Page 39 of Of Blood & Bone: The Young Queen

He returns my smile. “Good. Thank you. Secondly, I pledge you my wholehearted support as your husband and your king. All I ask in return is that you support me in my intention to take back the Ellerban throne from my brother and take my rightful place upon it as king of my people.”

His expression is an intoxicating mix of hope, sincerity and trust, and I feel a little bit of my heart giving itself over to this man. “Of course I will support you in this,” I reply as I consider how much better off the Ellerban people would be with him as their king rather than his brother.

A broad smile brightens his face and his eyes sparkle with delight. He raises his glass. “A toast” he declares.

I raise my glass to meet his and find myself smiling almost as broadly as him.

“To my seed, it's harvesting and all the possibilities it bears for the future of Ardvalla and Ellerban.”

I can't help laughing at his brash words. “To your seed, Prince Ronan,” I reply as I raise my glass to his, “and its limitless possibilities.”

All I've got to do now is figure out how I'm going to get it out of him.

Chapter Fifteen

The night bell of the great cathedral tolls and a frisson of nervousness and excitement runs through me. I had agreed with the prince that when it sounded I would come to his chamber. In truth, I thought he had either forgotten about our silly wager or had decided not to hold me to it as we had pleasantly chatted over dessert and exchanged stories about our childhoods whilst sipping our brandies. However, it seems he is intent on challenging me, as before he left my chamber he reminded me of our agreement and made it quite clear he expected me to uphold my end of it.

The last peal of the bell sounds across the city and with a slight tremour in my hand I reach out to pull the red velvet cord beside my bed. This is the so-called cord of passion which is connected to the King's chambers, the same chambers in which I had the prince placed for the duration of his stay. The red cord has been used by the queens of Ardvalla over the years to let their king know when they wish him to visit her chamber. As I pull it I know a small bell will tinkle in the King's chambers. I explained to the prince this will signify to him that I’m coming.

I move towards the fireplace and press my hand against a well-worn stone. Immediately, a part of the wall slides back to reveal a small passageway known as the Queen's Passage. It was put in place when the castle was built to facilitate intimacies between the king and queen without having every courtier in the castle knowing when those intimacies take place. Its existence is a secret which is only ever revealed to the most trusted servantsand aides. Therefore, the only members of my court who know about it are Kes and the Khaleeni.

I take a candle to light my way and tentatively step into the dark space and start to make my way along its stony interior, as many a queen has before me. However, those queens were making their way towards their husbands. I’m making my way towards a man I barely know and who might become my husband, but tonight he is just a prospect, albeit a very tantalising one. I'm still not clear as to what he expects of me for this night and my heart beats like a racehorse on the final furlong as I contemplate the possibilities.

I had briefly considered not showing up but I know this is a test. I know he wants to see if I’m a woman of my word and one he can trust. The question that has my heart pounding is how much can I trust him? He hasn't given me any reason to think he isn't a man of honour, but I have no way of knowing for sure or if he will respect my wishes should I reject his advances. And there's also the big elephant in the room, or I should say, passageway, the other reason for my pounding heart. A bigger part of me wants to feel his lips on mine again than the part that doesn't, and a very big part of me wants to feel his arms come around me and his fingers running through my hair. If I'm honest, I want all this and more.

I finally reach the secret door to his chambers and pause to catch my breath and steady my breathing. I feel flushed with excitement but nervous about what the night may bring. My hand hovers over the stone that opens the door. I know once I press it and open that door, there's no going back. I'm not just opening a door but a world of possibilities, and one in which I don’t hold all the control.

Deep breath.

Exhale.

My fingers press the stone.

A secret door slides open and there standing on the other side of it is the prince.

He grins, and a warmth moves through my body at his obvious pleasure in my presence. “You came,” he says, stating the obvious, but there’s a hint of surprise in his voice.

“We had an agreement, and I told you, I am a woman of my word.”

He takes my hand. “Come, join me.”

I let him lead me into my father’s old chambers. He brings me towards the fireplace where a number of logs are burning in the grate and gestures for me to sit in one of the two chairs placed in front of it. He then pours me a brandy and hands it to me.

“I somehow suspect you also considered not coming,” he observes, and I know this is a further test to see if I will admit that which we both know to be true.

I smile. “Of course I considered not coming, but I’m not in the habit of brokering deals and then not honouring them.”

He laughs. “A woman of honour and honest, both fine qualities in a queen and…” he pauses, “a wife.”

I return his smile and sip my brandy, grateful for its soothing warmth as it flows through my veins. For some reason I’m more nervous in the prince’s presence right now than I have been at any time since I abducted him.

“Relax, Queen Elinor, you are quite safe with me,” he says as he places a finger under my chin and raises my head to look into his eyes. “Let’s try and add trusting to that list of qualities, shall we?”

The sincerity I see in his eyes puts me at my ease and I feel my shoulders sag slightly in relief.

“That’s better,” he says as he sits in the chair opposite. “I must say, it’s quite a system you have in place for the kingand queen to let each other know when they feel like a bit of lovemaking.”

I blush at his words, unaccustomed as I am to speaking about such things with anybody. “Thank you,” I reply.

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