Page 60 of The Kingdom's Crown

Bryony laughed and then stiffened beneath me.

I pressed my elbows in the carpet, lifting enough to see her face. It was shadowy and warm from the fire, but her eyes were wide, cheeks still flushed.

"Did you—"

"Would you—"

We spoke over one another, and both stopped abruptly.

"It's something I've been thinking of," I admitted, smiling as her lips rounded in surprise. "Would you like my bite? To be a tiger, that is?"

"I—but…Wendell?"

I shifted, and Bryony's hands tightened on me until she realized I was moving her with me, shifting up on my knees and pulling her up to my lap. "It won't change anything between Wendell and myself. And I did mention it to him."

I thought I caught a glimpse of excitement in Bryony's face, but she stamped it down quickly. "We don't know how it would work with my magic, so I imagine Aric will have a lot to say about the idea."

I nodded and shrugged. "It isn't his decision. It's yours. But it is a large one."

"Princess, King of Thieves, and tiger seems like a lot of roles to play," Bryony said softly, gaze going distant.

I was surprised to find I wasn't injured by her hesitation. It was a great honor to be offered the gift of my family's bite, and not one that anyone usually refused. But Bryony was right. The combination of the tiger's magic and her own might have unknown results.

"Think on it. The choice won't go anywhere. You, on the other hand, are going somewhere."

"Am I?" Bryony laughed as I grunted, lifting her up from the floor with me, still wrapped around my body.

"Indeed. To bed. To sleep here in my arms, until someone wrestles you away, I suppose."

Bryony's arms tightened around my shoulders, and I secured my arms more firmly around her waist. They could try.

16

Bryony

While I have some support here—Scrapper's behaving while others are around, although he takes every private opportunity to tell me how shit it's all going—the simple matter is the court's king is away and some men have their heads too far up their own asses to fall in line. We're losing more members of our court than we're gaining.

I sighed and set Griffin's latest letter aside, pushing back from my writing desk and raking my fingers through my hair. Wind beat at the tall windows of the room, rattling the glass. The day was gray, dark tangled clouds gathering, and waves growing tall and frothy white before slamming against the shore.

"What's wrong, princess?" Aric asked.

I looked around the room, making sure Morgan and Nora weren't nearby, before crossing to curl up in Aric's lap where he was sitting in an armchair by the fire. "I've been feeling like a useless princess since my grandmother died, and now I appear to be an equally useless king."

Aric grunted and set aside his book, taking Griffin's letter from my hand and reading it himself. "I lost a quarter of the court when I first took it. Emory would've lost a great deal more. This isn't unexpected."

"The difference is that you werethere."

"Did you want to be King of Thieves, princess?" Aric asked, looking up at me.

I paused, my mind going blank for a moment. "Well, no. I was just trying to keep your head on your neck. But now that I am…"

"You want to give up the life of the crown princess, move back north, and live as a rogue with seven men crowded together in a room above a tavern?"

I smirked at Aric. "I know you think it sounds like a nightmare to have us all in your den, but actually, that's not an unappealing picture you're painting for me."

Aric laughed and tossed the letter aside. "I'll write to Griffin if you like, give her a little advice. And I think you should reconcile yourself to the idea of giving up one crown for the other."

"Mmm, I suppose you're right," I said, wiggling down to nestle into Aric's chest.

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