finished, chuckling. "Glad to know that hasn't changed."
Cosmo and Thao joined me on the way in as I drank in Wendell's family home. It was more modern than the Farraque estate, with larger windows to look out into the woods, and there was something sweetly comforting about the space. The carpets were a little worn, and ample bouquets rested on every available surface, overflowing with greenery that looked as though the mistress of the house had arranged them herself.
This is what a lovely home must look like, I thought, thinking of scenes and settings from the books I'd read. If I'd been a heroine in a novel instead of a princess, this might've been the hall where I'd greeted guests at a dinner party, and that might've been the staircase I raced down as a girl.
Miriam Pope's eyes slid in my direction, a self-conscious flinch in her gaze. "It's not mu—"
"It's beautiful," I said quickly.
"It reminds me of Wen," Thao said, making our lover blush.
"It's late. You should join Father. I can see our party gets settled in," Wendell said. "Tours and longer introductions can wait for the morning."
It was an awkward procession up the stairs with Miriam trying to excuse the little faults she kept discovering in her home. Wendell had the best luck with reassuring her, and Owen, who declared in his most sincere way that the manor made much more sense in its size than the Winter Palace.
Wendell sighed and gave me a sheepish grin as his mother retreated into her room, and he led us further down the hall. "I warned you," he whispered.
"She's lovely and every bit as kind as you. I hope she'll be more comfortable with me in the morning, but either way, I'm glad we're visiting here so she gets to see you," I said.
"I'm afraid the more charming you are, the more flustered she'll be. Come, let's find these suppers waiting for us," Wendell said, taking my hand.
Thao's fingertips stroked absently over mine as we both lay awake. The only sounds breaking through the silence of the house were Wendell's deep breaths.
"Is he asleep?" Thao whispered in my ear. I nodded, the pair of us staring at the silvery outline of Wendell's profile, his lips parted and hair mussed over his forehead. "Are you as nervous as I am?"
I thought over his question. I wasn't very nervous about meeting Wendell's parents; I was…unexpectedly uncomfortable. I didn't really know how to be easy with Wendell's mother the way he was, and she certainly didn't know how to be easy with me.
"Not sure," I said, pushing back against Thao's chest with my shoulder.
"Wen wants to introduce me to them, to tell them about our tigers."
"You're afraid they'll disapprove?" I asked. Thao was silent in answer. "Is he?"
"No."
"Then trust him, he knows them best."
"Will you join us? If it goes poorly, you might distract from the tension."
I scoffed and smiled, rolling away from Wendell to face Thao. He was murky in the dark room, and I wiggled closer until our noses bumped. "I will not," I said softly, stroking my hands over his bare chest.
The Popes' beds hadn't been made for a princess and her Chosen, so my other men were sleeping in separate rooms. Thao had barely fit in with me and Wendell in Wen's former bed. I hadn't expected the distinctly wrong feeling of us all sleeping apart, but it was there, itching at me as if I wouldn't find comfortable sleep without all the excessive heat and chorus of snores I'd grown used to.
"If it were your family—"
"They didn't approve," Thao whispered. "The continuation of our line was paramount. There was no allowance for same-sex couplings. Not public ones at least."
"I suppose the same might've been true for me," I murmured, and Thao hummed, his lips grazing aimlessly against mine. "You know that even if Wendell's parents have reservations, it won't change anything, right?"
Thao was quiet for several moments before speaking. "It may not change his feelings for me, but I would hate for it to change his feelings for them."
Thinking of the way Miriam had embraced her son on our arrival, I both understood Thao's fears and doubted the need for them.
"I know why I am awake, but why are you?" Thao whispered.
"I'm afraid of everything that comes next when we return to the south. And it feels strange not to have the others in here and…"
Wendell sighed in his sleep, rolling over, and Thao and I both fell quiet.
"You