Colin scratched the back of his neck. “Not yet, but—”
“I needed to discuss something with my Quanling.” Leena strode forward until she was in the company of the two men. She’d had no idea that Niall had known about their quest or her part in it. “Colin was kind enough to escort me.”
Niall clapped his hands together. “What luck. Quanling Marjory will be attending my banquet tonight. You can talk with her then.”
Leena’s hand pressed into the base of her throat. It was very unusual for the Quanling to leave the temple and unheard of for any scribe to be invited to the high lord’s banquet. “But surely I… I mean, I assume…” What could she say that wouldn’t be insulting? While her mind reached for some hint of what to do, Lord Niall put her presumptions to rest.
“You, of course, are invited as well. Someone must be there to record the event for posterity. After all, what I will announce tonight involves all of Rogos, even the scribes.”
Lifting his eyebrows, Colin scratched his chin. “Sounds serious. Is that why you summoned us here?”
Colin’s question was quite forward, and Leena wondered if it would anger the high lord, but Niall only smiled wider. “You are here because my fiancée predicted your arrival and because you and the Defenders of the Goddess are an integral component in ensuring the future of Rogos.”
Leena couldn’t stifle a gasp. “Fiancée?”
Colin patted the high lord’s shoulder. “Congratulations. I hadn’t heard.”
Niall turned toward the dais.
“Darling?” A woman appeared beside his throne. One second, it was just the three of them, and then there she was, leaning against the side of the chair as if she’d been standing there the entire time. Had she been invisible or somehow manifested?
However she’d arrived, Leena was baffled by her appearance. She wasn’t an elf. Her blue eyes barely gleamed. They were almost human-looking, as were her ears, which were rounded at their tops. Her skin, the color of freshly poured cream, was enhanced with a blush at her cheeks and full red lips. Platinum hair twisted along the back of her head and was managed into intricate curls at her crown. And her gown—Leena had never seen anything like it—was shiny, silver blue, and draped to the floor. Together with a tiara, four diamond-covered spikes that peeked out from her curls, the outfit made her look like an ice queen.
Beside her, Colin lowered himself to one knee and bowed at the waist. “Queen Penelope, it’s an honor.”
Queen Penelope?Leena curtsied low and bowed her head. Penelope was the witch queen of Darnuith! Now that she knew who she was, she recognized her from drawings in the scrolls. No wonder she’d seemed to appear out of nowhere. The woman had the magic to do so and then some. Her outfit now seemed fitting. Darnuith was a kingdom of ice. But could it be true? Could the high lord be uniting with the queen in marriage? If so, what did that mean for Rogos?
“My heartfelt congratulations on your betrothal,” Colin said, rising from his knee. “Is this the news you’ll be sharing at the banquet tonight?”
Queen Penelope moved to Niall’s side as gracefully as a dancer.
“Yes, and more,” Niall said. “But there will be plenty of time to talk politics. For now, I’m sure you’ll want to rest and freshen up before the banquet. Grindel and Sylvia will show you to your rooms.” A pair of elves appeared at his summons.
As Sylvia led her from the throne room and in the opposite direction of Colin, Leena wondered briefly if Queen Penelope had somehow enchanted the high lord into proposing marriage. But the more she analyzed that theory, the more she found the very notion to be absurd. Elves were resistant to elemental magic, and Queen Penelope would have had to, at least initially, be magically restrained to get within ten feet of him. Plus, he looked at the witch as if he honestly loved her.
She would have liked to talk to Colin about the turn of events but wasn’t surprised they weren’t given rooms in the same part of the palace. He was an exiled heir of the kingdom of Paragon, and she was a scribe. He’d be treated like a royal, and she… Well, she wasn’t sure how she’d be treated. She’d never been here before.
“Please make yourself comfortable.” Sylvia gestured inside the door to a small bedroom. “There’s a dress in the closet appropriate for the banquet tonight. Please be ready by sunfall.”
“I won’t need the dress.” Leena held her hand out to the woman. “It is against the rules of my order to wear anything but my sacred robes.”
The older woman folded her hands and lowered her gaze. “It is against palace law to attend a royal banquet in anything but fine attire. I believe, in this case, royal law supersedes temple law.” Sylvia gave a shallow bow, then left her alone.
Leena flopped onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling. Her headache had faded and left a lingering malaise in its place. All she’d wanted to do was return to the temple and go back to the way things were. But that end seemed to be barreling toward her both too quickly and not quickly enough. It was all so confusing.
This morning, she’d experienced the pleasures of the flesh. Some pleasures, at least. She understood there were others. Deeper temptations.
Unbidden, her thoughts turned to Colin, to the tent. Now that she thought back, she realized there must be more. Something was supposed to happen next. She sensed she was supposed to do something… something Colin avoided when he’d ducked out of the tent so quickly. She never thought she’d miss having a traditional mother until now. A true mother would have taught her about men, about sex.
What was she saying? This was exactly why she had to return to the temple as soon as possible. Oh, how he’d branded her soul. Was the inner heat he commanded in her a product of his being a dragon, or were all intimacies with the opposite sex kindling for that fire? She’d never know. He was and always would be her only one.
At least she’d learned one positive thing—her Quanling was coming to Asfolk. With any luck, the leader of her order would agree to escort her back to the temple herself, assign Colin a replacement scribe to help him with his research, and she could leave him, and all the temptation he brought with him, behind for good.
Chapter Eleven
New Orleans
December 24th, 2018
