Page 96 of Shadow Mark

Baris stood straighter, like he was preparing for a fight.

“We will discuss that when we are alone,” he said, marching down the corridor. He held open the door to her room and clenched his jaw hard enough that she heard teeth grinding as she passed by.

Yeah. Lenore wanted to claw back the words, to say she didn’t mean it, but the damage was done. Baris was pissed, and they were totally going to fight.

Lenore sank onto the sofa, pulling a throw blanket over her. Trouble settled on her lap, butting his head against her hands. She felt his distress. His unhappiness was sharp with a strange echo that wasn’t quite him but also was. It was lighter, laced with concern. That had to be Little Miss. Beyond that was another voice, thick with alarm and exhaustion. Baris. All those voices, wanting her to calm down, expressing sympathy, and demanding answers, spoke in a jumble, the feedback amplifying itself until she couldn’t hear anything else.

It was overwhelming.

“I’m sorry,” Lenore said to Trouble. “It’s too crowded in my head. I can’t think. Could you and Little Miss go hang out in the aviary?”

Concern and affirmation came through the bond.

“A new bond can be deafening,” Baris said, understanding in his voice. He opened the balcony doors for Trouble and Little Miss.

The noise in her head eased.

“Thank fuck,” she muttered, closing her eyes and tilting her head backward to rest on the back of the sofa. She felt the sofa cushion dip as Baris sat next to her. “I should explain.”

“I would appreciate that.”

Her eyes remained closed. It was easier to speak that way. “My feelings for you haven’t changed. I love you.”

“I am pleased to hear that.”

“Being with you is easy. Fantastic. It’s everything else that is hard. A lot has changed so quickly, and the stress is getting to me. There’s a spotlight on you, and now it’s on me. The media is always in my face. I can’t even open the drapes because I’m worried a camera drone will take pictures.” She raised a hand to prevent him from protesting that the palace security net would never allow a drone to get too close. “Don’t tell me it can’t happen. There are photos of me in the clinic, in the city, just doing everyday things. I’m not paranoid.”

“You are not.”

“I wore a sex toy to a society event,” she said, still mortified.

“A misunderstanding.”

“It’ll keep happening. There’s so much I don’t know, and I don’t know where the gaps are. I’ll keep making blunders, keep embarrassing the crown, you and?—”

“Impossible,” he said.

“Lady Raelle hates me, which means all the politicians won’t like me.”

“The approval of a politician is not as important as you believe.”

Lenore frowned, sitting up straight, and turning to Baris. “Be serious. This impacts the mood of the court. You have big plans, expensive plans, which means you’ll need the support of those politicians and the members of the court to make it happen. You need a queen who can help you. I’ll just make your job harder. Our engagement isn’t public yet. If we break it off now, we can save face. Do you even have that concept, avoiding embarrassment?”

Baris cupped the side of her face with his right hand and wore the sweetest expression of concern. His two front eyes bore down on her, a vivid blue and reassuring. “No.”

“Baris—” She wasn’t sure what she hoped to accomplish with that.

“My duties are already difficult. The court is fickle. What charms them today bores them tomorrow. There is nothing to be gained by trying to please them. I am certain, however, that my life without you would be a misery.”

He had a smooth reply for every one of her concerns. He wasn’t listening to her at all.

“The academy threatened to kick me out,” she said.

He pulled back, the sweet expression gone. “Explain.”

“I was reviewed by a panel. They said I wasn’t serious, and they had concerns, and maybe the academy wasn’t the best place for me.” Hurt crept into her voice. She hadn’t spoken of the review with anyone since it happened, and now it all came tumbling out. “All I’ve ever wanted to be was a doctor. My first memory is wrapping my dolls up with gauze bandages. All my knowledge and experience didn’t vanish when that portal grabbed me, but my medical license sure did. How dare those stuffed shirts tell me I’m not committed, that my personal life is interfering with my practice. And I know the only reason they agreed to let me take the exam was because you twisted their arm.”

“I plucked a few tail feathers to get my way,” Baris agreed. “I will speak with them and make it clear?—”

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