Page 7 of Boundless
“Yes, of course. I a-appreciate your apologizing.” He still couldn’t manage to look her in the eyes.
“My thanks, Len.” She paused, then leaned away from him, giving him space. But he was surprised to find that once the solid warmth of her was gone that he missed it. “Do you not like being touched? I should have asked before, I’m sorry. I get excited and just charge in and don’t think, sometimes.”
His face flamed, and he cleared his throat. “No, it’s alright.” His fingers plucked at imaginary lint on his trousers. “I’m not used to it…but it’s f-fine.”
Daega leveled a stern look at him, making him squirm and feel something he’d not felt before stirring to life low in his belly. “You’re certain? You’re not just saying that to avoid upsetting me? I want your truth, Lenlethael.”
The feeling in his belly sparked, spreading warmth throughout his body. “I do. I mean it.” He cleared his throat, picking his fork back up for something to do. What was this womandoingto him?
She searched his face for a moment, then gifted him with one of her broad, joyful smiles and pulled him into a half-hug. “Well alright, then. I think we can do this, being married. And without wanting to kill each other, to boot.”
He chuckled, returning the smile. “I-I think so, too.” And he meant it: things were awkward and tense, the two of them still strangers who would have been enemies a few years ago, but there was genuine warmth blooming between them, too. Daega was very unlike him, from any elf he’d ever known, but he liked her differences. They surprised him, but they were good things.
How had things gotten so bad between their people? Records from the beginning of the war were rare and often incomplete, his people having suffered a huge loss of them when their sacred library had been burned to the ground early on in the conflict. So he was left wondering how it was that such kind and affectionate people had wound up a bitter enemy of the elves.
AFTER HOURS OFeating and wine-drinking and toasts to Daega and Len and the newly forged bond between their people, it was time for everyone to go to bed.
Len's wedding night had come.
His nerves were at a feverish peak by then, making him dizzy and sick as he and his wife made their way to his chambers.
Daega was silent beside him, the creak and jingle of her leather armor the only sound between them until they'd slipped inside the room and closed the door behind them.
"Alright, so, I have to ask," Daega began as soon as they were alone. "Are you a virgin, princeling?"
He sputtered, anger lancing through his nerves. "I amnot," he ground out, though his romantic and sexual history both were embarrassingly threadbare. "Am I so p-pathetic to you?" Vitrin’s mercy—he hadn't meant that last bit to come out.
Daega frowned, pausing in the middle of unbuckling her belt to give him a disgruntled look. "Is that what Isaid?" she asked, voice terse, flinging the belt to the floor and putting her hands on her hips. "You elves and all your damned polite obscurity. Iasked, Lenlethael, because you are clearly nervous, and I wanted to know how to approach this with you. Or would you rather spend the next half hour dancing around the question instead of talking it all out now?"
He glared back at her, bristling at her tone, at her disparagement of elves, of his culture...but he had to admit it was something that he was often frustrated with, himself. He sighed, his shoulders sagging. "Alright. Alright. I—I'm s-sorry." He lifted the crown from his head, everything from the neck up suddenly light and loose without the weight, and sat heavily on the edge of his bed.Theirbed, now. “You’re right, I t-took that too personally.”
Her expression softened and she drifted closer, her clawed hands snatching his from the nervous tangle in his lap and clasping them tight. "Thank you, Len. And I apologize in turn for snapping. I think we can both agree it's been a long godsdamned day. And perhaps my approach was too…harsh."
His eyes were stuck staring at the floor, but he nodded, squeezing her hands back. After a moment she pried one hand loose and used a finger to lift his chin, coaxing him to look at her. "I'll tell you now, sweetling, that I don't want to do anything that'll make you uncomfortable, even if it's what would make your kith and kin happiest. We don't have to jump into bed and do anything more than sleep."
He must have been so much more tired than he realized, because tears pricked at his eyes, his throat squeezing. "Why are you so kind to me?" he whispered, the tears boiling over and trailing through the makeup still painted on his cheeks.
She clicked her tongue, wrapping him in a hug that pinned his upper body to her flat belly. She carded her fingers through his hair, gently scraping his scalp, and he clung to her tightly, using every drop of his will to avoid sobbing outright.
"We are in this together, you and I," she said at length, her warm hands still so gentle and soothing. "No one but us understands what we give to let our people find peace after so much bloodshed and horror. But just because we have married for our lands doesn't mean we cannot be friends, aye?" She squeezed him tighter, and he spread his knees to let her get closer. "I would very much prefer to be your friend than just your wife, Len. Can you agree?"
He nodded, pulling back enough to look up at her face. Had he really thought her frightening just hours ago? "I-I think that would be nice. But—" His face flamed white-hot, and he found that no matter how much he tried to force the words out, they stayed firmly stuck in his throat.
She chuckled, sitting beside him on the bed, her considerable weight making the mattress sag so much he almost fell into her. "And to that end, princeling, I will tell you I don't care to go to bed with an unwilling partner who's scared out of his mind at what I'll do to him. We can wait as long as you need. Blame it on a made-up tradition of my peoples' if you’ll get shite for it. No offense, but I get the sense that your da is a bit of cunt."
Shock had him laughing, his body swaying into hers with the force of it. "Daega!"
"Well then, go on: tell me he's not. Keep a straight face and tell me he's a beam of fucking sunshine behind closed doors."
He bit his lip, trying to get a hold of himself. His father was theking.
"H-he doesn't need to be...l-like that. He's our king. In fact, h-he—heshouldn'tbe soft on me. That would only make me weaker. More useless."
Daega made a noise of frustration, putting a heavy arm around his shoulders. "You arekillingme with that kind of talk," she groaned. "If your da wasn't the king you can bet your arse I'd give him a thrashing for what he's done to you."
His brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"
"Well, first off, unless you have a very dark secret life that involves stealing babes from their mother's arms to eat them, there's nothing wrong with you. And it's criminal for a parent to say such a thing, especially to one who's already struggling. You know my sister Sercha can't see much?"
