19
THE KING CALLS
Temple would never have guessed that watching his wife play charades with his sisters and brothers would give him such great joy.So much had been taken from him in the last year.Connections he’d taken for granted, stability, friendships, a rising position in the Guild.But this moment, more than the king’s support, more than any progress on any project, gave him hope.Alchemical exile would not be so bad.He could make a life worth living with Diana by his side.Even telling her the details of his family’s scandal, something he’d never been able to discuss with her before, had left him feeling… light.An unusual sensation, but one he liked.
So when Sybil shouted “Peacock!”and Diana stopped strutting about the parlor, pecking with an invisible beak and spreading her arms wide behind her like a fantail, when she tumbled into a chair with laughter, Temple swept her back up.
“Pardon me, Grants,” he said, tugging her into the hallway, “I must speak with my wife alone.”
“You’d better return her, Tempy!”Helen yelled.
“Who else is going to accept Ajax’s half-chewed food with such equanimity?”Helios cried out.
Diana was still chuckling when Temple drew her into his father’s study.He held her hands, flipped them palms up.
“What are you doing?”she asked.
“Making sure there’s no remaining evidence of Ajax’s… gifts.”
“I’ve learned to accept them with a handkerchief and deposit them quickly into an empty teacup.I’m terribly resourceful, you know.”
“I know.”He pulled her into his arms.He wanted to take her home to Bloomsbury Square.He wanted to read the book out loud to her and watch her every thought take shape across her face.
Hell.He was… He might be a little bit… in love.
He placed her clean hands on his hips as the notion sank in.Rather, it rippled outward.It had started somewhere deep in the core of him, and as it seeped through his muscle and flirted with his skin, he almost had the courage to tell her.
He kissed her instead.And she kissed him back, andHades’ hellfire, he could go on kissing her forever.
But she flinched.“Ow.What was that?Do you have a coal in your pocket?”
He reached into his trouser pocket and pulled out the summoning stone.A little warm.Glowing.Damn.
Diana scowled at the stone.“The king wants you.”
“The king has waited over a fortnight.He can wait one night more.”He pocketed the stone again.
“But, Temple, he?—”
“The next time I meet with him, I must tell him about us.You’re not ready yet.”
She left him, wandered toward the door that led out into the back garden.He followed her outside where she stood looking up at the full moon.He stood behind her, wanting to reach out, to touch.But she seemed so far away, as far away as that golden coin in the sky.Golden like her eyes.Did her magic come from there?If so, she was a creature of the sky, and he of the earth.There would always be space between them.
When she turned, she crossed her arms over her chest, hugging herself tight.“It is not me who is not ready, Temple.It is you.”
He hissed a curse.She was right.“There’s nothing wrong with wanting to keep you safe.”It seemed to be the only thing he wanted some days.
“No.But… tell me this, Temple… Who took the safety mechanism, the heat diffuser to the king?”
“I did.Not that it saved my father from censure.”
“That is not your fault.You tried to protect him.”
“I protected no one.”His hands were fists at his sides.
“You protected all those lives that might have been lost when an engine they trusted tore them to bits.You cannot save everyone, Temple.”
He should have been able to.The night sky, dark and endless, mocked him.The stars dancing in its blackness laughed.
