“King McDonagh was known as wolf too. Because of that we’re all known as wolves.” Maraleena beamed down at Sonia looking, for some reason, strangely pleased with herself and her announcement. “So, you know, if anyone mentions that, say, calls us wolves or she-wolves or… whatever, you know why.”
Sonia was only partially listening.
She was more hooked on the fact that she didn’t know Callum’s father’s full name was McDonagh.
She thought it was Mac.
Callum hadn’t told her that either.
And McDonagh was a strange name (not that some of Callum’s people didn’t have strange names).
Was it a last name? Was it Callum’s last name? Did Callum have a last name?
He’d never told her that either and she’d never (stupid, stupid her) thought to ask.
Not, of course, that she cared (anymore). It was just that his last name was probably her last name and she should know her own last name!
Maraleena, oblivious to Sonia’s rampaging thoughts, moved back to the suitcases. “King Callum and Drogan are down in his study going over things and beginning plans for the celebration and The Mating.” She lifted an armful of Sonia’s clothes out of an opened suitcase and turned to Sonia animatedly. “Two parties to ring in the New Year!” she shouted happily. “One of them the end of those terrible rebels and the other a Royal Mating! How exciting!”
Sonia thought she should reply or perhaps ask Maraleena what she was doing with Sonia’s clothes but the former became moot when Maraleena babbled and the latter became obvious when Maraleena started to put them away.
Therefore, Sonia decided to eat and let Maraleena chatter.
“I figure King Callum will go big on both, The Mating definitely.” She threw a smile over her shoulder at Sonia as Sonia forked up some mushrooms and Maraleena dumped her clothes on top of a bureau and started sorting and kept talking.
Sonia took her prattle as an opportunity to look around and finally see her new bedroom.
The minute she did she stopped eating and stared about the room in wide-eyed wonder.
It was like no other room she’d seen.
The walls were not flat but rounded however the room wasn’t a circle but seemed to go in waves.
And it was huge.
There were two, five-doored, dark wood wardrobes that went from floor to high ceiling and they also followed the wavy curves of the walls. There was a thin dresser but it was tall. There was a wider one with seven drawers and a longer one that had four drawers up and four abreast but was shorter (the one Maraleena was at presently). The walls not covered in furniture were covered in intricate tapestries that looked old but were definitely well-kept and hung from curving, polished brass rails at the top edge of the wall.
There were many windows, all of them diamond paned and the glass was so old it was wavy as well, giving the gray, green and white landscape beyond it an almost dreamy quality.
There was an oblong alcove set in one wall which was big enough to seat two and had a fluffy pad covered in hunter green twill and humongous cushiony pillows scattered around in different shades of brown and green.
There was a circular fireplace that, she noted in shock, was in the middle of the room. It had what looked like a stone hood over it which served as a chimney. On one side of the fire was a half-circle, comfy couch in a reddish-brown and on the other side were two cozy chairs with ottomans separated by a stout, round table. The couch and chairs were also piled with big pillows, woolen throws or soft animal hides.
The bed Sonia was in was bigger than any bed she’d ever seen, not only wider but longer. It had four curtained posts and was covered in heavy, soft, dark hides stitched together. There were copious pillows across the head, the mattress were covered in soft, clay-colored, flannel sheets and Sonia was separated from the underside of the hides by sheet of the same.
The floors were littered with rugs, all of different sizes, most of them large and thick and elaborately woven in browns, rusts and greens.
Any part of the room not taken up by furniture, tapestries or rugs was made up of a mellow, golden-red-brown stone.
It was the most inviting, comfortable looking, beautiful room she’d ever seen.
She immediately felt like crying.
For it was this room she sensed in some of her dreams. She knew it from the many times she’d see that golden-red-brown at the edges of her consciousness that wasn’t involved with her handsome wolf or saw the dancing of the firelight on his skin.
To bury these thoughts and halt the tears she could not shed in front of Maraleena, Sonia looked down at her plate and forced some egg into her mouth.
Then she glared at her crockery on her tray for it, too, was beautiful in a sturdy, handsome way with the bottom of the plate and the outside of the bowls, mugs and jugs being a rich, earthen brown but the inside was a gorgeous, muted turquoise.