“Well, not now,” I huffed.
Shale burst out laughing. Silverware clattered and conversations ended abruptly.
“Is that a yes?” Shale finally asked.
“Yes,” I said with a smirk. “So, what happens if you betray me?”
“You can leave without repercussions.”
“That doesn't seem fair.”
“Nothing is fair when you're with a king.” He stroked my bangs back.
The look on Shale's face was enough to slice into my breathing. I stared at him as I tried to remember how that worked. Did I inhale now or exhale? What was inhaling? What did the word inhale mean?
“No,” I finally whispered. “Nothing is fair.”
Chapter Thirty-One
“You're taking the day off,” Shale said.
I was in the royal dressing room where I had a few feet of golden rod and a drawer for my clothes. I didn't need any more than that. At least not yet. Shale kept giving me garments. I'd simply find new ones hanging beside the old or tucked into my drawer as if they'd always been there.
Letting my hand fall away from the work tunic I'd been reaching for, I asked, “Why?”
“Because I want to show you Latur.” He picked a thin cotton tunic and took it off the rack. It was lavender with embroidered vines around the cuffs. “This one. And the beige pants.”
“You know, I'm not an actual doll you can dress up.”
“Aren't you?” Shale grinned as he leaned in for a kiss.
The kiss had me reeling and silenced any further protests. One of his tricks. When the Dragon King wanted my agreement on anything, he kissed me. And I let him get away with it because, well, he was a damn good kisser. And the King. And my boyfriend. The last one had me grinning through my kiss-daze. We were committed. I was in a committed relationship. Wow.
“Now, hurry up,” he said and smacked my ass. “I've already ordered the carriage.”
“What about breakfast?”
“We're eating in the carriage.”
“The carriage?” I grimaced and got dressed.
When I came out of the dressing room, Shale took my hand and led me past the sitting room and into the stairwell. The next floor down held the King's private dining room where we usually ate our breakfast and his office where I frequently found him at the end of the day. The terrace was on that level as well, accessed through both rooms. Below that floor, the tower widened to the size of the terrace, going from circular to square. This was where the King's Guard resided. I had never gone into their quarters, never had reason to, so all I knew of it were the hallways I glimpsed while in the stairwell. The King's tower was like a fortress within a castle.
Two Dragon knights fell into formation as we descended the stairs, one in front and the other behind. Both had been posted along the stairwell but on different floors. Our little parade went down to the castle's main floor and out of the King's tower. Our knights nodded at the Dragons on duty at the tower entrance, one of them was Gunrel. He didn't even glance at me.
I smiled to myself, thinking that he could have been my lover instead of the King. But that infinitesimal reaction he'd seen from Shale had changed that. Gunrel had known before I did that I would become the King's consort.
At first, probably because I was still processing my new status, I didn't notice the little differences in the behavior of the courtiers. The servants had always been respectful, and asmuch as the courtiers had appeared to snub me at first, they had warmed up once we got past Gunrel's order. But now, there was more to it. The lords and ladies of the Dragon Court bowed as we passed by—not unusual—but on top of murmuring good morning to His Majesty, they added a greeting to me.
The words “King's Consort” finally caught my attention.
I blinked, jerked my head toward the courtier who had spoken, and was shocked to see him incline his head to me. “Holy shit,” I whispered.
“What is it?” Shale asked.
“Lord Rantu just bowed to me and called me King's Consort.”
The Dragon King nodded. “As he should.”
