His spine sagged. “If you wish.”
“I do.”
He heaved another sigh. “For future planning purposes, what time would you like to dine in the morning?”
“Seven.”
“That’s early.”
“Do you sleep in?”
His breathing came in shudders. “Never if my lady needs my attention.”
“Then I’d like tea and a light . . . repast brought to my suite at seven in the morning.” If I hadn’t assisted the queen of the now dead Bledmire king, I would have no idea how royalty should act. I’d gotten a solid lesson right there, ranking almost equal to the lessons I’d taken when I was little that taught mehow to train dragons and wield swords and blades with deadly precision.
“Very well. I’ll wait in the hall to escort you to the wedding.” After giving me another deep bow, he left.
Once the door had shut, I heaved my own sigh. I knew this was coming. Not marrying Lore, though I wouldn’t exactly marry him. He was the “assassin/bodyguard”proxy.
But marriage to a king I’d never met?
When Kinart was alive, and I still could dream, I’d envisioned the day he and I would wed. I’d wear a beautiful dress, and when I stood beside him, he’d grin and the light in his eyes would reflect the love I had for him. The elder would marry us and our friends would cheer when we kissed.
Kinart would whisper he loved me.
We’d have a long, happy life together. Children, maybe. Lots of love for sure.
My eyes stung, and I didn’t hold back my tears. I’d grieve for him forever. No one else would ever take his place in my heart.
The nyxin came over and sat beside me, licking my hand. I dropped to my knees and wrapped my arms around him, hugging him while sniffling back my tears. I could cry in my bed later. For now, I had to act like the fluffy lady Lore believed me to be.
Rising, I retrieved my bag and dropped it on the bed, releasing the fastening at the top. I had to dig to findEmber’s Shadow, the magical book I’d stolen from the fae. Holding it against my chest, I sat on the bed and laid it on my lap. I started flipping through the pages.
Blank. All stupidly blank.
“Why won’t you tell me everything I need to know?” I snarled at it.
I’d already learned it would only share information it felt was needed. It must assume I could handle this on my own.
“I can’t,” I said. “I really can’t.”
I was so woefully bad at all this courtly stuff that even a nudge in the right direction would be helpful.
I slid off the bed and tucked the book underneath the mattress. The wily thing had a habit of disappearing, and while I couldn’t stop that from happening, I could prevent someone from stealing it from me.
Time to say I do. I dragged the dress from the bag and held it up, sighing as I took in the wrinkles.
If there was ever a time for my magic to work, it was now.
Pull your magic from the well deep inside you,I was taught.Then think of what you need and speak the words while infusing them with power.
Simple, right? Why was it so hard for me to do even one measly thing, then?
With a growl, I closed my eyes and pictured the well. I could almost see the circular stone structure in front of me, the surface of my power shimmering with potential at the top. I thought about my need to remove the wrinkles from the dress.
“Smooth,” I whispered, pushing all the power I had into the word.
The dress remained unchanged.
