Page 105 of With Fangs and Claws (The Wolf Queen 1)

“We’re here to protect the king and queen, not do their dirty work,” the blonde said.

“So we are,” Selene said with a nod. “One of your number may stay for the training session, but you will only interrupt during set break times.”

“I’ll stay with Darcy today,” Gael said, shooting me an almost shy, sidelong look. “The three of you will have business to attend to. I’m the one with the most spare time.”

“Stay with her,” Dane instructed, “and be vigilant for signs of battle fever.”

“Of course, brother,” Gael replied a little indignantly.

“Well, now that you have your escort, are we ready to go?” Selene asked. “We aren’t doing fight training today, anyway. The festival is coming, and I need to have all the little princesses they sent down from the castle able to perform the Hunt of the Maiden dance perfectly before that.”

I felta sense of disquiet as we walked over to the temple, though I ate my breakfast as we went. The queen did want me vulnerable and, while I wasn’t especially hungry, food-deprived was weaker, I knew that. That strange sensation, of something being… off continued as we climbed the steps, increasing sharply when I turned to look at Gael.

“You shouldn’t be here,” I said, not knowing where that knowledge came from, even though I knew it to be true.

“No, he shouldn’t,” Selene agreed. “Men come here occasionally when we can’t find anyone else for a task, and on the day of the festival, but not often.” She shot a dark look back at Gael. “This is a women’s space, and you’ll need to respect that.”

“It’s for a woman that I come here,” he replied quietly. “You think what we want is at odds with your mission, but we all want the same thing.” He stared at me then as we stepped into the shaded halls of the temple. “For Darcy to discover her true self.”

“Well, we won’t get much of that today,” the blonde woman sighed. “It’s dance class all day, and I’m sure it’s going to frustrate me until I’m ready to pull the hair from all these pampered misses.”

“Not every challenge we face can be sorted out at the end of a sword,” Selene said as we stepped into the training room.

The women from the castle all stood together chattering and, for a moment, they seemed to perk up when they saw a man come in with me, though they visibly deflated when they saw it was Gael. He just shook his head and handed me a water skin, waiting until I’d taken a long drink before walking over to the wall and taking up position there.

“Now, ladies, we need to go over the steps again…” Selene said with a clap of her hands, drawing everyone closer. I nodded to Gael and then moved over to join them.

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