The human grabbed his small book and pencil and rushed closer. “Absolutely, Your Majesty. Nothing would delight me more.”
They rattled off words that meant nothing to me like silk, leather, cashmere, carmine, aubergine, and indigo. All that mattered to me was the way these words made her eyes sparkle with anticipation.
15
HELAYNA
Once Kathleen’s team finished taking measurements and all my Blood at least had something to put on, the humans left for an overnight stay in Reykjavík before returning to London. Clara made all the arrangements, of course, but I still felt… Well…
Useless.
We sat at the dining table, which once again seemed to groan beneath the weight of all the lovely food someone else had prepared and organized. Other than lay around in my bed, have sex—not complaining—and spend a fortune on clothes, what had I accomplished as the new House Ironheart queen?
:You survived when other lesser queens would have died, or gone mad and then died.:Dörr’s bond burned with a quiet yet deep rage.:Now you have people to take care of you. People who love you. Please, let us tend to you.:
I reached over and placed my hand on his thigh, squeezing lightly.:I love you too, my Darkest. I especially love these pants on you.:
Thin, light material hugged his muscles, turning what was supposed to be lounging pants extremely indecent.
And very, very tempting.
It was hard to tell with his charcoal skin in this form, but I thought he might be blushing.:I feel ridiculous, to be honest, but if you like them, I shall never remove them.:
I laughed, kneading my hand slowly higher from his knee along the bulge of his quadriceps.:Oh, I never said I wasn’t going to remove them. In fact, that’s all I can think about.:
:If you care at all about these trousers, I suggest your hand slow its trip northward, my queen. I wouldn’t want to tear them open in front of your humans.:
I squeezed a little harder, pretending dissatisfaction with his words, but then I released him.:I wouldn’t want to embarrass you.:
He made a low rumbling sound like a distant avalanche.:Nothing could ever embarrass me, my queen. If you’d like to subdue me here on this table while they watch, I would gladly lay myself down on top of the dishes.:
Now my cheeks pinkened at the thought, which made him chuckle.
:That’s what I thought.:
Pàtair hovered to the side of my chair, hanging on my every bite of food as if his life depended on it. Otherwise, I would have pushed the plate aside. I honestly wasn’t hungry, but I didn’t want to offend him. As soon as I looked up in his direction, he stepped closer, his attention entirely focused on me.
“Yes, Your Majesty?”
“I wondered if you knew what kind of tea my mother used to drink. I found an old stale tin in the cabin in Minnesota, but I couldn’t tell where it came from or what kind of leaves it might have been.”
His shoulders fell and he wrung his hands. “I’m afraid not, Your Majesty. I wasn’t privileged to serve Queen Helle. Would you know, Clara?”
“Oh.” Her voice cracked with emotion, and she dabbed at her eyes with the napkin in her lap. “Is that why you brought that old tea canister with you?”
“Every time I had some of the tea, I remembered a little more,” I admitted. “Though it didn’t always work. Would one of you?—”
Svar had already disappeared, running toward the queen’s suit. In a moment, he returned with the tin canister and placed it before me.
“Thank you, my Deadliest.” I gave him a smile of thanks but then focused myself, breathing deeply before I opened the tin. I leaned forward, breathing in the leaves’ aroma, but this time, I didn’t have any flashback memories. Relieved but also a little sad I wouldn’t at least see my mother again, I picked up the tin and offered it to Pàtair.
“Oh yes, I’d recognize the scent anywhere. BlóÐberg tea. The wild thyme petals are picked in early spring and provide its distinctive scent. This is a readily available blend with black tea anywhere on the island. I’m sure we have some fresh leaves in the kitchen, as well as some other Icelandic blends if you’d like to try them.”
I put the slightly rusted and dented lid back on the tin. “Some fresh tea would be lovely. Thank you.”
He immediately went himself to prepare the tea rather than send anyone else to the kitchen. Another wave of inadequacy flooded me. No, self-recrimination. I felt like I was using and abusing the poor man to fetch me tea—especially after he’d managed all these incredible dishes I couldn’t even sample.
Clara must have seen something flicker on my face. She reached over and patted the back of my hand. “Goddess below, we’re so grateful to have you home, Your Majesty.”
