Page 23 of Shadows and Roses

Anais blinked. Jerome held himself straight and stiff, as proper as always. A full head taller than her and with a few white hairs mixing in with his light brown, her captain was a comforting, constant rock by her side. A rock that asked for nothing, wanted nothing, cared for nothing—except the safetyof her and the Inner Circle. Only he would phrase it quite like that. He'd never courted anyone, as far as she was aware.

"Madeline? My handmaiden?" she confirmed. Madeline was half his age, and like a sister to her. Maddy hadn’t hinted at any interest.

To the altogether too-proper captain, Anais was probably Maddy’s closest family.

"Yes, my Queen." The words he said so often were oddly stilted.

She frowned. "I will speak to her."

He hesitated, still not leaving.

"Captain?"

"She is waiting outside, my Queen. Will you speak to her now?"

The uncertainty on his face was also uncharacteristic. She nodded. "Yes, send her in. Alone."

Jerome bowed and exited, her maid entering a few moments later. Where the captain was hard, the girl was soft. He never laughed and rarely smiled; she gently lit up any room she entered. Imagining them together was like a single candle trying to warm up a deep cave.

Madeline stood at the far end of the table, her hands clasped tightly together but her chin raised and jaw set. The studded bracers of an Escort adorned her wrists, though she did not attend councils. This one Escort was forher, for Anais, not the Queen. Besides, she rarely ventured beyond the Queen's Wing.

"My lady," she greeted, clear and proud.

"Jerome asked for permission to court you." That might have come out with a bit of accusation.

Her eyes widened and a shy smile spread across her lips. "Will you giveus your blessing? Please, Anais?"

So the interest wasn’t one-sided, and they’d both hidden this from her. "He is twice your age, Madeline. Jerome is old enough to be your father. You may be fond of him—"

"Ilovehim. Not as a father, brother, or friend. Please. This isn’t a passing fancy and I know my mind."

"He didn’t even argue with me for your hand."

She replied without hesitation. "He always obeys you, no matter what you say. Of course, he wouldn’t argue."

True enough.

"You are young. You never had a father. I don’t want you to rush into this and regret your choice," Anais reasoned.

"Youare young, and younger still when you took the crown," her friend ventured, her certainty fading.

"And would that I could have changed my mind. Ask me again in a year, Madeline."

The girl wiped a tear and bowed hastily before leaving even quicker.

Perhaps she had been too harsh. Madeline was like family; Anais couldn't help but be protective. Even though Jerome was the most steadfast man alive. He would not have asked if he was not in earnest. It was a testament to his healed heart that he had asked at all.

Perhaps if she had the time to observe them, this wouldn't have been a surprise. But the Queen had little energy for anything other than the court and the nation. There was never enough time. It felt a poor excuse as she prepared for the nobles’ council, her silent captain falling in by her side.

—

While she wore casual attire with her Escorts, the nobles would expect their Queen in her normal display of wealth tinted by the dark promise of death. This dress tempted eyes to wander downto her partially covered breasts, then further to the slit revealing her thighs where they would find the glint of metal lining her claws. She’d been known to puncture an eye that stared too long. Or those who didn’t look at all.

The council chambers were expansive—tall ceilings, chandeliers, and, behind the throne, large open windows. A long table stretched out before her where her bickering councilors yammered. They had discussed war for the better part of an hour, then couldn’t decide whether wheat taxes should be raised.

"If I may," one of her councilors raised his voice. "Lord Byret, who was executed last week. Some of the nobles found that rather harsh, my Queen."

A few small nods around the table. Anais would rather talk about wheat. She settled on a bored expression.

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