Aeros, Eli’s horse, who was standing a few feet away, whinnied impatiently. Eli glanced behind him and saw the other two soldiers shifting uncomfortably. Kit assumed they were told to be gone by a certain time or to arrive by a certain hour, and she was delaying them. She caught her breath and fought tears, glancing over her shoulder at Galter and the other man, a tall, agile looking fellow with red hair she couldn’t name.
“Listen, Kit, I need to go. But perhaps it’s for the better. We both know….” He paused, looking into her eyes, and she knew what the end of that sentence would be. There was no need for him to say it. They both knew it was never meant to be. Her mother would fight it at every turn, and even if he were to stay for her Exploration, he’d never be part of her Choosing. Kit would even go so far as to say, if he stood a chance at being selected as his province’s Representative, her mother would find some way to man
Two weeks was an eternity of seconds but when assembled together as minutes, hours, and even days, the passage of time seemed to shuffle on at an acceptable pace to the rest of the world. Kit spent too much of that time dreaming about someone she could not have and not enough of it focusing on the task before her.The large barn always called to her in her free moments when she was too restless to sit in the garden, so one afternoon, a week after her Clearing was over, she found herself meandering from stall to stall, petting the horses on the nose and slipping loose bits of hay to those who would chomp it from her hands. The men who ran the stable and their young helpers were used to seeing her and no longer bothered with the courtesies her station demanded. Rather, they bowed slightly or nodded their heads as they passed, bid her good day, and went about their usual tasks of mucking and feeding and other such chores Kit was glad not to be tasked with.A large roan st
Some of the hay was still in bales while other piles were spread throughout the loft, which didn’t run the entire length of the barn but was still large. She found a bale with a perfect view of the cloudless sky out the large window and spread her lavender skirts to one side so that there was room for Dullen to sit next to her.“The sky is a lovely shade of blue today, don’t you think?” she asked, noticing a warmth radiating from his leg which was just a few inches from hers. “I love it when it’s a deep blue, like a pool of water, as it is today.”“It is beautiful,” he agreed. “But your eyes are the loveliest shade of blue I’ve ever seen.”Her first reaction was to blush, perhaps to look away, but instead, Kit raised an eyebrow at him and let a slow smile spread across her face. The effect it had on him was what she’d hoped for. His breathing hitched, and perspiration began to form at
“Which one is he?” Avinia asked. Her head was cocked to the side as she studied Kit, her face puckered up in contemplation.“I told you. He has red hair. He’s tall, a bit lanky. Kind eyes. Green—but not the striking kind.” Kit had already given them every last detail of her encounter in the barn, and neither of her ladies had reacted the way she’d been hoping for.“Hmmm,” Isla picked up a section of Kit’s long hair and began to comb it out. “I would think if he were worth remembering, I would know which one he is.”“Yes, I was thinking exactly the same thing. There are so many attractive guards available to you, Katrinetta. You need a full grown man, not a boy child.”“I agree. You want your first pleasuring to be with someone who knows precisely what he is doing.” Isla hit a tangle, making Kit squeal, but her cousin just kept right on combing.“He
Two of the guardsmen were standing outside of her door, as was always the case, and as the three young women bounded down the hallway, the men fell into step behind them. Kit glanced over her shoulder to see if she recognized them. One was a large, musclebound brute of a man with flowing blond hair which he kept in a knot at the base of his neck when he was on duty. She’d seen him before when he was not, though, and remembered how attractive he looked with his hair flowing freely around his broad shoulders. She timidly smiled at him when he realized she was staring, but he kept his eyes straight ahead, as if he weren’t allowed to regard the woman he was protecting.The other man was tall and not as muscular. He had a hard set jaw and eyes that were small for the width of his face. Kit had noticed him before, too, but only because she found him particularly unattractive compared to most of her guards. She thought he was nice enough, but she certainly wouldn’t
Kit and her two ladies in waiting, Avinia and Isla, walked along in silence to Kit’s chambers, and once they were inside, the cousins went about readying her for dinner with her mother. There would be music before the meal was served, which was why she was expected so early, and Kit imagined her mother would introduce her to the son of some foreign dignitary, someone meant to find his way into her chambers. She was aware that queens had been bargaining with turns in their daughters’ beds for generations, and while that was just the way of it, Kit liked the idea of choosing one of her own guard members far better than the thought she might spend the night with a prince from another land who was only there because he was seeking pleasure as well. It was almost ironic that a queendom built on the belief that women superior to men and were entitled to be pleasured by them could make such deals, but that wouldn’t be the only law of the land that seemed backward to Kit.
