Page 118 of The Kingdom's Crown

"Then fuck the council and I'll join the mages," Morgan muttered.

"We won't have you," Aric answered easily.

I hid my grin against Wendell, nipping his muscle briefly through his pants as he tugged a strand of hair on the back of my neck. He grunted, and his fingers clasped the back of my neck in a commanding grip that made me think Wendell and I would be moving inside shortly.

"There you all are!"

"Nora McCallum, get your ass over here and solve this abominable puzzle of decorum!" Morgan shouted.

Wendell tapped the base of my neck, and I sat up, accepting his helping hand to move up to the bench, resting on his lap. Nora was hurrying to us from the double doors, a wide and shallow box in her arms.

"In a moment, I have a gift for Bryony first," Nora said, her cheeks flushed and smile wide.

"A gift?" I asked, glancing at the box she carried, a little spark of excitement bubbling up in me. I didn't receive gifts very often, and for some reason, it was even nicer to know this one was coming from Nora. I had not only allies in my ladies-in-waiting but actual friends too.

"It's for…well, it's from the two-natured," Nora said, passing the box into my hands. "For the coronation, if you want it."

My eyes widened as the box weighed down my hands, an unexpected heft to it. "The coronation?"

Most of the time, it felt as though we were speaking about someone else. My mother hadn't made much of an effort to speak to me since Camellia's death, and our conversations were usually strained. She'd insisted on abdicating the crown to me as soon as possible, accelerating every plan for the event.

It was less than a week away now, and I hadn't wrapped my mind around it yet.

The box was wrapped in layers of shimmering, delicate tissue, and I hunted down within the tucked-in folds of paper, trying to unwrap it with care.

"Just rip it," Morgan muttered.

Thao moved closer, rising into his human self, and Cosmo abandoned his sketching to join us until my ladies and all my Chosen surrounded me.

I lifted the lid, my fingers sliding inside to brush against something soft and silkily sharp. Thao lifted the lid impatiently away, and I gasped. Inside the box, tucked thoughtfully in more tissue, was a cape in pale shades of white and cream and pink and blue. There was a heavy shoulder armor, embroidered with stones and cording and threads of silver, but the rest of the cape was cascading white feathers.

"The two-natured?" I asked as Daniel leaned in, lifting the shoulders up out of the box. I ran my fingers over the feathers. Some were fine and downy, others long and broad and hard like blades. My mouth parted as it sank in.

Nora was bouncing on her toes, hands wringing together in front of me. "There's a few of my own. The milliner asked for permission to strip the color out and I think it looks—"

"Beautiful," I breathed.

This wasn't just a purchased gift from the two-natured, it was their actual feathers. I remembered Griffin keeping Sam's feather in her pocket and knew that this wasmeaningfulto them, even if I didn't understand it fully.

"A token of gratitude and of confidence," Nora said softly as I blinked rapidly, trying to fight tears.

"I don't know how to say thank you," I whispered.

"You already have, Your Highness," Nora said.

"Stand up and try it on," Owen urged.

I shook my head quickly. "No! No, not until the day."

"Not long now," Wendell murmured, kissing my jaw.

* * *

Daniel's fingerswere stroking around my sex, teasing, his mouth alternating at my breasts, as Cresswell thrust against me, his breath panting on my back, hips snapping against my ass.

My fingers combed through Daniel's strands, moans stuttering with Cress's rhythm, but my grip turned tight as Daniel focused his touch directly on my clit. I came with an exhausted cry, and Cresswell's landed heavily against me, the clutch of my orgasm drawing his on. I was sandwiched between my two Chosen, Cresswell plastered to my back as he bucked deep and quick through his finish.

Daniel was still swirling his touch on me, and I reached down to still his wrist, shuddering through the aftershocks, his chuckle vibrating against my breast.

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