Page 173 of Shadowborne: Reckoning

I couldn’t fault her on that logic, so I’d thanked her and agreed. But last night, I’d grown nervous. What if the dress was a monstrosity? What if I looked ridiculous?

I should have known…

I stared at myself in that shining surface and shook my head.

A sweet, floral lace covered my breasts, and swept across my upper arms in drapes that pretended to be sleeves. The boning of the dress left a plunging V of the lace fabric visible right at the front that tapered to a point at my waist, then the silk swept away in a skirt that parted like curtains to reveal the lace again, draping prettily to the floor.

But it wasn’t the silk that dropped my jaw.

That V at the front was formed with half-sheer silk, layered over the lace. The shape looked like nothing less than ivory flames, pouring up from my waist, the fingers of fire sculpting against my shape and holding my breasts in place just as a man’s hands would. The boning sucked my body into that perfect, severe hourglass that I wanted to hate, but couldn’t deny its allure. Then the silk fell from both hips in long swathes that gathered in rich folds and swept into a long train at the back.

The ivory of the dress contrasted with my burnished brown hair and set my eyes alight and made my skin appear to glow. Even the areas that were darker because of the sun had been blended smooth by the maids using the queen’s discreet powders.

I looked… stunning.

Clapping both hands to my mouth, I stared at myself in the mirror until my vision blurred.

“Thank you!” I gasped, turning to the queen, who smiled at me benevolently. “Thank you. I can’t… it’s beautiful!”

“And none of those little buttons on the spine, though he’ll have a bugger of a time with the corset laces at the back,” she chuckled. “I asked them to make them particularly tight because there’s nothing so much fun as a man who can’t get his hands on you fast enough.”

I would have blushed, but I’d grown used to the innuendos and suggestive conversation in Fyrehold. Diaan’s quips were minor by comparison.

While I looked back and forth between her and the mirror, she clapped her hands and continued with her instructions.

“Now, the reception afterwards in the banquet hall will be boring—but we won’t require you both to stay late. I know you need to change and get away with the dragons. So, please, just indulge us for the meal, then we’ll have the Cryer call you out. I do plan to announce Donavyn’s official promotion during the speeches, but that’s little more than taking the time to tell the nobles they missed out. You’d be surprised how many believe they can serve the queen.” She rolled her eyes. “But I will not waver. Donavyn will be my chief Advisor, and the head of Queen’s Council. Please do let me make the announcement, though,” she said with a chiding look, as if I could barely wait to get out of the room and start whispering about it, though we’d known for days now that she planned it.

I wished it didn’t have to happen at our wedding. But there had been so many logistics, and so much to do lately… at least we wouldn’t have to attend another formal event until he was actually raised.

So, I just nodded and made listening noises, continuing to glance at myself in the mirror while she laid out her plans. I’d stopped listening, still fascinated by the details of the dress, when something she said caught my attention and I blinked.

“What… what was that? Can you—I’m sorry I was distracted.”

She gave me a knowing smile and patted my hand. “I said that I’ve told the Captains that you’re to be given a week.”

“We?” I asked faintly.

“You and Donavyn,” she said with a slight frown. “I’ll admit I was irritated when he rejected my offer of the country estate, but I suppose I can understand that you don’t want the servants around—they can be pesky when you’re trying to find privacy. But I’ve told Donavyn that as part of his promotion, he’ll receive Alexi’s old hunting cottage. There’s a clearing there, and a lake for the dragons. The patrol lines are nowhere near—though I understand he’s arranged to have a few dragons in the skies to ensure you don’t receive unwanted visitors,” she said with a wink.

“Yes, yes, but… you said a week?”

Her brows rose. “Yes. You both need far more than three nights—I don’t know what Donavyn was thinking.”

“He was thinking about duty, and all the change—” I said faintly.

Diaan flapped a hand and rolled her eyes. “Men are always so fucking practical. Dear God, if we can’t survive without him for a week—when we know where he is—then we have much bigger issues in Vosgaarde,” she said with a dismissive snort. “I’m certain we’ll be fine.”

“That’s… thank you!” I breathed.

“You’re welcome,” she said, with a pleased smile. She told the maids to take the mirror away then and warned me not to sit down—because it would crush the back of the dress, which I didn’t want to do until after the ceremony.

I nodded and thanked her again. Hopeful that this time with Donavyn would be even more precious than I’d anticipated, and grateful to the queen for making it possible. But I couldn’t deny the niggle…

“Your Majesty,” I asked her quietly when the maids were on the other side of the room. “May I ask a question?”

“Of course.”

I swallowed hard. “Can you tell me… Why are you doing this?”