The Queen's Line (Inheritance of Hunger #1) - Kathryn Moon Page 0,29
beneath a small balcony like nook—a chair set up, and a little table, and Wendell standing there with his hands against the railing, overlooking the room.
"Oh, I wish I had one of those! How sweet."
Wendell grimaced and looked behind him. "Less sweet than it appears, Your Highness. Come and see for yourself."
I followed Cosmo to the narrow and steep set of stairs that led up to the small landing. There was enough room there for three people at most, and Wendell moved to the corner to leave me room before pointing to a device in the wall I hadn't initially seen. It was the end of a spy scope, sticking out of the wall, the chair close and convenient. I bent to the eyepiece and closed my other eye to peer through. Adjusting the lens, I frowned as a mess of rumpled sheets appeared and then gasped as Owen dropped onto the bed, naked and shimmying into a pair of trousers, his cheeks flushed.
I yanked back, blinking away the memory of his bouncing length as he tucked it away, muscular knots of his stomach flexing as he moved. I glanced at Wendell, and for a moment, I was only embarrassed by what I'd seen. Finally, it clicked.
"Oh! That slimy little—" I cut myself off, and Thao finished the thought for me in his own tongue. "He wanted to spy on me!"
"Your bed specifically, unless there are more things like that around the castle," Wendell said with a nod.
I shuddered and clenched my fists at the thought of Sir Hubert watching me in any fashion. Nothing had really taken place in the bed until this morning, but I was still relieved that I'd insisted on taking this bedroom for my Chosen.
"Invading royal privacy is one of the highest offenses in my court," Thao said, shoulders squared as he stared up at me.
I wrinkled my nose. I wasn't so sure what kind of privacy was normal in my mother's court, but Thao wasn't about to give me lessons on my own preferences.
"If the state of the palace, of his city, weren't enough of an offense, this is," I said with a nod. "He has to go."
Thao hmph'ed in agreement, and Wendell hid a small chuckle behind his hand.
8
Cresswell
I was nearly done pulling on my armor when a knock sounded on my door from the guard's bunk room.
"Come in," I called.
The door opened, and I strained to remember the name of the face I was staring back at.
"She's asking for you," the younger guard said. Stanley! That was his name. He'd been in the army before being let off duty for an injury, and then almost immediately being turned around and given a position as a royal guard. We were meant to be the best of the best, and instead, I was getting the impression we were the leftovers.
And then, finally, his words sunk in as he stared expectantly back at me.
"Oh! Yes, all right," I said nodding and fumbling my last buckle in my haste.
"She's in the garden study," Stanley offered as I made to pass him.
"Who's with her?" If you aren't, I left off at the end.
"Yorley's outside cracking jokes," Stanley said with a roll of his eyes before blinking quickly. "But I don't think she can hear him."
I stifled my growl in front of the others and headed for the door.
"He looks like he thinks he's on his way to be Chosen," one man said under his breath.
"The queen's line don't take mutts like him," another hissed back.
I paused, back stiff, wondering if they meant my skin color or my status as a shifter, either of which might make me unlikely to be picked as a Chosen, although only my second nature prevented me from going to the choosing ceremony.
Just go, she's waiting on you, my human brain sighed.
Tear into them, the animal snarled.
I kept moving, rushing as much as my armor allowed, up to the decrepit palace. This was no place for a princess, and I couldn't understand why she'd come at all.
Yorley was leaned against the doorframe when I arrived, pretty clearly listening in, but he shrugged at me as if it were part of his job description.
"Not fucking, far as I can tell," he whispered.
"That's not for you to know," I answered.
He rolled his eyes, and I knocked on the door. "Guard Stark, Your Highness."
"Come in, please."
I stepped in, already bending to a bow, aware of the shadows of the figures in front of me.