Page 62 of The Princess's Chosen

"Mmm…you should try," she said, and then she grinned and leapt, her fingers digging into Thao's hair, legs twining around his waist. She threw the weight of her body, and Thao grunted as it pulled him to the floor, his own smile stretching as he rolled them and pushed Bryony's back to the floor, their mouths connecting fiercely.

"Sheshouldlearn to wrestle," Owen mused as one of the kittens elected to leave us to our new occupation, racing from the room.

Aric stood from his own seat, and I wondered if he would leave until he settled on his knees, watching Bryony gain the ground in the battle, tearing Thao's pants open and biting his neck as she flipped them on the mats again.

"You're going to have to contain it this time," Aric said, smiling and watching as Thao crouched up, taking ravenous licks and bites of Bryony's throat as he pulled her shirt up over her head.

"Fine," Bryony gasped, rocking over Thao's lap and glancing at Aric with hooded eyes. "You can talk me through it—"

"Sheloveswhen we talk," Thao laughed. "Don't you, greedy girl?"

"But you'll have to wait till I've finished with the others for your turn," Bryony said, moaning and stilling as Thao managed to squeeze his fingers inside of her fencing trousers, wiggling them inside of her and making her squirm for more.

Aric laughed, and Cosmo and I jumped up from our seats, eager to help Thao strip Bryony out of her clothes. The sooner she was done with him, the sooner we'd get her in our arms too.

20

Bryony

“Do you mind his snoring?" I whispered to Aric.

My bed met my expectations, fitting us all comfortably together, although with Thao, Wendell, and Cosmo on one side, it left Aric between Owen and I. The two men had room to themselves, but Owen's face was turned to Aric's ear, and I could tell my newest lover hadn't fallen asleep yet.

"It's a price I'm willing to pay," Aric whispered back, squeezing the hand I held over his chest. "If I'm back after dinner, would you mind if I went to Rumsbrooke tomorrow?"

"I wondered how long that'd last," I said, and Aric immediately began to turn, curling in closer, unable to pull me out of Thao's cuddling grip. "No, it's all right. I figured you'd want to go back sooner rather than later. Yes—"

"Only for the day," Aric murmured, pressing his lips to my forehead. "To check on the bar, see that Emory is still in hand until we can think of how to put him in a prison properly. And I have some books I'd like to bring back with me so I can get started on the seedling spells."

The seedling spells. That was the reason I was positively buzzing with magic, feeling like at any second I might begin to glow or burst vines and blossoms of my own.

"You could come with me. The court won't be turning over their taxes for a few more days, but it wouldn't hurt for you to be seen before then, as long as we're careful."

I smiled, rubbing my cheek over Aric's chest, his free hand digging into my hair to sift through curls. It was tricky to fit us all together, especially with the way we seemed equally eager to be touching in our sleep. I often woke up to dead limbs, or caught an elbow to the side.

"We need a faster way to communicate between there and here. Or at least more regular. But yes, I'll come. Griffin might come up to see Sam that way."

"Griffin will be grateful for any escape, I think," Aric murmured.

I opened my mouth to tell him what she'd said to me on the balcony, the hints of a shifter community that might back me if I could deliver better rights and liberties to them. She'd intended it at as a secret, and even if I trusted Aric—and everyone else in this bed—the only way I could prove I would be a trustworthy queen to them was by not testing that trust. I wondered briefly if Cresswell knew anything of it, and wished I could ask.

"Sleep, darling," Aric breathed. "We'll leave after breakfast."

"Not before? We can start earlier, I don't mind."

Aric was quiet for a beat, and then he huffed a little, chest rumbling with a restrained chuckle. "The palace is infecting me already. I don't want to miss Bertha's chocolate and coffee she sends up."

I grinned at that, nipping Aric's chest and then settling down to fall asleep. I would be sure to send Cook Umber my thanks.

* * *

Aric rolledhis eyes at me the next morning over the breakfast spread as he poured coffee from the pitcher into his cup of dense chocolate.

"Will I be in the way if I come too?" Cosmo asked us. "I'd like to go buy some new pigments and catch up with a few friends."

"Of course," I said and then tipped my head. "Will you need a carriage for pigments, or—"

"We'll take a carriage," Aric said, shrugging as I arched a brow. "I'll need it for the books and a good stock of my tools. We can leave it at Rebecca Sanders' and ride to the Wing and Rook on horseback. You can't wear that though," he said, eyeing my dress.

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