Page 140 of A Queen's Game
“You kissed me,” he said, blinking. “And not just on the cheek.”
He leaned in, kissing her again, more desperately, as if the moment was fleeting. Marietta hadn’t intended a second, but didn’t dare pull away. The plan, she had to stick to the plan; yet, with Keyain’s fingers lacing her hair, his tongue plunging into her mouth, a wave of nausea rolled through her. He killed Tilan. He attacked Olkia. Abducted her. Married her without her consent.
And now she was kissing him.
The plan—stick to the plan. Marietta couldn’t pull away, not without further damaging Keyain, so instead, she imagined. They were in Kentro, about to head to an inn. The day was hot, but the promise of a cold drink was not far away, and she was kissingthatversion of Keyain. The one who guarded her but let her grow her business, let her be herself.
A pointed cough came from behind her. Keyain pulled away, wrapping Marietta tight to his body. “Lady Tryda, Minister Dyieter, apologies.”
Marietta looked over her shoulder, glimpsing an older elven man with slicked-back white hair, and at his arm was Tryda.
“Will you stop that?” Tryda chided as they neared. “I’ve known you since you were a babe. No need to call us by our titles.”
Keyain’s grip loosened enough that she could turn and offer a proper greeting.
“Marietta, I’m thrilled to see you’re feeling much better.” She had a glint in her eye as if she expected such a display. Her stomach stirred at the thought. “If you ever need a thing,” Tryda continued, “don’t hesitate to ask. And you, Keyain, you best be treating her well.” Tryda patted his shoulder as they passed.
“I wouldn’t dream of treating her any less,” he said while pulling Marietta in closer.
Marietta tilted her head, curious.
“Tryda and Dyieter were close friends of my parents,” he murmured, looking over his shoulder towards the couple. “Dyieter is the King’s Council with me as Minister of Law, while Tryda was the Lady-In-Waiting to late Queen Olytia.”
“And not to Queen Valeriya?”
Keyain gave a dry laugh. “I guess she is the Lady-In-Waiting for Valeriya, too. Yet the new queen is more… aloof. No one here trusts her, and you shouldn’t either, for that matter.”
Marietta wished to defend her but thought better. “Queen Valeriya seems to love her schemes.”
“You don’t even know half of it.” His grip around her loosened, and he offered his arm. “Are you sure you’re okay to walk?”
“Yes,” she said, exasperated. “We’ll just take our time. That is, if you can take your time. Shouldn’t you be in meetings?”
He shook his head. “I sent a message along to cancel them for the day.” He bit down his anger and set a slow walking pace.
The corner of Marietta’s lip tugged upward, batting at his chest. “You took a break from work for me.”
“I know I’m not a good husband or a good partner,” he said, taking a deep sigh, “but I’m trying to be better. Even if I’m a slow learner.”
“Slow learner is one way to put it.” She smiled at Keyain’s eye roll. “Always a pain in my ass.”
A smile crept to his lips, causing him to glance down, then back at her. “You haven’t said that to me in a long time.”
Gods, she hadn’t meant to, the loving phrase being her favorite to toss at him back when they traveled. “Some things never change, I guess.”
Though it took longer, Keyain helped Marietta to the Noble’s Section; he even let her walk up the stairs herself. More than likely, Keyain wanted to carry her, but he restrained himself. That was new.
Before, Keyain’s rage and stubbornness always triggered their fights, and the longer they were together, the more protective he became of her. The last time Keyain returned to Satiros before she ended their relationship, he wanted to have a friend be her shadow. Go to her meetings, sleep in her room—always within arm’s length. Of course, he had lost that fight. Marietta nearly broke it off right then. Now that same man was learning that he was wrong. What would have become of them if he had learned that sooner?
Back in the suite, Keyain insisted Marietta lay in bed with her leg propped up to rest. Before their dinner, a nurse stopped by to check her ankle, claiming that raising it right away saved Marietta some healing time. The comment made Keyain clench his jaw, but he said nothing. When Marietta had asked the nurse about healing magic, she explained that only the temple of Therypon could heal instantaneously, but they could speedup the process with medicine. The liquid Marietta took from her tasted awful, but edged away her pain.
After dinner, he made her get into bed but had a surprise for her. At some point in the afternoon, he had a servant stop at the library to select a handful of books. When she read the titles, she could only laugh. “Heart of Thirst?A Rose by Any Other Name? Keyain, did you have them pick out smut books for me?” She tossed her head back with a laugh, falling into the pillows stacked behind her.
“I gave them the book you read last week and asked for them to grab some based on it.” His smile split his face, eyes shining as he leaned against the post of the bed. “I didn’t expect they’d only bring bodice rippers. You just read the last one so quickly after complaining about my books.”
“There’s a reason for that,” she said, raising a brow with a smirk as she read the other titles. “Rough and Ready? This one has to be a joke.”
“If there’s nothing you like, I can send for more.”