The music and dinner were pleasant enough, but Kit found each second that ticked by on the large grandfather clock across the room seemed to take an eternity. While her mother supplied her with several visiting nobles to entertain her, Kit hardly heard a word any of them said. Perhaps she would have found one or two of the men attractive if her mind were not elsewhere. When it was time for her to head off to her chambers, nearly four hours after the festivities had begun, she did so without remembering a single one of the gentlemen’s names.Her mother had asked her several times what was on her mind, but with each question, Kit had only shrugged and said she wasn’t feeling like herself. As she headed down the long hallway with two other guards beside her, ones she remembered from her secret viewing out the window earlier but could not name, she tried to calm her nerves. It wasn’t as if she was feeling ill, but a stirring inside of her, something like the sen
Kit entered the bedroom from the antechamber to see that the lantern by the bed was lit, though she was the only one in the room. She had a look around and found everything as it was the last time she’d been here except that next to the lamp there was a sheath and the lubrication Mikali had supplied her with, as if someone had come along to prepare the room for her. She wondered who might’ve done so, unless her cousins did it out of hopefulness. The linens on the bed were turned down as well.Kit hardly had a chance to stand there and quake before she heard a rapping on the outside door. Her breath caught in her throat, and the idea that she was not ready filled her head. But the sound of footsteps let her know it was too late, that she was no longer alone, and she slowly turned around, telling herself to be calm, that it would be all right.Terrowin stood in the doorway wearing only a thin white tunic and a pair of brown trousers, no shoes, no jerkin, no c
Terrowin’s body hovered over Kit like a shelter with most of his weight on the bed next to her. Only his protective arms and his broad chest rose above her. The longer Terrowin kissed her, the lower his hands seemed to explore until Kit realized he had her legs spread slightly and his fingers were poised between her legs.The dull ache she’d noted earlier when she’d first seen his well-formed chest had turned into a throbbing pain, and as his fingers slowly began to wind their way along her outer edges, she longed to reach down and press them further inside. “You’re wet, my love,” he whispered in her ear, and she realized that wasn’t the half of it. His fingers slipped on her skin, sliding easily due to how badly she wanted him inside of her, and each time his fingers probed a bit deeper, she cried out a little more.“Do you like that?” he asked, his teeth nipping at her ear. “Are you enjoying yourself, my swe
Eventually, Kit stepped back, signaling she was done, and her party faded into the hallway. Eli was right, there was much to be done, and Kit wasn’t even sure where to begin with the task of restoring the realm to its former glory. But there was no doubt her first appointment with the council would be to approve the new law that would allow her to rule before the end of her Choosing, one that would allow her to keep all seven of the men who stood around her now.As if reading her mind, Zora, her great-aunt and a distinguished member of the council stepped forward. “Queen Katrinetta, I would like to present to you a new law, passed by the council earlier this day. All it needs is your signature.”Confused, Kit took the sheet of parchment and began to read. When her eyes reached the bottom of the paper, she looked up. “How did you know...?”“Junno explained everything to us,” Nil said, stepping forward. “And we agree
“We love you, Kit. We’ll always be here for you,” Jate said to her right.“Even when we’re broken,” Danyen added, getting a giggle out of her and the others.“It’s our privilege to be with you,” Drake said in his deep, steady voice.Reeve took her hand. “Your belief in us has shaped us into who we are.”“And given us the confidence to stand with you as you become queen,” Landon said in her ear.“It’s all been well-worth it, Kit, to see you take the throne.” Cassius was still battered, but he looked much better now, with a smile on his face, than he had since Kit had found him in the dungeon.Kit shifted her eyes to Eli, assuming he would also say something. His eyes darted around several times, and she could tell he was attempting to come up with something no one else had said, but they’d all expressed themselves so well, it was a difficult
No longer frightened of the woman who used to terrorize her, Kit raised her arms between her mother’s bringing them down to the sides quickly so as to prevent her mother from ever making contact with her neck. Rona’s arms snapped down and she winced in pain. Her eyes bulged in surprise at her daughter’s strength. Kit took advantage of her mother’s stunned expression long enough to plant her fist in Rona’s right eye. Her mother rocked backward, grabbing at her face as Kit felt Eli’s familiar hand on her shoulder, seeking to calm her. Clearly, the older woman was no physical threat to Kit or anyone else.The bejeweled, golden crown atop Rona’s head wobbled as the queen staggered from the blow. It slid free, tumbling toward the floor. Kit reached out a hand and plucked it from the air. “The goddess have spoken!” she declared, ignoring the fact that it was the force of her own strike that had dislodged the crown. Nearly everyo
