Aydra wasn’t sure what was happening, until—
Grins broke on both their faces, and Hagen dropped her arm at an instant.
Great bellows of what she assumed were their hello’s echoed in the hall as they embraced one another, their hands clapping each other on their backs.
“It’s great to see you, mate!” Hagen exclaimed.
Draven laughed as he pulled back and grasped Hagen’s face. “I didn’t know you could get uglier,” he bantered.
Hagen let a great chortle out that nearly shook the room. “Mate, you’re greying. What’ve these people got you in to that you’re already begun growing salt in your beard?”
Both brows raised on Draven’s face. “You’ve no idea.”
Hagen shook his head and then laughed as he hugged Draven once more. “Ah, it is great to see a familiar face,” he mused. “I was terrified of having to walk these halls with only the Queen here as my escort.”
Draven smirked and gave her a full once over again, his hands shoving in his pockets. “And what an escort that would have been,” he said, winking at her.
Her chest swelled to its capacity at the familiar bantering Draven standing before her.
Her brows raised, and she crossed her arms over her chest. “Treading on fire, my King,” she warned.
“Hold on. Wait, wait—” Hagen’s eyes darted between them, holding his hands up. “You two…” His brows raised, and then he hit Draven’s stomach playfully. “You animal!” he exclaimed. Hagen draped his arm around Draven’s shoulders and met Aydra’s eyes. “Venari King in bed with his Promised enemy Queen. This is something the Chronicles won’t tell us about,” he bantered.
“You’ve a problem with who I keep in my bed, Elder?” Aydra asked.
Hagen chuckled under his breath. “The fact he is the one in your bed says a lot more about your ability to love those not of your own kingdom than anything else you could have dared tell me these next few days.”
He removed his arm from Draven and held out a hand to her once more, which she hesitantly took.
“You have my attention, Sun Queen.”
Aydra smirked at Draven over Hagen’s shoulder. “Who knew fucking the Venari King would have such diplomatic perks,” she bantered.
The laughter from the Blackhands echoed in the room, and Draven grinned, shaking his head slightly at her.
“Ropes, my Queen,” he growled.
“Looking forward to it,” she winked.
Hagen wiped his face of the tears, and he draped his arm around Aydra’s shoulders once more. “Oh, this is brilliant,” he said, turning her towards the middle of the room. “You know, it’s actually better that you’re taken. Now you can show me who I should and shouldn’t flirt with for fear of death.”
Aydra shook her head and pulled his arm off her shoulders so that she could tuck her own arm into his. “No one warned me how much of a handful you all were.”
Hagen grinned at her. “Oh, my lovely Sun Queen… You’ve only just met us. This is only the beginning. We’ve many more adventures to come.”
CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
THE BLACKHANDS WERE settled into their rooms an hour after breakfast. Aydra hadn’t laughed so much since her short days in the Forest with Draven’s kind. Dorian and Lex had joined them as they ate food not in the dining hall, but on one of the balconies adjacent to it, the Blackhands sitting on the ledges, legs swinging off as though they dared not fear the fall from the wall.
The Nitesh and Honest were due to arrive at lunch. Aydra soon excused herself so she could clean herself up and change dresses before their arrival.
Her core was full upon leaving them.
Aydra waited nervously with her family in the Throne Room for the Nitesh to arrive a few hours later. Her brother’s foot wouldn’t stop tapping on the floor, making it echo around the still room.
“Glad to know someone can still strike fear into your poisonous veins,” she mumbled just loud enough he could hear it.
“You will behave in front of them,” he muttered back.
