Page 81 of The Witch Queen

“Just one more day,” she admits, eyes filling with tears.

“Would you like me to sit downstairs in your section tomorrow?”

“You don’t have to, really, it’s okay. I shouldn’t have bothered you with this. Like I said, this happens a lot. It’s not the first time…”

I squeeze her hand tightly. “Genevieve, I would not offer something I’m not willing to give. I’m furious that this has happened so frequently to you that you think it’s normal. If you want me there, I’ll sit at the same aethers-damned table as him with my daggers and plants on full display, if that’s what you want. I will tie him to his chair with vines, wrap his dick so tight the blood can’t flow there.” She laughs, and relief washes over me.

“Yes, I would like that.” Her voice is soft. “For you to be in the section. Not to tie him up. Or doother thingsto him,” she says with another giggle. I only nod stoically, like a soldier taking orders from her general.

“Was there anything about your day that was good?” I ask, hoping to lighten the mood, and she smiles again. A bright, genuine quirking of her lips that makes my breath catch. I serve us both the steaming dishes from the dinner tray as Genevieve tells me of her most recent research project on Eastern Velmaran flora. Her passionate explanations last the entire dinner. I listen quietly, noting the way her lips quirk or her eyes squint when she’s trying to remember something she read.

When we finish dinner and clear the table, I spread out Mazus’s books across it. After what happened to her today, our evening is only going to comprise dinner and companionable reading. Genevieve flips through each of the books before deciding to return toThe Secrets and Stories of Velmara. She pulls it to her and immediately begins reading. I smile at the clear scholar she is. We read in silence, though she makes small tuts and murmurs as we read, little noises that make my chest warm.

After at least an hour spent translating across from her, she gasps. I’m instantly behind her, crouched so that I’m at eye level, curious at what surprised her.

“What is it?” I ask, my breath in her ear sending shivers down her entire body. Her throat moves with a deep swallow. I track the movement like Lunaria tracks her prey, but I stay silent, letting her soft and delicate smell wash over me.

“Librarians are assigned a research area that we must become experts on. Mine is the history of light channeling and the Andomer family, hence my interest in the plants of Eastern Velmara, where the Andomers are from. I just read a section that—it says—contradicts…” She’s flustered and can barely get the words out. I squeeze her thigh reassuringly. “It contradicts what’s in our archives,” she finally says, slowly.

“Tell me.” My voice is all commander, but she doesn’t flinch away. I stand and slowly make my way back to my seat, my gaze never leaving hers.

“Well, you may not know this, but the light channelers were the original rulers of Velmara. Many suspect it’s why King Mazus married Esther Andomer, to strengthen his own claim to the throne. And it’s why my uncle betrothed his daughter to Prince Hawthorne—he wants the Kalmeera family to be associated with the Andomers. He doesn’t care about the Vicants. Everyone knows the Andomers have the real power.” This is new information to me. I didn’t know there was a line outside of the Vicants that ruled Velmara. My mind races with the implications. Genevieve continues, her voice unsure and questioning. “The passage I just read indicates that the Vicants, King Mazus’s line, forcibly took the throne from the Andomers in a great civil war a millennium ago. But all of the texts in thearchivessay that the Andomers willingly stepped aside when they tired of ruling, believing the Vicants best suited to leadership.”

“Power is rarely given up willingly.” My voice is low, and she nods. “I don’t believe for one second that a ruling family just decided to hand over their throne one day, especially one with what is considered the most powerful magical ability.”

“Now that we’re discussing it aloud, I can’t believe how silly it sounds,” she admits, blushing deeply with embarrassment. “I wonder how the Vicants defeated the Andomers. Air channeling is powerful, but almost nothing can defeat light magic.”

“What indeed,” I murmur, mind racing.

“This is—this information… Is everything in the archives a lie?” she asks, eyes wide with an emotion I can’t place. Without thinking, I’m back at her side, turning her chair outwards so I can kneel in front of her.

“No Genevieve, not everything there is a lie. But history is written by those in power, and King Mazus and his line have been in power for a very long time. Victors tell the story they want to tell, and I suspect Mazus has a prolific pen.” I take her hands in mine, and she doesn’t pull away. Her skin is so soft, and her hands feel so small in mine…

“I feel so foolish.” Her words bring me back to the present. “But there arehundredsof books that all say the Andomers willingly stepped down from ruling and preferred to settle in Eastern Velmara peacefully.”

