‘You can cry until there’s nothing left inside you,’ he said, tone venomous. ‘The only thing these people care about is that you do it in the privacy of your quarters.’ Shaking his head, he walked off.
‘Wait!’
He turned abruptly. ‘Whatever you’re about to say, I don’t want to hear it.’
She closed the distance between them and lowered her voice. ‘Queen Fayre told me it’s acceptable for a queen to take a lover after having children.’
The disgust and disappointment on Astin’s face made her immediately regret her words.
‘I’m sorry,’ she said, shaking her head. ‘I don’t know why I said that.’ It was the panic talking, her fear of abandonment. Astin was a man with principles. He would never settle for such an arrangement, nor would she if the roles were reversed.
‘Go,’ he said, his tone defeated. ‘You don’t want to keep the king waiting.’
Her eyes widened. ‘Are you not coming?’
‘No.’
She searched his eyes, confused.
‘Seems we both missed some important news. You see, as of today, I’m no longer your bodyguard.’
Her stomach fell. ‘What?’
Astin did not stick around to explain. He marched away, disappearing into the turret. She listened with her heart in her throat as his footsteps descended the stairs.
Chapter 28
Shapur Wright was staring at Astin with fatherly disappointment. In many ways, the warden was the closest thing he had to a father, which was tragic.
‘I’ll go anywhere,’ Astin said. ‘You can stick me on the wall for night duty if you like.’
They were standing outside the armoury. Harlan was inside fiddling with a shield, pretending he was not listening.
Shapur cursed under his breath. ‘I cannot banish you to the wall without the king wondering why. I can hardly tell him that you do not trust yourself around his future wife.’
Astin recoiled from the term. ‘You wanted to know if I can do the job, and I can’t. Tell him whatever you need to, so long as Lyndal’s reputation is preserved.’
‘Noble of you,’ Shapur replied, sounding far from impressed. He turned to Harlan. ‘Is Thornton up to the job?’
Harlan turned to them. ‘Yes, sir.’
Shapur exhaled, looking Astin up and down. ‘You will train for the rest of the afternoon. In fact, you can do the cliff climb and swim out to flat rock. Then you can do it again. Maybe by the time you are done I will have this mess sorted.’
Astin nodded. ‘Yes, sir.’
With a shake of his head, Shapur strode off in the direction of the castle.
Harlan walked to the door, leaning on the frame. ‘Is there anything I can say or do that will be of any help?’
‘I think the less said in this instance the better.’
A young defender approached them at a jog. ‘Commander, there’s a woman waiting for you at the nobility gate.’
Harlan pushed off the door frame. ‘My wife?’
‘No, sir.’
Harlan grew impatient. ‘What’s her name, defender?’
