kissed the back of it.
“Thank you,” his voice was low and breathy, so he couldn’t be overheard by the kitchen staff who were trying to work inconspicuously at the edges of the room. “Thank you for sharing this part of you with me.”
I nodded. My throat was too tight to speak.
“So,” Connor continued lightly, aware of our audience, “this is what you ate when you were on the road?”
“It became my favorite. A midday meal after a hard morning of … searching.”
“Well then—” Connor scooped up the bread and a bit of cheese. He took large bites of both. His eyes went wide as he chewed. His entire face worked, stretching and scrunching.
I rolled my eyes. “It’s not that hard.” I kicked at him from my chair.
He grinned playfully. “I think I cracked a tooth.” He opened his mouth and pointed, the big ball of mush still quite visible.
“Gross!”
He swallowed and pouted. “I’m not joking. It hwerts,” he made little-boy eyes at me.
“Alright three-year-old, let me see,” I leaned closer.
Connor snuck a quick closed-mouth kiss before sweeping me up onto his lap. He wrapped his arms around my waist and leaned his head against my side. “I love that you’re my wife.”