Reign A Romance Anthology - Nina Levine Page 0,255

the Chief of Defence. "Can you see if she'll eat something? It's nearly lunch and she's not had a bite all day." She held out a paper bag to me.

I took it, glancing over at our Queen. "Does she do that often?"

"What? Not eat?" Victoria snorted. "Yeah, she does it all the time."

My lips pursed as I glanced Kit's way again. "Has she stopped at all since we got here?"

"No. And I doubt she will. Families will be descending soon and she'll want to be with them as much as possible."

I shook my head. "Okay. Can you do me a favour?"

"Depends, will it require murder? Cause I only do that on every third Saturday."

I grinned. "No murder, but good to know. What I need is a small dark room where I can stow our Queen for a few minutes."

She snapped upright, giving me a jaunty salute. "On it." She pivoted on her heel, took a step, then halted, glancing over her shoulder to me. "Oh, by the way, the contract is with you. If you need a lawyer, let me know. We want to keep it hush-hush though, so appreciate if you can tell your grunt over there—" She inclined her head towards Patrick. "—to keep it quiet, that'd be great."

I nodded, then shook my head. "Wait. Sorry, contract?"

Victoria frowned, turning fully back to me. "The marriage contract. Did Katherine not tell you about it?"

I froze. "She did but I thought—" I stopped, sucking in a deep breath at the near overwhelming need to touch her, to taste her, to brand myself on Katherine.

My Queen.

She grinned, crossing her arms over her chest. "You thought?"

"Find the room, I'll get her to eat."

"Your wish, my command."

Patrick, who'd been hovering nearby, preoccupied by his mobile, looked up. "She's gone? Thank the Gods. That woman is a menace."

I grinned. "Intimidated?"

He shuddered. "More like aggrieved." He handed me the phone. "I've looked over the contract. Terms are good, clearly outlines responsibilities, if I were you, I'd sign it before she changes her mind."

"I thought you weren't speaking to me after I resigned."

He lifted one shoulder in a half-shrug. "Shit happens and now you're nearly the Prince Consort. Brother, you're gonna need me more now than ever."

Kit finished talking with the Defence Chief who moved away, leaving her standing alone for a moment, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Gotta go. Go take a break, Pat. It's gonna be a long night."

I made my way across the centre to where Kit stood, her expression stubbornly blank.

"Here," I thrust the paperback at her. "Eat."

She took it on autopilot but didn't open the packet.

I dropped my voice and stepped closer to avoid being overheard. "Kit? You okay?"

"They've said I should be prepared for them to begin finding bodies." She lifted her face, her eyes glassy. "They're concerned the death toll could be as high as a hundred passengers."

Her words were a punch to my gut. "Fuck."

"Yeah." She pinched the bridge of her nose once more. "Have you seen Jane?"

"She's ducked out for a nap. We're taking shifts. I expect we'll be rotating in and out over the next few days."

She nodded, releasing her nose. With a deep breath she straightened her spine, squared her shoulders and looked across the command centre, her gaze searching.

"Have you seen Victoria?"

"Kit."

She looked back at me.

"Eat. It's going to be days, not hours, before this ends. You're going to need your strength."

For a moment her eyes filled, her chin wobbling. Then the emotion was gone, stripped away, hidden behind a polite nod.

"Yes, you're right. Thank you."

She moved to brush past me but I caught her hand, halting her.

"I know this isn't what you want to hear right now, but I accept the terms of your contract." I reached up, brushing a stray hair from her cheek. "But with one amendment."

"And that is?"

"You occasionally allow me to look after you. When I asked for akaternok ah yalonel, I did it in the knowledge that my protection wasn't just physical. When I promise to protect someone, I mean in body and soul." I searched her face, hoping my words were penetrating. "When this is over, when you no longer need to be in the public, I'll take my Queen home and she can just be Kit—a woman who feels far too much."

Her breath caught, her face flushing slightly.

"In private you can be who you want, my Queen. Anything between us remains between us. I swear it."

She swallowed, then gave me a sharp nod. "I understand." She