Page 48 of Prize for the King
Bizarre,bizarreAgnidari.
We reach the next castle after dark because of the morning delay. The soldiers are tired, but no one grumbles, and I haven’t heard one word of complaint throughout the day. I still feel guilty for making us late.
My bath is a quick affair, with Khay waiting by the tub while I wash myself. At dinner, which is glum and quiet, Raduna sits by my side. With a sheepish blush, he rubs the hem of my lacy sleeve between two fingers, and I give him a tired smile.
“I was wondering, my queen, if you would be so kind as to do me a favor?”
“Of course,” I say without thinking. After a full day of listening to Raduna talking about how excited he is to care for his plants more regularly now that the war is over, I have almost forgotten about the heads.
“I heard from Khay you wore his underthings yesterday.” Raduna’s voice lowers to a conspiratorial murmur. “I wondered… would my queen do me the same honor?”
I blink at him, my hand reaching for my chalice of wine before I remember I should choose the weak beer instead. Raduna watches me with his warm, brown eyes, his face lit with hope. I take a hasty sip, the wine delicious, and set the chalice aside.
Well, I don’t really have a choice. I cannot favor Khay and refuse Raduna.
“Yes,” I agree, ducking my head in embarrassment. “I will wear them tomorrow.”
He beams at me, my gentle, deadly giant so joyful at the prospect of me wearing his clothes. It would be entirely endearing if not for all the impropriety, but I am too exhausted to care.
No one’s going to lock me up in a cellar, I tell myself. It’s all right.
After dinner, Khay brings me to my room and leaves me alone after helping me undress. My bedroom is small. This castle is the shabbiest so far, kept for military purposes. No Agnidari nobleman resides here, and it shows. But the bed sheets are clean, and I look at them longingly as I brush my teeth in the flickering light of a single candle.
Outside, thunder rolls. The candle’s flame dances and brightens, stoked by a draft.
As lightning blazes through the dark sky in the distance, the door opens behind my back. Khay comes in, stretching his armswith a yawn. I gape, taking in his nudity. He’s wearing a pair of underwear—and nothing else. The light of the candle sizzles across his chest and stomach muscles, leaving the dips and valleys between them in shadow. He has nipples, I realize with a surge of heat.
Well,of course,he does. I’ve just never seen a man—like this.
“Khay?” I ask cautiously. “What are you doing here?”
He blinks at me with tired eyes, rubbing his sharp-tipped ear.
“Sleeping. What else?”
I look at the bed, then study the floor in search of more bedding, but of course, there is none.
“Isleep here,” I say slowly.
Khay nods and yawns again. “Yes. You done with everything? Come on, Magnar wants an early start tomorrow.‘No more delays, Khay!’Driven bastard.”
He climbs into bed and gets busy arranging pillows, beating them into the shapes he wants until a few tiny white feathers leap into the air. I stare, forgetting the toothbrush in my hand.
Khay lies back with a pleased sigh and glances at me. He frowns. “Oh, right. Is this a problem now? You didn’t mind the last three nights.”
I rear back, confused. “The last… three nights? What does it mean?”
Khay seems as baffled as I until his eyes widen in understanding, and he slaps his forehead. “Khradgah.You must have been so out of it, you didn’t even notice, and there I was, congratulating myself on the excellent progress we’ve made. So, yes. I sleep with you. Can you just come to bed, please? I won’t even touch you if you don’t want that. This bed is big enough.”
Thunder crashes outside much closer than before. I arrest a flinch, clenching my jaw. I’m usually good at handling storms if I pay attention, but Khay distracted me.
“You… You slept in my bed yesterday?”
Gods,I don’t remember it at all.
Khay nods. “The queen must always have someone by her side. It’s tradition. You are a cherished treasure, and what sort of knight would I be to let you sleep alone? What if an assassin comes in at night?”
The taste of mint in my mouth reminds me I haven’t finished brushing my teeth. I turn back to the basin and rinse my mouth, thinking frantically what to do. When lightning blazes outside, followed by the horrid crash of thunder, I almost yelp from shock. Truth is, I always hated being alone on stormy nights.
