The Queen's Line (Inheritance of Hunger #1) - Kathryn Moon Page 0,85

family, but he was raised prepared to lead a kingdom if the day ever came. To be Bryony's Chosen had seemed a blessing, but perhaps she was right. Maybe Thao would be better suited in a royal alliance, king by marriage in some smaller kingdom. It broke for myself too. If Thao left, I would follow, but how much further could we really travel together?

"I understand," Thao said, with a stiff bow.

Bryony sighed, her expression falling as he turned on his heel and headed for the door. I made to follow him out, and she stopped me with a touch on my chest, waiting for the door to shut behind him. Should I have pushed past her?

"I'm sorry for the position that put you in," she said, sucking on her bottom lip.

I shook my head. "I'm sorry for the added complication regarding the steward. You're choosing Lady Prudence?"

Bryony's nose wrinkled, and she reached her hand up and rubbed at the spot. "I'm taking them both. I know, I know. Farraque is obviously meant to report on me to the council."

"And to find a place in your Chosen," I added, and she shrugged. "You want to keep him close and hope it persuades them to stay out of your affairs?"

"That, and that my grandmother will hear of me possessing the Hunger."

"You aren't afraid they'll be successful and the Hunger will claim him?" I asked. I was afraid of that, or at least, I was if Daniel wasn't sincere as the rest of us had become.

Bryony laughed. "Wendell, if my Hunger was persuaded by charm or seduction or good looks, it would've claimed you from the very beginning." I swallowed, ignoring the flush of my cheeks as our eyes met, and her smile faltered. "I hope I haven't fractured anything between the two of you."

I sighed and tried to roll the tension out of my shoulders. "I think you only pointed out the fractures. Thao and I will be all right. We are used to trials and skilled at overcoming them."

Her shoulders eased, and I gave myself a moment before the inevitable confrontation with Thao to drink her in. Some of her glow had worn away since she gazed down at us from the stairs, but she was no less beautiful for looking a little wearied. There was nothing specific, nothing concrete between Bryony and I, but the thought of leaving her troubled me.

"Thao and I have belonged to one another almost since the beginning," I said, and Bryony nodded with a faint smile, a slight wince in her gaze. "But we are your Chosen, and there is…" I studied her eyes, wondering if continuing might interrupt whatever there was between us. "There is room in our hearts made for you."

My hand reached out of its own accord, fingertips settling against Bryony's jaw, tilting her face up. I was bowing before I knew my own plan, Bryony's eyes widening but her own chin lifting just enough for our mouths to graze together. She tasted sweet and smelled like a meadow, and she leaned into the kiss, our eyes falling shut in the same moment. My heart was hammering in my chest, but the rest of me was steady. If Thao was genuinely insulted by Bryony's speech, I might've lied to her, and perhaps this was a goodbye instead of an invitation.

I stood up straight again and wondered if I imagined the understanding in her gaze.

"I should speak to him," I said.

She nodded, hands shaking slightly as she twisted her hair off her shoulders, smoothing it around her fist. "And I have to go and finish with the council for the moment. They're going to give me more trouble, aren't they?"

"This is only the beginning," I agreed.

Bryony's shoulders squared, and the soft girl from a moment ago became a regal woman again.

"Good luck," I offered.

She arched an eyebrow at me and I grinned. Yes, I needed luck too, probably. We turned in opposite directions and I headed for the door, wondering how far Thao had gotten already.

Not far at all, as it turned out.

He was waiting outside the door, propped up against the wall with a storm on his expression and a loose strand of black hair kissing his cheek. His head lifted as I stepped out, glower digging into his brow, and I resisted the urge to flinch.

"I understand that you're angry," I started.

"Of course I'm angry," Thao snapped, and my shoulders sagged. His jaw ground and we stared at one another,