Page 81 of Tower of Tempest
I nearly fell out of my chair. I’d just found out I was a princess a week ago, and not only did I have to grapple with becoming queen one day, but now I also had to find a husband?
Queen Bronwen burst out laughing. “Well, don’t look so horrified. Having a husband can be wonderful, you know. I didn’t choose your father, but fate chose him for me. We will make sure to find you a kind, caring man. A good king to help you lead Valoris into the future. I’m just saying, Erasmus might be that man. Keep an eye on him, darling. He’s certainly keeping one on you.”
I glanced over, and sure enough, Erasmus’s gaze kept darting to me. I liked him, I truly did, but I couldn’t marry him.
Saestra leaned back in her chair, her hair hanging in waves over her shoulders. Everything about her was frail, small, even the way she shrank into herself like she didn’t want to be noticed. “Aunt Bronwen, she might very well get the attention of my betrothed. Well, former,” she said, but it didn’t sound like she was angry, rather happy about it. I couldn’t quite figure this woman out.
“Who was your betrothed?” I asked slowly.
“Lochlan Aster,” she said simply. “The playboy prince. Well, he wasn’t my betrothed yet. We were in talks with his mother. She said she’d be able to convince him to marry me, do his duty.”
I choked on my tea, banging my chest as I coughed and sputtered.
“Are you okay?” Queen Bronwen asked.
“Yes,” I said quickly. Loch had certainly forgot to tell me that he was nearly betrothed. “I’m just surprised. I’ve heard Lochlan is quite the bachelor.”
Saestra smiled quietly. “He certainly knows how to have a good time.”
Her words rankled.“He certainly knows how to have a good time.”What did that mean? I wondered if Loch had done the same things to her that he had to me, had put his mouth in the same places. The thought made me feel sick.
Queen Bronwen looked amused over the whole thing. “He’s definitely not the relationship type, but he would’ve done his duty for his court, made a valuable alliance with us.”
Not the relationship type. Of course he would’ve married Saestra, though. She could give him something in return—a crown. A court. Now I could as well. As heir, I could be worthy of the prince. But the thought didn’t bolster my mood. I didn’t want Loch to marry me because I was useful to him.
Guilt swarmed me once again as I thought about Loch, that alcove, the way he’d licked that sensitive area between my legs, causing a wildfire to erupt in my body that still hadn’t died down. That hungry look in his eyes as I’d moaned his name. He was like a starving man and every moan, every gasp, had been feeding him.
“Are you alright?” The queen’s eyebrows furrowed. “You’re looking flushed.”
I stood. “You know, I am feeling a little tired. I think I’ll retire to my rooms for a nap.”
“Arabella,” the queen started, but I stumbled away, pushing past the guards who lined the walkway and moving as fast as I could through the courtyard, ignoring the calls for my name.
All of a sudden, the skies above darkened, and cold crept over me. Goose bumps prickled across my skin as shrieks split the air. I recognized this feeling. Had felt it before, the night Gran had been attacked. Iglanced up, shock freezing me in place by the entrance to the hedge maze.
I blinked, unable to believe what I was seeing. Shadows. They were here, in the sky court, and as their glowing red eyes turned on me, I realized Loch had been right. I’d never be safe. Because it was clear they were here for me.
Chapter Thirty-Four
POPPY
They darted around in a frenzy, the guards running to fight them off with their lightning. Bolts crackled in their palms, sizzling up into the air, the light keeping the shadows at bay.
I wanted to help, but I wasn’t trained well enough.
“Your Majesty,” I heard Saestra say, “we need to get inside.”
“You go,” she yelled. “I must find Arabella.”
Others were already running for the castle, but the shadows swarmed them, keeping them from getting inside to safety.
“Spirits below,” a guard said from nearby, a sword of lightning forming in her hand as she summoned her magic.
A shadow flew over the guards and lunged for me, and before I could jump away, a body slammed into mine, both of us crashing to the ground. I looked up to see my mother.
We hit the grass with a force that rattled my teeth, and I blinked to see bolts of lightning and wind rushing overhead, pushing the shadows away from us. She dragged me behind a hedge, blocking us from view of the shadows and guards.
Something sticky and wet covered my stomach. Had I been hit somehow? But when I glanced at the queen, her face so pale, her eyesfluttering, I slowly looked down between us, realizing what had happened.
