The splash of water announced the filling of the tub. George pushed away, moving into the bathing chamber.
There, she waited for him to take the lead, bouncing in agitation.
“Come on.” He climbed in first and held out a hand.
Once she was settled between his legs, Isahn set about washing her, gently, clinically, as he’d done before but preferred not to think back on.
“After Peros left, my father put the paper inside his desk.” She turned to look over her shoulder at him, lips curved into a firm frown. “We’re going to have to steal it.”
“Why do we need it if we already know what it says?”
“Wedon’tknow for sure. We have to retrieve it and double-check. I don’t trust a word he says. I want to read it for myself and have Ean consider the translation, see what he thinks.”
“The kid?”
“He’s fourteen and wise beyond his years. He hasn’t had an easy life. No one in Hepikoru has.”
Isahn nodded, his chin brushing against her curls.
“Ean knows the Old Tongues better than anyone I know.”
“Tongues, multiple?”
George bobbed her head, and her breasts moved in sync, rippling the surface of the warm bath. Isahn stifled a groan as blood flooded his cock, shoving against her back.Not the best time, bud.
“He’s fluent in Old Domossan. I know his Old Gramenian is decent, and he’s picked up a lot of Old Selwassan over the years. He says Old Karovian is mostly a mystery. Apparently, only the occasional phrase is found in old pixie and elf texts, and those are rare since most of their history is oral.”
He hummed thoughtfully while washing her knee. “Assuming it’s true, what your father said, and this tapestry is near Lake Rasda—George, I know where Peros is going.”
“It’s your home, isn’t it.” Her words weren’t a question, just an apprehensive statement of fact.
“Yes. And I have to beat him there. I can’t let him reach Lia first—or the tapestry.”
Her voice cracked as she whispered, “I’m scared, Isahn.”
Ditching the sponge, he hugged George and pressed a kiss to the crown of her head. “But now we know where the tapestry is. We can get it first, figure out what it’s for. It’s going to be all right.”
She started shaking, and at first he thought she was laughing, until she sucked in a stuttered breath and he realized she was shedding tears.
Shit.His stomach clenched. “We have a few days to figure something out. Maybe you could travel with me?”
She shook her head. “I can’t. Not during the Great Assembly. I think my father’s sending Peros off in the middle of itintentionally, to get him out and away from the city while everyone is distracted.”
“Perhaps.” Isahn sighed. “I don’t want to leave you here. Disguise yourself, leave with me?”
George stiffened in his arms, tilting her head to look up at him. “And abandon my people? I can’t, Isahn. I’d love to stay with you, but I have to stay here, especially now. He’s always been harsh, but recently he’s been snapping much quicker.”
He nodded, thinking of the banquet dinner, thinking of Gasparo’s hands on George.
“I need you to go.”
He knew she didn’t mean permanently, butfuckif it didn’t feel like it. “Of course,” he said on an inhale that belied how close he was to tears.
The tyrant could not be left to rule for long. Even the House of Lords in Selwas knew Gasparo was an issue; they’d discussed it in passing at their meeting the year before. The Blackmail King’s growing reclusiveness was threatening ongoing trade between the four nations of Duhra—they hadn’t realized justhowhorrific things were. How could they have known?
It was time for a shift in power for the ancient kingdom. It was time for a queen.
Running a bar of soap up and down George’s arms, he said, “I won’t be gone long. I’ll get in and get out. And I’ll come back. I promise.”
