Page 117 of His Realm

There were welling tears when he straightened up, and he got out of there fast. When I turned to Brenna, she was smiling at me.

“What?”

“You are, without a doubt, the most thoughtful man I have ever met.”

“Thanks,” I said, watching as her smile fell away and she bit her lip. “What’s with you?”

“I do not want to anger the prince with my presence.”

“You won’t, and even if you do, that’s all right because Varic can’t remove any of you from my service, only I can. I’m his consort, just as the queen is the king’s con—fuck,” I gasped, grabbing her hand. “Is the queen all right?”

“Yes,” Isabella said, walking into the room. “The queen is well because you saved me.”

When she reached me, I couldn’t help it. I grabbed her tight and started crying.

“Oh, my love,” she soothed me, rocking me gently, hugging me back even as she trembled. “You died in my arms, and only Varic saved you.”

I had to hear the whole story but I also needed to be clean. Brenna and Isabella together walked me into the bathroom. Once they were sure I could stand on my own, they left me alone to strip down and get in the shower. I spent a long time under the warm water absorbing how good it felt. When I finally emerged, I brushed my teeth and found that I could make it to the closet alone. Was it smaller than the one at home? Yes. But my old apartment in NOLA was too in comparison. It was a perfectly reasonable-sized closet for the house it was in whether Tiago thought so or not.

I chose underwear and sweats, a T-shirt and a sweater. Brenna did have to help me with the socks when I returned to the bedroom.

“I want my guards back,” I told Isabella.

“Of course,” she agreed quickly. “That day was, as you know, an absolute horror. Everyone was in shock and Varic…was a bit…overwrought.”

I would imagine he had been.

“When he arrived at our side with Decimus there, he was not himself in that moment, nor for many weeks afterward. He vented his anger on those both deserving and undeserving. With your waking, I expect I will have my son returned to me as well.”

“He was probably scared.”

“It was far worse than scared,” she said flatly.

I felt bad, like I should have apologized, but that was ridiculous.

“Varic placed the blame for your grievous injuries on everyone’s shoulders, and most heavily on his own. But your guards are yours, just as mine are mine. Neither the king nor the prince has any say in who their consorts keep in their service, be that guard or courtier.”

I nodded, then glanced at Brenna. “I want to see you and Kamari here when the prince returns and we’ll get this all settled. In the meantime, have Zev come see me.”

“Yes, my consort,” she barely got out, and I saw her bottom lip trembling before she turned to go.

She passed Dae-Jung on her way out, who was carrying a tray of food for me.

“That looks so artful,” Isabella commented, and Dae-Jung glowed with pride over her compliment before turning to me.

“Eat slowly, and do not overdo it, as this is the first solid food you have had in weeks.”

“Yessir,” I agreed, grinning at him.

“I’m going to get some apple juice, and I’m going to mix it with a hydrator, as you need more water.”

“Okay.”

“And drink the water in your tumbler so I can refill it.”

“Right on top of that,” I agreed, starting in on the ham-and-cheese omelet, which was easily the best thing I’d ever had in my entire life. I looked over at Isabella then, who looked a bit ashen. “What’s wrong?”

“You have risen, I kept vigil and…” She took a shaky breath. “Decimus…he used his knife to—there was nothing I could do because one of the bolts came through your shoulder and weakened me so terribly.”