into the air, bleeding through the gauze of the canopy. I hoped it did the earth good, and the people at the festival, and all of Kimmery. I wasn't surprised when Thao moved to steal Cosmo away from me, but I demanded licking kisses from them both, Wendell rising and claiming one for himself, gentle and flavored with my own taste.
Owen moved to my side, surrounded me up in his strength and heat, drawing me into his chest and away from the others, peppering kisses over my face, my neck, my shoulders.
"And how shall I serve my mistress?" he whispered.
I lifted his face with my shaking hands, sucking softly on his full lips. "I want to feel every inch of you and beg for more," I answered.
Owen growled and then pushed me down to my hands and knees. "And do you want them to hear?" he asked.
I might've claimed I didn't know who he meant—the others in the bed with us, the crowd outside of our tent, it might've been anyone—but that would've been a lie. Or maybe I only thought of them first—the men just beyond the heavy curtain, Cresswell and Daniel listening to us.
Aric, if he were here.
"Yes," I hissed, and then I shouted as Owen lined himself up and drove into me.
I was noisy, obscene, vivid in my begging for more as my Chosen touched me everywhere they could. Owen kissed and licked down my spine as he fucked me down to my elbows and then to the mattress, covering and weighing me in place, pushing me through one orgasm and then the next, until the air was thick with magic and the earth groaned with the weight of the promise.
"More," I whined as Owen sucked on my throat and trembled and gushed inside of me.
This was the Hunger. This was what it was to be one of the queen's line.
Epilogue
The hills rolled by the carriage windows the next morning, the colors rich and vivid, the ground bursting with renewed life. There'd been a great thunderstorm during the night, after my Chosen and I had finally started to settle and the music and crowds had grown quiet. The fresh rain had made the entire north greener it seemed, although with a coy glance at Wendell, I wondered if we could take a little credit.
"How are you?" Wendell murmured in my ear. I was perched on Owen's lap, but this time it was Wendell sharing the bench with us closely, as Thao and Cosmo cuddled together on the opposite side.
"Perfect," I said, a shy smile growing.
Owen was sleeping behind me, it was only Wendell and I awake, and even that was by a thin margin. I was looking forward to getting back to the castle and dragging them all into bed with me for more rest on a better mattress.
"You are, aren't you?" Wendell said, kissing the corner of my jaw. "Have I mentioned yet how happy I am you let Thao and I into your bedroom the night of your ceremony? Where would we be now if you'd refused?"
"Where would I? It was the two of you who gave me the idea of taking you all to the north. I might've been shuffled into a corner somewhere in the castle as an embarrassment without you."
"Mm, I doubt it. Sooner or later, someone would've managed the work of making you fall in love with them," Wendell mused, turning back to gazing out the window.
But who? One of Camellia's Chosen? There were almost no other men allowed access to us in the castle, aside from during choosing ceremonies. No, I'd been blessed with a rare kind of luck during my choosing ceremony.
"Not the right ones," I said, and watched Wendell's face grow bright with his smile.
We were almost back to the palace, and I lowered the windows to listen to the sound of the woods. I'd grown up with the smell of roses and sea air, but I already preferred the heavy and deep damp of the mountain forests, the sound of song birds in the trees, mingling with the cries from the forest floor.
I don't want to go back to the capital, I realized. I love it here. I am falling in love with these men, with the north, with my people.
And rather than worry, comfort followed. We had time here. I shifted a little so I could fit more neatly between Wendell and Owen, Wen dropping an automatic kiss to the top of my head.
"Nearly home," he murmured, and I ignored the flare of Hunger at the affection our shared thoughts drew out.
A horse hurried past the carriage window, Cresswell Stark sitting stiff as a board, eyes directly ahead as he passed us.
"I'm afraid I embarrassed him," I whispered.
"He's not embarrassed, maybe jealous. Or mourning what he can't have,” Wendell said, shrugging a little.
The gate to the Winter Palace groaned gently as it parted for us, more of the sound of a lover than the warning cry we'd heard the first night.
"We have so much work to do still," I said, my eyelids already growing heavy at the proximity to my bed.
"And we will, but not today I think."
I hummed in agreement and dozed on the way to the front steps, happy to accept the permission for a short break. There were orchards to plan, laws to rewrite, councils to wrangle. But surely it could begin tomorrow? Or at least after a little nap?
"Your Highness."
I startled in my seat and found Daniel Farraque at the window. His brow was furrowed, eyes slightly wide with surprise.
"The Winter Palace has guests," he said softly.
The others stirred as Daniel opened the door to the carriage. I gave myself the briefest time to fuss over my appearance, rumpled as it was after yesterday and the carriage ride, and then I took Daniel's hand, squinting under the bright glare of the sun as I emerged in front of the steps.
"Bryony."
My blood froze at the bite of my name from her voice, my eyes growing wide as I stared up at the figure of my grandmother at the top of the stairs. And there, impossibly, at her side was Camellia.
"What on earth have you been doing all this time?" Grandmother snapped.
"Oh fuck," I breathed, as Daniel Farraque covered his shocked laugh with a cough.
To Be Continued…
Also by Kathryn Moon
COMPLETE READS
The Librarian’s Coven Series
Written - Book 1
Warriors - Book 2
Scrivens - Book 3
Ancients - Book 4
Summerland Series
Welcome to Summerland: A Reverse Harem Romance - Part 1
Secrets of Summerland: A Reverse Harem Romance - Part 2
Leaving Summerland: A Reverse Harem Romance - Part 3
Standalones
Good Deeds
Command The Moon
The Sweetverse
Baby + the Late Night Howlers
Lola & the Millionaires - Part One
Lola & the Millionaires - Part Two
Sol & Lune
Book 1
Book 2
SERIES IN PROGRESS
Inheritance of Hunger Trilogy
The Queen’s Line
The Princess’s Chosen
The Kingdom’s Crown
Sweet Pea Mysteries
The Baker’s Guide To Risky Rituals
The Rooksgrave Manor Series
Esther: A New Beginning - Book 1
Acknowledgments
When your whimsical little standalone idea grows into a behemoth…well, here we are.
This is absolutely thanks to my family, my friends, my Moongazers. Most especially my parents whose belief in me fuels so much of my progress.
Thank you to the readers who let me run around in genre playgrounds, rearranging all the pieces into something completely different, and are still happy to come and play with me after I’ve made a strange and interesting mess of things. My books will never be for everyone, but if this book was for you, then I’m so happy!
Now specifically onto the people who keep me on track and in the best possible shape-
Gorgeous cover compliments to Covers by Combs for the exquisite work on the cover!
Proof-reading amazingness thanks to Bookish Dreams Editing!
My alphas - wink wink - Chloe, Lana, and Desiree, who chased me down for more!
My beta babes who absolutely devoured and protected this story; Jami, Ash, Kathryn, Helen, Enid, and Elle - thank you so much for all of your input and for helping to shape my stories!
And thank you, lovely reader, for taking this journey with me, Bryony, and her Chosen. Buckle in, it’s about to get bumpy…
About the Author
Kathryn Moon is a country mouse who started dictating stories to her mother at an early age. The fascination with building new worlds and discovering the lives of the characters who grew in her head never faltered, and she graduated college with a fiction writing degree. She loves writing women were are strong in their vulnerability, romances that are as affectionate as they are challenging, and worlds that a reader sinks into and never wants to leave. When her hands aren't busy typing they're probably knitting sweaters or crimping pie crust in Ohio. She definitely believes in magic.
You can reach her on Facebook and at [email protected] or you can sign up for her newsletter!