fell quiet as I realized this was an actual concern to my mother. "Wendell is every bit as occupied with what the council is doing as I am, and much better prepared to defend my interests there. I love him dearly, as I do all my Chosen, but I also trust him absolutely. There is no one else I would prefer to take his place."
My mother looked between us, brow furrowing. "But what if you should need him while he is in a meeting?" she asked.
I blinked at her, puzzled at the idea that I might be suddenly struck by an immediate urge to fuck Wendell while he was away, and then shrugged softly. "I shall wait."
My mother burst out in giggles, but they faded quickly as she realized I was serious. "What an odd notion, Bryony."
I choked on my scoff, and Grandmother sighed, patting her daughter's hand. "It seems so to me as well, but I am quite convinced of the strength of Bryony's Hunger. And there will always be her other men to occupy her if she grows impatient."
My mother hummed and smiled at that, satisfied with the solution. I bit my tongue. As much as I loved and desired Wendell as easily as breathing, I didn't understand my mother's concern. He was more to me than a convenient body when he suited my mood. My desire for him came from his mind and warm heart first, and longing for him when I didn't have him at hand was a sweet feeling, not an irritating one.
"Very well, I will have Ame—one of my ladies draft a note to Thomlinson to let him know. He's been such a pest lately, so perhaps this will distract him."
"A pest? On what topic?" I asked.
"Oh, what doesn't he want lately," my mother said with a dismissive wave of his hand.
"Is it to do with me? Or with the shifters? Taxes in the north?" I pressed.
"Pft, I barely give it my attention," my mother scoffed.
I ground my jaw, and my grandmother heaved a sigh that quickly turned into a coughing fit that demanded our focus. I wrapped an arm around Grandmother's seizing shoulders, Mother helping to sit her up as she struggled through wheezes and hacks, the sounds growing thinner as she failed to catch a breath.
The door to the bedroom burst open, Vincent rushing for my grandmother. Magic, I thought in reflex, as I had with Cresswell when he'd been stabbed. I forgot what Aric had already told me and splayed my fingers against my grandmother's knobby spine. My grandmother needed air, room in her lungs to breathe, and I pushed my power into her skin, through her ribs. I was met with painful, sharp friction. My hand spasmed and cramped, and I yanked it away the moment my grandmother whined.
Aric and Wendell, who had been waiting with the men in the other room, rushed toward me, and I stepped away from the bed, pushing into Aric's chest.
"I forgot! Oh, I forgot the magic," I whispered, staring as Vincent helped my grandmother stretch upright, tipping her chin back. She calmed slowly, tiny gasps catching in her throat, one by one until she could take a full breath.
"It's all right. See, she's recovering," Aric answered against my ear, pressing a kiss to the spot.
My mother clutched Grandmother's hands, eyes fixed desperately on her face, waiting for the fit to pass.
"I'm sorry, Peony," Vincent said gently, pulling my grandmother into his chest as she trembled. "I think that better be all for this morning."
My mother's chin wobbled, and she nodded back at him.
I saw it in a moment—the gentle roundness of Vincent's face a mirror of my mother's, so close to my own too. Oh.
There'd never been any real mention of male parentage in the queen's line. A daughter might come from any of a woman's Chosen, but I'd spent no real time with my mother growing up, let alone any of the men at her side. Sometimes, it was almost easy to forget we came from anyone but our mothers. And yet…
There was an earnest affection between Vincent and my grandmother, and it seemed to belong to my mother as well. Was he my grandfather? Who was he, where did he come from? Was he from a noble family like Wendell or the northern country like Owen and Cosmo and Aric?
I whipped around in Aric's arms, finding my mother's three Chosen hovering nearby. I searched their faces now, suddenly curious about my own