Page 114 of Of Monsters Of Kings

Dusk had set in most beautifully by the time the horse ground to a halt. I could feel each one of my teeth after the journey, and I had the steed to thank for that. I couldn’t recall ever feeling my teeth in such a way, and the thought struck me that I tended to forget they existed until I needed to chew or grin. “Thank you, monstrous steed.”

I patted the wooden mount and ducked under the portcullis to enter See’s courtyard. The yawning beast statues sat either side of the entrance, and I patted the paw of one, eliciting an eerie howl.

Violin music trailed down the spiral stairs as usual, but today the hazy pluckings of a harp joined it. Prince Has Been waited inside the entrance and extended his crooked elbow to me.

“You are magnificence,” he told me in a hushed voice. “My king is delirious with the need to see you. We told him of your time in Raise’s kingdom, and he prepares to wage war against him.”

“He must not continue to wage wars on my behalf.”

Has Been blinked, and I gathered that the matter I spoke of was one for kings, not princes.

“Are you well after your ordeal, lady?” he asked next.

I dipped my head. “I am well, if not disheartened.”

“I hate to see you feel anything other than the lightest happiness.”

I patted his arm. “I know, Prince Has Been, and this is why I surround myself with you.”

“I’m honored, lady.”

“And I am honored by your exquisite company.”

He seemed choked up by feeling after that, so we walked side by side up the spiral stairs for two floors. We carried on down a grand hall that someone had decorated in all manner of nude paintings. The models in the paintings twisted and bent in all kinds of lewd positions, expressions of pleasured pain and forbidden rapture lighting their faces.

“Is this the only dining room in the palace?” I asked Has Been.

“No, lady. One of many, and not the grandest.”

So See had chosen this in particular, and no doubt the artwork had something to do with that.

This dining room, though apparently not the grandest, was certainly the grandest I’d seen. The table would allow King See to sit at one end, and for me to sit at the opposite with his power between us. Candles illuminated the metal table and the velvet tablecloths and napkins. Otherwise, the only other light in the room came from a crackling fireplace.

Has Been bowed. “My king will be here presently.”

“Thank you, Prince Has Been.”

I approached the fire and extended my hands to the warmth while knowing I’d never truly feel warm again. I didn’t miss this type of heat, really. And I could still make myself warm through arousal. That would suffice. I rather liked where arousal could take me.

King See’s power brushed against my back, trailing a path down the great stitch my dress left exposed.

“Will there ever come a time when the sight of you doesn’t strike me in mind and body?”

His menace washed over my skin and down both of my arms. I shivered. Was I ready to face him? I’d bargained a week to figure out all I felt for this king. As it was, I’d had little rest and a lot of fright since seeing him last.

“I cannot speak for that,” I murmured in reply. “Good evening, King See.”

“Good evening, mistress. Your demeanor is quiet tonight. Is King Raise to thank for this? Or do you bear heavy news to me?”

“My mind is busy indeed. Prince Will Be tells me that you plan war against King Raise.”

“My prince should remember to whom he is sworn to. Where I wage war does not concern you, Lady Patch.”

“If a war is because of me, then it concerns me whether you like it or not. I cannot say what my fate is, sir, but I would like to choose whether I am a force of ruin or saving. Please do not choose for me. Cease your war with King Take, and do not start a war with a second king. Though I thank you for the compliment you pay me, I would not see King Change certain of his success.”

“I will not answer one way or another this evening, mistress, but I will think on this matter to see how your request sits with me. Will you sit for dinner now?”

I turned to focus on the blur of his face.

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