Page 124 of Enchanted Shadows
For a moment we just stood there, breathing heavily and smiling at one another. I didn’t know if I’d passed this test, first in what I was sure a line of many. But I did know I’d had fun doing it. There were worse ways to die than a swordfight with my wife.
“Happy?” Kessara snapped over her shoulder at her parents.
Her mother gave her a nod as the king commented, “They bicker like we do. It’s real.”
“It might be real, but that doesn’t mean it is deserved,” Damek argued. “She is our princess. Born and raised here. Wylan doesn’t just get to take her.”
“Nor do you get to just use her for your dirty work while only needing her for her bloodline,” I snapped firmly.
Damek said in a bored tone, “Nothing but a wild theory by a slighted heir, Mother.”
Realizing what time it was, that my master plan was running late, while the king and queen’s eyes bounced between Damek andme, I whispered to Kessara, “Can you bring the team in?” I knew they had arrived this morning already.
“Now?” she whispered back.
“Now.”
Her mother said, “Are you ready to explain everything? Your husband does not seem to like your brother. I’m assuming there’s a reason.”
“I will absolutely tell you everything,” Kessara agreed. “But my team is waiting to meet you. And we all know that court etiquette rules over personal desires.”
Kessara was taking all their favorite games and tossing them back in their faces. I was proud of her for it. Her mother was fidgeting, wanting the answers, but knew she couldn’t keep her guests waiting without looking bad.
Damek stood to leave for lunch, but the queen glared at him. “It seems you are responsible for more of a role in all this than you assured us. Have a seat.”
“Mother—”
“Sit.”
Within minutes, our crowns were back on our heads, the team brought in.
I didn’t have to say a word, and they moved into a formation with Kessara standing at the point. Sam was taking in everything, Jessina and Viv looked ready for war. Pippa placed herself in a spot to see some action, as if she were hoping for it. And it was Pippa, so she likely was.
“This is my team,” Kessara began. “A team who didn’t know royalty was among them when we began. They befriended me all the same.” Kessara walked around and introduced each one. When she got to Fern she added, “From Brakken.”
“Brakken?” her mother asked surprised.
“Yes,” Kessara confirmed.
The queen’s eyes were on mine as she said, “Wylan is not the same Wylan I am used to, it seems.”
“Owen was there and helped kill the dead king, he would know,” she told her.
The queen dipped her head in my direction. I understood it was with respect.
“After a very long and honest chat with you, Mother, I wish to return to Wylan to finish my training with them.”
“How long is this training?” she asked.
“Three ninety-day sessions, one of which I just completed,” Kessara explained.
“It seems Wylan has its draws then, doesn’t it?”
“I wasn’t expecting to find Owen when I signed up for the team. Nor did I really even like him when training began, but?—”
“But I am charming, and she damn well knows it,” I finished for her, earning some giggles and eye rolls from the women.
For the next twenty minutes the queen asked the team questions, until all of them were laughing. When it got to the part about Bram lighting the barracks on fire and how the women caught the men, the queen looked to me, confused.