Watching the battle take place from the hallway had been unsettling for Kit, especially when she saw Eli faltering. For a moment, it had looked as if Vin might be victorious. Her attention had been pulled away when she learned Danyen was injured. Despite Galter’s best efforts to stop her, the princess insisted on going in and tending to him, and she had been there, placing pressure on the wound when Armant arrived. Danyen apologized for not being as handy with a sword as he was a quill, but Kit had only kissed him and assured him he was perfect in her sight.And then she’d seen hesitancy in Cassius and Eli as they considered mercy for Vin, the monster who had hurt and tortured so many. Ending him seemed like the right thing to do for all of the people of Yewforia, though she could never fault her men for weighing the costs of taking a life, even when that life was as worthless as scar face’s.She’d been stunned to see Jecob standing on the dais,
Across the room, Eli heard a shout and a roar of laughter. He could hardly let the situation distract him, but his head flickered in that direction for a moment, and he saw Danyen on the ground, grasping his middle. Drake was there and ended the laughing soldier who’d stabbed Danyen, but the Representative looked seriously wounded. Looking around the room, as he saw Vin trying to take advantage of his distraction, out of the corner of his eye, Eli spotted a member of his own guard who had just finished a man off. “Nen! Go to the infirmary and fetch Armant, as quickly as you can!”Eli hardly had time to see the guardsman nod in understanding before Vin’s persistence paid off, and his sword caught Eli in the left shoulder. It was a glancing blow as Eli dodged to his right, but this wound was deeper than the last and hurt more. It was not enough to slow him, though. Eli came flying back at Vin with a vengeance, thinking of his comments about Kit, how he h
The scene in the throne room was chaotic at best. Looking around, Eli quickly ascertained the situation. While the revolutionaries and several members of the Princess’s Guard had the upper hand, there were still twenty or thirty members of the Queen’s Guard and military doing their best to defend the door to the queen’s chambers.Across the room, Eli caught sight of a familiar set of dark eyes grimacing in his direction, and the Commander narrowed his focus as he stared him down. Scar face didn’t take his eyes off of Eli as he began to work his way through assailants, cutting them down easily as he moved toward his target. As he advanced, the aura of pure evil shifted the room such that darkness seemed to blot out everything around them until only Eli and the man who’d tried to end him remained. One of them would not walk out of this room.His concentration was broken when he heard another recognizable voice shout, “Goedwig! You&rsqu
The door to the castle was nearly nonexistent. Shards of wood hung from the upper posts, a few clung to the doorjambs, but for the most part, what had been an elegant entryway was now reduced to nothing but splinters and flecks of gold paint, thanks to the battering ram Eli had mentioned earlier.Realizing the only weapon she had was the small dagger, Kit scoured the ground for a sword. She saw one lying on the floor just inside of the castle entrance and picked it up, certain the poor fellow reposing nearby would no longer need it. She turned to tell her ladies they should do the same but noted they were already armed. Seph and Isla both had swords, though not as large and cumbersome as the one Kit had just procured, and Avinia had a bow she must’ve been carrying on her saddle, a quiver strung to her back.Armant and the other men who had come along with him stepped forward. “This is where we must leave you. We’ll head to the infirmary and check on t
“Are the two of you at peace now?” Kit asked Eli and Cassius.“I suppose so,” Eli began. “If he wants to go off and get himself killed, there will be one less person to share you with.” He smiled at Cassius, a mischievous twinkle in his eye, and the larger man reached around Kit and popped him in the arm.“You’d better not get yourself killed. Any of you.” Kit looked around and saw all seven of the men she’d chosen nearby, five of them already saddled and ready to go, the other two done arguing. While she hadn’t made Drake’s appointment official, she would, as soon as she knew the outcome of the battle at hand.Kit’s hip was still aching from where she cut it on the door earlier. Normally, she’d be able to mount Belle by herself, but with her leg torn up, she decided it would be easier to ask for help. Turning to Eli, she asked, “Will you give me a boost?”&ldq
Avinia had quite an entourage with her, including several wagons’ worth of food and water, clean clothes, a few weapons, and Armant with medical supplies. She’d enlisted some castle servants to drive the wagons, and as soon as they reached the remaining prisoners, they also helped the physician as he began to assess wounds and care for the sick and injured. Bea, his nurse who was also a faithful member of the revolt, was there to help as well.Kit wasn’t sure who to go to first. Both of her cousins, along with their husbands, dropped down from their horses, and Kit could see Avinia’s eyes searching for her through the crowd. But she also wanted to run to Drake and Danyen, who were bringing up the end of the line, along with Gavin, Asher, and a few of the other remaining Representatives.The men would have to wait. Avinia rushed over, embracing Kit quickly before she backed up. “You smell terrible.”“Thank you. I just sli