“I've never had anyone bow to me before.”
“You've never been my consort before.”
I grimaced. “Oh,yourconsort, not a king's consort in general.”
“I am the only king who will have you.” His lips twitched.
“Is that so?” I chuckled. “Well, I'm good with that.”
“You had better be.”
And then we were striding out of the castle and down the main steps to the waiting carriage. It was an open carriage with only a shade pulled up over the back half. Shale helped me up into it even though I didn't need any help, then climbed in after me. As we settled on the back seat together, one of the Dragon knights got up onto the driver's seat beside the Eljaffnacoachman. He turned toward us and opened a wooden trunk that was set on the seat across from ours.
“Breakfast, Your Majesty,” the knight said. “Would you like me to set it out before we get going?”
“No, thank you, Sir Hanro. I'll do it,” Shale said.
The carriage bobbed as the other knight climbed onto the ledge behind us, hidden by the shade. As soon as he was in place, Sir Hanro turned around and nodded at the driver. Reins slapped horseflesh, and we were off.
Undisturbed by the movement of the carriage, Shale leaned forward and pulled items out of the trunk. Two mugs came first. He set them in a holder that folded out from the trunk's side, then half filled them with coffee. Next came a beautiful octagonal box inlaid with gold designs. He opened it to reveal a selection of sweet pastries, then placed it on my lap.
“We have savory items as well,” Shale said and brought forth a similar box. He opened the box and sat back with it, showing me the meat pies, sausages, and cheese bread inside.
I chose a custard-filled pastry and ate over the box, letting the crumbs fall inside. “Thank you. But why the rush? We could have eaten at the castle.”
“I thought this would be more fun.” He bit into a sausage, then picked up his mug and motioned at the water to either side of us. “It's nice, isn't it?”
“Yeah, this is pretty.” I took another bite and admired the pools to either side of us. “Do you swim?”
“Yes. Would you like to go swimming later?”
“Sure. But what's with all the water out here? Is it purely decorative?”
“Not at all.” Shale gestured at the pools on our right. “Those are the fishponds that supply the castle with fresh fish, freshwater crustaceans, and vegetables. There are some rice fields to the side that are fed by the pools as well. You see? Those men are bringing in the daily haul for the kitchens.”
Four men were indeed out on one of the stone walkways that crossed the pools, baskets sitting beside them awaiting their catch, some with fish in them. Other people were tending plants that stuck out of the water and many more were cleaning the walkways and gazebos that seemed to float in the center of the pools to either side of us.
“The pool on our left that we just passed is our water supply. It gets filtered and pumped into the castle for drinking and bathing,” Shale went on. He pointed at the next pool on our left. “And this one is reserved for swimming.”
“Damn. And here I was thinking it was just pretty.”
Shale grinned and sipped his coffee. “Things must be prettyandserve a purpose in a royal castle.”
“Just like me.” I winked at him.
“Indeed.”
Our carriage left the wide main path and passed through a gate. There was a bit of open land between the castle and the city, likely for defense purposes, but we quickly passed through it and entered Enleran.
I munched happily on my breakfast and sipped the coffee that had been prepared with sugar and cream for us. Just theway we liked it. Yeah, Shale liked his coffee as sweet and creamy as I liked mine. A clear sign that we were destined for each other. Around us, the city was already bustling, its fascinating residents striding down the sidewalks. I watched Zaknir peer into shop windows, their tails lifting in interest, and Litoto draw in their magnificent wings to politely pass by other pedestrians. The Eljaffna kept to themselves, traveling singly or in groups but never with someone of another race. Seeing that made me glance at the King. Would things change now that the King was happy? I hoped so.
We drew closer to the outskirts of the city, and I spotted some Neraky, the sea folk dressed in hardier costumes with weapons on their hips and jewels in their ears. I wasn't surprised to see them speaking with the shadow-loving Raltven, but the amount of Deldin dealing with the Neraky did raise my brows. They stroked their long, furred ears absently as they bartered with merchants (and pirates) for exotic goods.
Then we left Enleran, and the jungle instantly closed in around us. I leaned forward, absently taking a meat pie from Shale's box. Chewing on the pie, I forgot my manners and got crumbs everywhere. Not that I noticed. I was too busy staring at the gorgeous flora of Latur.
Bright blooms and vivid leaves stuck out against a dark green backdrop, the pops of color drawing my eye and sending my brain into a tizzy. I mentally cataloged the plants, part of me wondering if I should ask Shale to stop the carriage so I could take some cuttings. If I'd known where we were going I would have brought my notebook.
“No,” Shale said.
