Page 45 of The Princess's Chosen

I swallowed hard and gazed back into the room. Aric might've felt sorry for what he'd said, but I wasn't sure he wouldn't have a great deal more to add to it if I told him about Daniel.

"Hm, how about I tell you this then. I think I know what the Hunger is," he said, catching my attention, my eyes growing wide as he tugged my hand and led me to his workspace. Old pages with faded writing littered the table, and Aric lifted one but didn't pass it to me. "I could only find a few places where the queen's line was included, but it seems… Your family has an incredible history of holding the monarchy in Kimmery, princess. Longer than any direct line in any other kingdom. The reason for that seems to do with—"

"The Hunger providing prosperity," I recited.

Aric's head nodded side to side noncommittally. "The Hunger provides…" He frowned, and I realized as he studied the page that he was having a hard time believing whatever he'd discovered. He set the page down on the table and took both my hands in his, thumbs passing back and forth over my skin. "Bryony, I believe the queen's line—the magic you…release—I think you are thesourceof magic in Kimmery."

I blinked at him, my eyes tracing the features of his face as I processed his words. Aric had injured me in our argument, had bruised the trust we'd managed to develop, but I realized with him in front of me that he hadn't managed to quash the feelings I had for him. Aric was, to me, a kind of authority I craved even when I didn't want to, but also a strange source of shelter. When I felt uncertain, doubted myself and my judgment, Aric seemed to be the first person I wanted to turn to for confirmation.

He was an enormous weakness for me, and we either needed to come to terms, or I needed to cut him out of my heart.

"Princess?" Aric murmured, lifting a hand up to my jaw, my face leaning into the touch automatically, strangely soothed by the scratch of calluses on my skin.

"The north went without magic for so long because it went without its queen," I said, and Aric nodded. "We thought my Hunger…that I only felt passion where I also felt affection. That was why it took so long for it to appear."

"There's some mention of an awakening in the texts," Aric said, looking down to the table without pulling away from me. "For most of the queen's line it comes at adulthood, but that might explain your delay… Youthought?"

"After you left the palace, I tried to do as you said and avoid—"

"Bryony, I shouldn't have—I'm sorry—"

I shook my head and raised my hand, my eyes falling shut. "I tried to resist my Hunger. For several days, I succeeded. I had symptoms of discomfort and pain, and then…" His hand still holding mine tightened its grip. "I made a mistake with a man in the palace I don't trust, don't like. It was…confusing." And pleasurable. And painful too, in a way that didn't have to do with my physical self. "The Hunger won't be ignored."

Aric was quiet for a long time until I met his eyes and sighed at what I found there. Concern, not condemnation. He moved in slowly, and I was stiff as he wrapped himself around me, the gray scruff on his jaw ruffling my hair as he tucked my head beneath his jaw.

"I'm so sorry," he breathed, the words low and terribly slow.

I leaned into his chest, and his arms closed around me.

"I should've come back immediately and groveled. I wanted to find something concrete," he said. "And I was a bit afraid of you tossing me out on my ass as I deserved."

I couldn't really tell him it was all right, or that he was forgiven, because those things wouldn't be entirely true yet, but I did know itwouldbe all right, that he would be forgiven. Aric wasn't my only weakness, all my Chosen were, but they were also vital. With time—and knowing him, a great deal of negotiation—I knew he would be a source of strength. For now, I needed him to be a comfort.

I circled his waist with my own arms, felt his sigh stirring my hair, and we remained that way in silence for a peaceful handful of minutes until the evening landed back in my head and I yanked back.

"Oh, Aric! How do I give your crown back? I can't be King of Thieves!"

His eyebrows shot up, and then he grinned. "You have to. I don't want it back, and anyway, no one would take me seriously now. I've been beaten by Emory, and youtrouncedhim," he said, smiling fondly. His fingers raised, and he grazed my cheek again. Aric was touching me agreatdeal, wasn't he? "Where did you learn to fight like that?"

I shrugged. "Princess lessons. You can't think anyone will takemeseriously?"

"Why not? I can guarantee you no one will want to challenge you to a fight. You were masterful."

"I appreciate the flattery, but you're not answering my question," I said with a huff, trying not to blush under his warm stare.

"You earned your crown as King of Thieves—"

"I'm not a thief!"

"—and while you can gift the role to someone else, it will make them look vulnerable. You're better off holding the title and appointing someone in the court to help you run things here in Rumsbrooke for the everyday. Emory was working for the council, you know. Why not have a thieves' court operating for your own purposes for a time?" Aric leaned on the table, but he didn't give up his grip on my waist, pulling me in a little to stand between his feet.

"You really don't want to be king anymore?" I asked, frowning.

"I knew my time was coming. I'd even started looking forward to it this past year," he said calmly. He looked so easy, and I couldn't recall ever seeing him this way or us ever communicating so openly. "I was just stalling on pointing toward a successor who could've stolen it from me."

"Well, I appoint you to run things for me," I said.

He frowned then. "Mmm, no that won't do. We're a clever court, and they'll see right through that or think I'm puppeting you."

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