“I’ll have a word with it,” Alex said. “Queen to weather, peer to peer.”
Erin huffed. “Be careful, it’s been listening to Hyz. That kid’s got ideas.”
“Hyzenthlay always has ideas,” Alexandra said. “So do I.”
She let her fingertips brush Erin’s wrist, subtle, easily mistaken for an accident. Erin’s gaze dropped briefly to the point of contact, then back up.
“What kind of ideas?” she asked, voice a shade lower.
Alex tilted her head toward the door. “Hallway inspection,” she said. “You said yourself these old castles are deathtraps.”
“I was talking about health and safety,” Erin said, but her stance shifted, weight sliding subtly toward the corridor. “Not… hallway inspections.”
“A queen must be thorough,” Alexandra said. “Come on. Before Vic drafts you into the emergency illumination committee.”
She didn’t quite take Erin’s hand—Erin liked to have both free when she was in work mode—but she moved close enough that they brushed sides as they slipped out of the nursery and into the corridor beyond.
The door thudded shut behind them. The noise of the room—squeals, Vic’s complaints, the murmur of Julia’s voice—dampened to a muffled hum.
Out here, the castle was quieter.
And colder.
The corridor Alexandra led them into was one of the older ones, a long stretch of stone lined with portraits, running along the outer wall toward one of the less-used staircases. The heating up here had always been temperamental at best. Right now, the radiator under the narrow window was stone cold, its metal ribs icy to the touch.
Perfect, Alexandra thought. Miserable, heatless… and blessedly empty.
Erin shivered. “This,” she said, “is not where I thought ‘seduction’ would take place.”
“Who said I was seducing you?” Alexandra replied, entirely failing to look innocent. “Maybe I’m genuinely concerned about the antique piping.”
“You tried to take my clothes off in a security cupboard in Westminster,” Erin said. “I’m not falling for this.”
Alex smiled. “You enjoyed that cupboard.”
“I enjoyed you,” Erin said. The words came out quietly, without the banter that usually softened that sort of comment. Alex felt them all the way down her spine.
“Good,” she said. “I’d be terribly offended if you’d been faking it this whole time.”
Erin snorted, the sound bouncing off the stone. Then her expression sobered, and in the dim, unreliable light of the wall sconces, Alex could see the fatigue there. The fine grooves at the corners of her eyes. The way her shoulders didn’t quite relax, even now, even alone.
“Alex…” Erin began. “We shouldn’t be too far from?—”
“The nursery is ten metres away,” Alexandra said. “Julia is in there. Vic is in there. Our children are safe. The walls are thick. The doors are heavy. No one will spontaneously combust in the next five minutes.”
“You say that,” Erin said, “but you’ve met our offspring, right?”
Alex stepped closer on her tiptoes, into Erin’s space, until the wall was at Erin’s back and Alexandra could rest one hand on the cold radiator, caging her in.
She watched Erin’s pupils dilate, watched her throat work as she swallowed. For all the tiredness, the lines, theconstant vigilance—this part of her still responded. Still wanted.
“Five minutes,” Alex said, softer now. “That’s all I’m asking. Not even for… anything specific. Just… your attention. On me. On us. Before the castle eats us alive again.”
Erin’s mouth quirked. “It is a hungry-looking castle.”
“There,” Alex said. “She smiles. That’s progress.”
She let her hand slide from the radiator to Erin’s shoulder, tracing the familiar slope, the warmth of her even through her jumper. She moved in until their bodies brushed, her own chest pressing lightly against Erin’s.
