Page 213 of Settle Down, Princess

“You need to rest.” Arik stood before me, hands so gentle as they brushed my cheeks, forcing me to turn my face into them. “You’re still healing and haven’t had nearly enough sleep. We must spend more time than we’d like in the war room until our borders are secured, but that doesn’t mean you have to. Creed has handpicked your royal guard. They’ll keep you safe until we return in time for dinner.”

Dinner? It wasn’t even lunch now and the thought of sleeping the day away was both tempting and horrifying at the same time. My fingers worried the brocade of my dress, tracing the prickly shapes stitched in gold thread in rapid circles, but I didn’t dare say anything. I’d spent a lot of time in my own room, enjoying my own company, but the thought of doing that now set my teeth on edge.

“Men are brave on the battlefield, my daughter,” my mother had said to me as we watched some of our soldiers march off to give aid to whichever of our allies had wrung a concession from my father. “Women need to be brave when they say goodbye to them with no tears, no pleas for them to stay. We each have a difficult role to play during times of war.”

I didn’t want to be brave. It was like a muscle inside me that had been used too much and now, it was exhausted. My body felt shaky, my head too light, but I pressed a kiss into his palm and then nodded.

“Be here for dinner, or I’ll be forced to break into your war room and drag you out by your ear,” I said in a terribly waspish tone that had the lot of them chuckling.

“No rest for the wicked then.” Silas placed a gentle kiss on my lips before pulling away. “But will you be all right? After yesterday—”

“I’ll stay.” Creed nodded decisively. “I care not for the war or the invasion, just you, Jess. A moment in that room away from my mate?” As his hands flexed, I saw his claws form and then fade away. “I can’t bear it. I won’t.”

“And the wolf shifters won’t listen to us,” Arik reminded him with a regretful look. “Kern is trying his best in there, but…”

“Go.” My training reasserted itself as I injected all the warmth, all of the assurance I could muster into my voice. “I will be here, waiting. Perhaps I will talk to the cooks…” My heart lightened a little at that. Busy, yes, that was just the ticket. “See if Desiree is working and if she can make you your favourite foods.”

“Anything but her bloody steak and kidney pie,” Roan said before pulling me close. “Do not let her convince you to put that on the table.”

“No steak and kidney pie.” I nodded, then went up on my tiptoes, my hands landing on his broad chest, marvelling at the breadth of it, that it was all mine to touch now. “I promise.”

I tried to focus on what they would like to eat as they filed out the door. Mother had spent considerable time on her menus. Her dinner parties were complimented by ambassadors from all over the world, but I… Selene turned to me then, that cat-like smile of hers evident.

“You’ve survived a murder attempt from a king and my father’s not so gentle attentions. Planning a menu for your men?” She shook her head. “That’s nowhere near exciting enough for you. If you want to see how Desiree is doing, you’ll need to come with me to Cheapside, Princess.”

“Cheapside…” I looked around the room, trying hard not to stare at the shadows. Selene and Silas asserted their father was dead, but I couldn’t seem to stop looking for a sign of him. I shook my head as if to dislodge those concerns. “I can’t. I said I’d ensure they had a hot dinner on the table when they returned, and a war council is no doubt exhausting and frustrating work.”

“Those idiots were eating mouldy bread and cow’s arsehole when they were at the front,” she replied. “They can fend for themselves in a palace well stocked with food. And anyway…” Her eyes narrowed slightly. “There’s some things I need to show you.”

Walking out of the palace covered in one of Sister Selene’s voluminous robes made clear I hadn’t learned anything from my previous experiences. She’d pulled it over my head to disguise me from the guards that were stationed outside the room. The further we walked away from the palace though, the faster my feet moved, as if they barely skimmed across the ground. Selene noted this and then waved down a carriage, the two of us climbing in before it set off for Cheapside.

The stink of the place, the pools of disgusting looking water pocking the muddy roads were still there and more beside. Evidence of the chaos from before was shoved against the shoulder of the roads. Broken carriages, splintered wood, even discarded weapons and armour marked the places where the royal guard had fled and were stopped by the masses. Some people picked through the mess now, looking for something to salvage. We, however, rolled up to a small but neat cottage, two familiar children appearing.

“Selene!” Benny shouted, running up to throw himself at her legs, his nose now clear. “And sweeties lady!” My heart couldn’t help but warm as he grinned up at me. “Got any more lollies on you?”

“Benjamin Harold Kilmister!” a familiar voice called out, Desiree’s flushed face appearing in the doorway right as her eyes went wide. Her hand strayed to the head cloth she’d tied around her head to cover the mess the Raven had made of her hair. “Oh goddess…” She rushed over and took both our hands. “You’re all right? I sent word to the palace, to that blasted brother of mine, but…” A great sigh escaped her. “Come in. Come in! The place is in a riot and all of my sisters are here to witness my shame, while getting all the gossip, so you may as well come and meet the lot of them.”

She paused for just a second, her smile small.

“You’re to become one of us, after all.”

“Seven sisters-in-law?” I asked, linking my arm in hers. “Did Roan have that right?”

“Oh there’s seven of us, all right. Da kept on Ma, wanting another son, but he got all of us instead.”

“Eight,” I corrected as Selene followed us silently inside. “No, make that nine.”

Would Fern come to the city, perhaps with her pack in tow? Would Saffron and Hazel? That all seemed a million years ago, and yet I hoped to see them again.

“I’ll just put the kettle on,” Desiree said in a loud voice, one that was necessary as she competed with the clamour inside her house. I’d never seen so many women with red hair in the same space in my life. “Everyone, you know Selene and this poor thing is Princess—”

“Just Jess, please,” I said, blinking as the crowd fell silent.

“Well, just Jess was the one they were after last night, as I was telling you,” Desiree said as she bustled around the kitchen. “We were merely the bait. That king, he wanted something to bargain with the Bastard… with Prince Arik, and our bloody brother—”

“You’re the one that’s caught Roan’s heart?” She was tall, stunningly pretty with amber eyes that sparkled and a long plait of thick red hair. The woman looked like a much better mate for Roan, like she could join him in battle, acting as his shield maiden. Instead of looking me up and down and finding me lacking, her arms shot out, collecting me in a hug. “Oh you’ve got our condolences. Our brother is an idiot. How do you put up with him?”

I thought then of the waterhole and the catamount and then found myself smiling. “Well…”

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