Page 149 of The King is Dead
~ YILAN ~
“Ma’am… Your Majesty?”
I sucked in a breath and lifted my head. Morning light filtered through the now-fixed screens out on the verandah. The dark shadow of my King curled around me in the bed. But when I moved, he grunted and rolled over—and the quilts flailed as he almost fell off the side. He’d forgotten we were back in my much smaller bed. I needed to get the servants to change the—
An insistent thump began on the door and a deep voice called through the thick wood. “Your Majesty, it’s urgent. Istral is here and needs you!”
I leaped out of bed with a gasp, as Melek groaned wearily. “Melek, get up! I need to bring Istral in here,” I hissed, reaching for my clothes from the night before—then staring when I realized they were torn down the middle.
A jolt of desire jangled through me and Melek’s head popped up. Our eyes locked and he smiled.
“Your Majesty?”
“Just… just a moment! Just give us a moment please!” I called, running over to the chair to sweep up the crown—we couldn’t let servants see it treated so casually—then racing into my closet to find a robe.
Melek appeared in the doorway behind me, clawing his hand through his tangled hair, then striding over to where I was wrapping myself in the silk robe. He wrapped his arms around me and kissedme deeply, sucking in a breath that made his chest expand when our tongues touched.
I broke it quickly though. “Melek, it’s Istral. She doesn’t understand… all of this,” I said, circling a hand to indicate him. “You need to dress.”
He nodded and took another deep breath as he looked around, then frowned. “I don’t have clothes in here.”
Shit.
Thankfully I hadn’t tornhisclothes getting them off last night because I was a lady. So he trotted back into the room, pulling on the leathers, hopping on one foot before getting his second leg through and pulling them up over his hips and… the rest of him.
I trotted to the door, waiting until he was buttoned up before opening the door.
My head jerked back in surprise, because it wasn’t just the guards or servants outside. Istral stood a few feet from the door, Gall behind her, glowering at the guards as if they were all assassins. And there were two servants as well, both holding platters of food and steaming cups.
“Good morning… everyone,” I said, blinking.
They all bowed their heads, but Istral’s chin trembled and she pushed through the guards to throw herself into my arms. “Everyone is leaving!” she whimpered in my ear.
I suddenly felt very, very guilty. I’d been so consumed yesterday with the meetings and crowning and Melek, I hadn’t even stopped in to see how Istral was doing.
It was clear by the dark smudges under both her eyes and Gall’s that neither of them had slept much.
“Hey, hey. I’m here. I’m here,” I whispered to her, holding her tightly. “Come in and let’s sit down together,” I said as gently as I could, urging her to let go so we could move away from all the watchers. It took a few seconds and when she did finally release me, she kept a hold of my hand. I had to lean around the bulk of Gall to tip my head at the servants to follow us into the room.
Melek stood just inside the door watching all of this with concern. When I ushered Istral inside, the servants wound around Gall and hurried past, taking the trays out to the verandah.
I was glad to see that there was plenty of food, and a couple of mugs for the men as well. But I wasn’t quite sure how this would work with Gall and Melek there. Usually when Istral and I ate together we were alone so we could speak freely.
Once the servants had laid the table, they bowed to both me and Melek—I caught his eye over their shoulders and smiled—then walked briskly out the door, closing it behind them.
Istral gripped my arm and her chest kept hitching, though there were no tears on her cheeks.
“Come with me, Izzy,” I murmured, taking her hand. Of course, Gall was right at Istral’s back. But Melek caught his arm and murmured something as I drew her out of the room.
Gall looked very disturbed, but Melek leaned into his ear and spoke quietly, his tone gentle but firm. I sent him a grateful look as we stepped outside and I got Istral settled at our usual table near the railing. As I took my seat, I wished again that the screens didn’t obscure our view of the gardens, but pushed the thought aside.
I turned to my sister, sliding her mug of hot chocolate closer to her and urging her to take it. She did take a sip, then held it with her hands like she was cold, but her eyes stayed on me.
“Tell me what’s going on?” I asked her quietly.
“Everyone is leaving. Everyone,” she said, her eyes welling again.
“You mean me going away?”