“Don’t feel foolish.” I stroke my thumbs across the tops of her hands, comforting her practically second nature to me. Her gaze darts down to where our hands meet, studying them, then rises to meet mine. Lust heats her gaze, and I know I’ve read the situation correctly, even if I’m still not sure it’s safe for her to pursue this.

I want to kiss her bright pink lips, run my mouth over her flushed chest. But I remember what happened today, and I won’t take advantage of her vulnerability. I gently run my hand over her wrist, then squeeze her hand tightly before releasing it and standing. She looks at me with a small smile, biting her lip as she gazes up at me through thick lashes. Her amber eyes bore into me, conveying her longing and need. But today was a hard day for her, so I return to my seat. I ask her to tell me more about Eastern Velmara, and even though she continues to look at me with heat in her expression, she excitedly returns to telling me about the mystical and lush part of Velmara that runs the entire length of the eastern coast of the kingdom.

Laurel

The Kalmeera family name has been respected throughout Velmara for thousands of years. Known for their practice of wedding the females of their line much earlier than tradition dictates, Kalmeeras are highly sought after for the Sons of Velmara. Some say their proclivity for producing multiple children comes from this practice, as well as the way they raise their females. Kalmeera males, on the other hand, are praised for their wit and intelligence. Many of the notable royal advisors throughout history have been from this noble family.

The Secrets and Stories of Velmara

When I wake the next morning, my body aches. Thorne’s revelations about what happened to me in those caves confuse me.Why had the aether been draining from my body?

I wonder if that’s why my muscles are so sore and why my joints screech when I lift my body into a sitting position. Lunaria is curled up at my feet, and I think I remember her sleeping there through the entire night. That’s rare, and yet another sign I’m still healing from yesterday. Any time I’ve ever truly been injured, Lunaria hasn’t left my side. I try to delicately shift my body so as not to disturb her, but it doesn’t work. At my tiniest movement, her ears perk up and her eyes open. She stands and pads over to me on the bed. Her massive frame bends over me, sniffing every part of my body before satisfying herself and leaping from the bed to curl up in her nest in the corner.

I sigh as I stretch my arms above my head. I want to tell my Council about Nemesia today, and my stomach churns with anticipation. I barely eat my breakfast, instead downing six cups of tea, which only serves to further agitate me with anxious energy. I also want to tell them I’ve been working with the Velmarans to infiltrate the Sons and Daughters and ask them to help me fight them. For too long I’ve stayed my hand, only acting in defense when the rebels made moves against my people. But today we start our offensive campaign. If they have Nemesia working with them, they’re more dangerous than I could have ever imagined.

I’m nervous though, and I don’t want to admit defeat and ask for help. They’re my advisors, but I’ve always kept them at a distance, allowing them to run the day-to-day of the kingdom and offer me their opinions. For three hundred years, I’ve presented myself as a calm and capable leader, who takes advice but neverseeksit. The very idea makes me nauseous. I’ve pretended to have all the answers for so long, even when I didn’t have them, that I don’t know the first thing about where to begin. At first it was a necessity, the only way to quiet their fears and take control of the Council when my parents died and a young, inexperienced, female took over. Over time, it became the only acceptable part to play around them. Somehow, I need to not only tell them about Nemesia but explain without revealing too much about why I trust the Velmarans implicitly. Why I trust Velmara’sCrown Prince.

I try to ignore the movement around the source of my magic. It dives in and out, and I have thislongingto let it in. Whateveritis. But until I know more, I cannot—will not—act on this strange bond with Thorne. Thayaria hasn’t survived three hundred years under my rule because of my rash or emotional decision making. My duty is to act strategically, carefully considering well-researched information. This will be no different.

Even if a small part of me wants to run down to Thorne right now and ride him until I forget my duty and our connected pasts.

“Lunaria, what am I going to do?” I whisper to the sleeping feline. She opens her eyes, then gives me a look that tells me I already know what to do. “You’re no help,” I hiss. She merely closes her eyes and hides her head under her enormous paws. An idea strikes me, and I pen a letter to Silene, asking for her to visit my chambers alone to discuss the strategy with my Council. I could easily aerstep down to her, but I’m nervous about seeing Thorne, so instead I will the paper to appear in her bedchamber where I know only she will find it. Less than twenty minutes later, there’s a knock on my door.

---