Page 212 of Bride of the Midnight Prince

Kat

Iwakesurroundedbywarmth. I stretch my limbs, only to find them very firmly trapped. I open my eyes.

Rahk sleeps soundly beside me, his arms banded around me, his hair tickling my nose. I smile and nuzzle closer to him. His hand skates up my back, a sleepy grunt escaping his throat. Sunshine pours through the window, but neither of us make a move to get up. Rahk’s hand moves a little more intentionally, making me realize he has awakened.

“Morning,” I murmur.

He grunts in reply and then, eyes still closed, kisses my face in search of my lips.

A knock sounds at the door. It is Mary. “Kat? My lord? I am so sorry—but I think the queen’s carriage just parked in front of Vandermore Manor?”

I sit bolt upright. Rahk pulls me back down and calls in his sleep-deepened voice: “Tell her to come back tomorrow.”

“Rahk!” I chastise.

He grins.

I grab a robe as I get up. “Do you know what she might want?”

“She did not bring an army, so I don’t think she intends to arrest or kill Lord Rahk.”

Rahk leans back, his hands tucked behind his head as he says, “A fruitless endeavor.”

I shake my head at him, and he just flashes that Nothril smirk back. “Well, she cannot do anything to hurt Rahk. Harbright would riot. Can you get her settled in the parlor with tea and Charity’s finest culinary temptations while we get ready?”

“I will do my best,” Mary replies.

“Wait, Mary—wasn’t Lord Oliver coming this morning too?”

“If he isn’tlate,” Mary grumbles in a grumble I know far too well. It’s the grumble when she is trying to be angry but cannot.

I smile to myself. “We will be there soon!”

“Wrong,” murmurs Rahk from behind me as he wraps me up in an embrace and kisses my shoulder. “You said yourself the queen cannot hurt me. We might as well let her enjoy the parlor in solitude.”

“We need her to like us,” I reply, trying to be stern, but it melts into giggles as he keeps kissing me. “Stop it! You are impossible!”

Somehow, we manage to keep the queen waiting only twenty minutes. I offer my brightest smile, and Rahk mostly keeps a straight face.Mostly. The very corner of his lip tilts just slightly up.

“What an honor, Your Majesty,” I say, curtsying deeply.

Queen Vivienne wears a smart red dress, elegant but fit for more practical wear. She still carries her chin with that haughty tilt. She has not touched the tea, but two of Charity’s biscuits are suspiciously absent from the plate.

“I have come at the very particular request of my son,” Queen Vivienne says abruptly. “He requires Lord Rahk’s tutelage in the matters of fencing. He says he will take lessons from no other, despite my best coaxing.”

I blink. Is that her way of saying we are back in her good graces? Does she trust us now?

“You will be supervised at all times, of course,” the queen says, not waiting for Rahk’s answer. “Also, a diplomat from Aursailles has come with concerns of their receding border. I have promised to send you, Lord Rahk, to aid my father in these matters. I anticipate other kingdoms will have similar requests, so I expect you will stay as busy as you like in the coming years.”

Rahk’s miniscule smirk widens slightly. He bows. “As you wish, my liege.”

“That is all,” Queen Vivienne announces, getting to her feet. “Prince Lionel will have your service begin tomorrow. My steward will send the details.”

With that, she sweeps out of the room. Rahk leans back against the doorway, listening until Edvear sees the queen out and the front door shuts behind her. He arches an eyebrow at me. “That could have been a letter.”

I grin up at him. “You, my husband, areofficiallyback in Harbright society.”

“I missed it dearly.”

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