Page 19 of Prize for the King
“Thank you,” I say, clearing my throat to get rid of the last traces of tears. It’s time to change the topic. “Do you know what he’s doing now? Magnar?”
“Not sealing the union with his new wife, that’s for sure,” Khay says with a laugh, and my cheeks heat. “When I left him, he was arranging border patrols and dictating a list of directives for his governors during his absence. A newly conquered kingdom is vulnerable, and normally, he’d stay for at least a few months to oversee everything himself.”
“Why is he going back to Roharra, then?”
“Why? Because he got married, silly. There are important customs that have to be performed back home when the king marries. He wants to do everything properly to make sure you’re honored and welcomed with respect, since you’re human. He’ll also want his mother to meet you. She’s ailing, so the sooner, the better.”
“I… Oh.”
Khay’s answer takes me aback. The marriage was performed in haste and under duress. Magnar never treated me with any respect, either, making crude remarks and, yes, killing my father. I thought I was means to an end, married only for the political benefits I provide.
So it’s baffling to hear that he actually does respect me as his wife. That he wants me to meet hismother…No, it seems too far-fetched.I think back to our conversation in the library and shake my head. Khay must be lying, or maybe reporting lies Magnar told him.
There is no way being his wife will be anything but a terrible ordeal.
VI Guts
Khay wakes me bright and early, just after dawn. I stare at the golden light creeping up the wallpaper as my maids bustle around the room, preparing me a basin of hot water and serving tea. This is an eerily normal morning, save for the early time and the Agnidari man leaning back against the wall and watching it all with amusement.
“I am sorry to say, you probably won’t have so many luxuries at Magnar’s keep,” he drawls when a maid brings me a teacup to bed, and I stretch among my swan down pillows with a yawn.
“I don’t expect any,” I say as calmly as I can.
I haven’t slept nearly enough, I’m hungry and exhausted, and I dread today almost as much as I dreaded death yesterday. The unresolved grief for my father is a pile of stones in my chest.
Khay seems fascinated, tracking the movements of my maids as they dance around the room in a practiced sequence, laying out dress options, underthings and toiletries, adding hot water to the basin, and pouring more tea in my cup as soon as I drain it.
We’re back to a semblance of normalcy now that the servants aren’t being mauled.
“No one takes their meals in bed at the keep,” he says, shaking his head when I accept a pastry covered with nuts and chocolate shavings. “You’ll have to dress before breakfast and sit at the tablewith everyone.”
I roll my eyes. “You say that like you expect me to find it outrageous. We take breakfasts at the table, too. Mostly on Sundays.”
I bite my tongue as soon as I realize what I said.“We”used to mean me and my father. There is nousanymore. Only me.
“Do you mind?” I glare at the Agnidari, shaking crumbs off my nightshirt. “I need to get changed.”
He cocks an eyebrow, a mischievous smile playing on his lips. “Then I have to watch so I know what you usually need help with. Don’t mind me, little diamond. I’m your knight, too, now that you’re Magnar’s wife.”
I stare at him, annoyed and confused.
“What do you mean,don’t mind you?I’ll be getting changed. You need to leave.”
Khay pushes away from the wall with a grunt of reluctance. “Fine. But I’ll see you bare sooner or later. I’m your knight.”
I shake my head as I watch him leave, my mind groggy despite the tea, my nerves raw and strung tight with anxiety. I don’t even try to guess what he meant.
“The green one.” I point at my favorite riding habit, one that’s worn soft, with a long train that will be pinned up to my hip when I sit sideways in the saddle.
I quickly don a chemise, and my maids help me with two thin petticoats. They tie soft, worsted wool stockings around my thighs. My hair is gathered into a low bun at my nape, and I pick an everyday hat with a green ribbon to shade my face from the sun.
More underthings and necessary items for the journey are packed in a saddlebag. My coffers will travel in a carriage, which will take much longer to reach the Agnidari keep. We are to travel on horseback.
When all my maids line up in front of me in a silent curtsey, I haveto bite back tears. It’s goodbye.
“I wish I could stay with you,” I say, battling grief for the secure, soft life I’ve led until now. “I hope you’ll be safe. Farewell.”
Khay laughs when he sees me outside my door. I take a bracing breath, stifling irritation that curls up my stomach.
