A claim for agancanaghis a very deep, powerful thing.Bane explained it as the equivalent of being given a ring of commitment.
A sign to illustrate to the world that we were bound.That I washis.
But apparently doing so caused quite a disturbance within Blackthorn and the Kingdom.
Because now that I was a princess, there wererules of engagementwe needed to follow.
For me to truly be able to take Bane as my consort—for him to be given the title from Lir and rise to thethrone, alongside me—we both needed to ascend through theArdaim.And the Kingdom also needed to be able to confirm that Bane wasviableto be my consort.Meaning the Kingdom needed to ensure that he was capable of not only handling his title for diplomatic reasons, but capable of giving me an heir, which I wasn’t sure how I felt about such a thing, being so young.Yes, plenty of women had children in their early twenties, but with two years left at Blackthorn, I certainly did not want to interrupt my studies with a...
I swallowed harshly, shoving the thought away.
If you can’t say the word, Violet, perhaps you should not be climbing your gancanagh mate like a thirsty sailor.Spelled or not.
I shook my head, dispelling such thoughts.Delaney was not psychic by any stretch of the word, but she was most observant and I did not wish to give her any sort of inkling to my inner turmoil.
In theory, I knew I should abstain fromfeedingoff my mate, but...
When the alternative left me feeling so content and warm inside, how could I resist?
I did not think even hell itself could keep me from myanam cara.My soul’s mate.
The moments we stole were far and few between, and I was counting down the days until myArdaim, and until the Kingdom confirmed Bane as my consort, officially.
Until we would be bound before all of Lir.
“Have you told Bane?”Delaney asked carefully.
“About what?”I asked as I strolled alongside her.
“About the Squid Squad joining for Hot Royal Summer, of course.”
“Is that what we are calling it?”I asked with a grin.
“Mhmm.Someone’s going to have to turn the fun up a notch.Besides, how else will you maintain your sanity during all thiscourting?”she mewled and I couldn’t help but blush.
“Unless...”Delaney’s mouth opened just the slightest as I hushed her before she could get the words out.
“Unless you and your little incubus are?—”
“Oh shush!”I said as she giggled.“But I digress, you are right about one thing,” I responded as she grinned wickedly.
“Oh, and what’s that?”
“This will be the best summer ever.Hands down.Now that I have you here.”
Her bright eyes softened as she patted my hand, which I’d laced through her arm.
“Whoever says flattery gets you nowhere is a liar,” she said with a laugh.
“Still, you should probably mention to Bane that his conniving siren ex is going to be spending the summer with us.”
I stopped for a moment as her words hit me.Bane had told me, numerous times, that he did not care for Wanda in any sort of romantic way.Their relationship was purely a sexual one, not a romantic one.
Still, Delaney’s words settled on me and I felt the beginning of those old insecurities threatening to rear themselves all over again.I tried my hardest to push them away.
Wanda and Norman were two peas in a fishy pod.A siren and a Kraken who couldn’t keep their hands and tentacles off of one another.Surely, there was no love lost there...
Right?
