She still slumbers, so I slip out of bed and throw on a robe. I slip back into my room and dress for the day, trying to be quick so I can return to Sable before she wakes. To maintain an outwardly proper appearance, I summon a servant from my own door and ask him to fetch us breakfast and deliver it here. I figure it would seem less inappropriate for me to bring Sable to my quarters to eat. Better to take the food brought here and bring it through the adjoining door between our rooms than to be caught brazenly walking in and out of her room.
Granted, with our rooms adjoining, people will undoubtedly talk. I’m sure the rumor mill is already rife with tales of my lurid affair with the new young wolf I’ve brought to the palace.
Let them talk. I know the truth of things, and Sable knows, and that’s good enough for me.
I luck out this morning, and breakfast arrives courtesy of Hugh. It’s not his usual job, and I hope he’s not going to take it upon himself to test the food for poisons. I like Hugh; I’d hate it if he got hurt trying to protect my hide.
“What has you playing servant this morning?” I ask as I steal a grape off the plate before my new Captain of the Guard can hand it to me.
Hugh grins. “I couldn’t resist. The whole palace is buzzing about you orderingtwomeals this morning, hot on the heels of bringing that tasty treat to the palace. You realize this only adds to the wild gossip about your new reign. My favorite one so far is the one where you’ve been planning this little rebellion for years.” He leans in and drops his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "They say you and the young miss in the next room are already long since wed, and that you’ve just been biding your time to overthrow the Elders and rule jointly.”
I snort out a laugh and take the trays from him. “That’s a good one. Like I could ever hide a torrid romance.”
“Do you need me to set guards on the doors? Sym and I could take this one, and I could assign some lesser-known guards to the other. People would assume you’re in here since your Captain and his Second are standing here, and we could fend off any annoying questions, complaints, or other such foolery.”
“That would be great. Thanks, Hugh.”
He bows and shuts the door. I take both trays and head for Sable.
With both trays balanced on one arm, I knock on the door. There’s a brief delay before Sable opens it, and my heart surges in my chest when I see her.
Last night when I got to her room, the candles had all burnt out, and it was near pitch black. She had been under the covers, so I never got a good look at her then. Now she stands before me in an oversized silk dressing gown, with one side sliding off her slender shoulder and her raven hair mussed from sleep. Her cheeks have a ruddy glow, and her red lips are parted ever so slightly in a cute little pout.
She’s stunning.
I almost drop the food when I see her. Her reflexes must be amazing, because her hand shoots out and stabilizes the trays before they can crash to the floor.
“Whoa! You okay, Cara? Do you need help carrying this?”
I flash her a smile and try to play it off. “I’m fine. Shouldn’t have tried reaching for the doorknob while holding both of these.”
She gives me a dubious look, but she doesn’t question it. “Well, come on in. I was about to come find you; I’m pretty hungry, so this is perfect timing.”
We eat in silence for several minutes before Sable speaks again.
“You were gone when I woke up.”
Guilt tightens my throat at the disappointment in her voice, and I almost choke on my bite. I swallow hard and try to phrase my response in the gentlest way possible. “I wanted to let you sleep. You looked so peaceful, and I thought I’d have enough time to dress and arrange breakfast for us before you woke.”
“Oh.”
Damnit! For all my experience in sexual matters, it appears I suck at the romance side of things. She looks like I slapped her.
“I’m sorry.” What else should I say? What elsecanI say?
“It’s okay.” She chews her next bite for an agonizing minute, and I wonder how bad I screwed up. Finally, she swallows and changes the subject. “So, last night is a bit foggy, but I could swear you said something about overthrowing the establishment?”
The corner of my mouth tilts up in a grin. “Oh, yeah. That. Well, the Elders were being jerks, as usual, and I got fed up with it. I was due to ascend next month anyway, so what’s a few weeks in the grand scheme of things?”
“I thought you had to be wedded to take the throne.”
I don’t understand the point of her comment until I catch the bright blush in her cheeks. Realization slams into me, and I hurry to reassure her. “No! I mean, that’s the tradition, but hells, it’s been over a hundred years since the last Suntouched sat the throne. Traditions like that don’t mean anything anymore as far as I’m concerned. I’m starting new traditions.” I reach across the table and take her hand, rubbing the back of it with my thumb. “One of the reasons I seized control was that the Elders were always trying to controlme. They wanted me to marry Corvin, and I have zero desire for that. My wants and needs were never taken into consideration, which is a pretty shitty way to live if you ask me.”
Sable nods and squeezes my fingers. “I understand. My life hasn’t ever really been my own. I’ve always had to do whatever the nuns at the convent said, no matter what I may have wanted.”
Her words catch me off-guard. I’ve never considered that other people, commoners for lack of a better term, might feel constrained in their lives as well. While Sable isn’t exactly common in my eyes, Suntouched or no, a newfound empathy for others blooms in my heart.
Something else blooms further down, and I squirm in my chair. I don’t want to push Sable, but there’s not much about her that doesn’t excite me.
