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“Oh, quite,” said the Queen. “And we are not lab rats. We give enough of ourselves to the people without being poked and prodded and vivisected.”
“Well, I’m sure they wouldn’t cut you open,” said Eleri.
“A pair bond is very rare,” said the Queen, looking at me. “It’s fate. Who are we to question fate? Yes?”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” I said.
“So, we’re agreed, that’s all we’ll say on the subject,” said the Queen. “Unless we should find something quite easier, like the idea your mother had an affair with the Duke of Trassingshire and you’re actually his child.”
“I’m certain that never happened!” said Eleri.
“Well, he might agree to say so if we compensated him,” said the Queen. “But even so, as you’re saying, I think it opens up a can of worms we don’t want opened. If designations are treated too scientifically, they become commonplace. And people don’t want the monarchy to be commonplace. It should be a system of grandeur and splendor. They want fate. They want, well, magic. So, it’s fate, we don’t know how it happened, but we are too happy to question it. This is all we should say, I think?”
“Of course, Your Majesty,” I said.
The Queen looked pointedly at Eleri, who looked at me and then back at the Queen and then realized she was meant to speak.
“Oh, um, all right, yes, Your Majesty,” said Eleri.
I gave her another look, indicating she should be less tentative than that.
“Of course, Your Majesty,” said Eleri with a smile.
Good, she was getting the hang of it quickly.
“Excellent,” said the Queen. “Now, from the way the two of you both scent, I suspect if we leave this to nature, you’ll have her bitten by morning, and I am sorry, but I think we must slow that down.”
I sat up straight. “Now, wait, Your Majesty, of course I wouldn’t rush—”
“You’re out of your head with her,” said the Queen. “And a bite, yes, is obviously imminent. I can scent that. There’s no keeping the two of you away from each other, and, well…” She leaned forward, giving us a sweet, grandmotherly smile. “I wish you both joy in it, I must say. To be young and unbonded, all of those firsts. Many warm congratulations to you both. And poor, dear Devlin, I know you have suffered, so it is lovely.” She leaned back, sitting erect, expression grim now. “However, it’s too soon, and we must ease the country into her presence. I was pleased to hear you had not given her a room adjoining yours, nor had you made any indication to go to a suite with a nest. All of that must come later.”
“Of course,” I said, nodding.
“I think you must wait for all of it,” said the Queen. “I’m sure you’re eager to consummate your union, and I would not stand in the way of it, but there will be a bite if so—”
“Are you telling us not to—” Eleri broke off, then. “Of course you are. Well, then.”
“You’re an omega, my dear,” said the Queen. “Your sex life is now the fodder of the nation. You will have to get used to that rather quickly. Now, I realize you won’t be able to facilitate this yourself, so I’ve engaged a bodyguard for the new omega princess consort. His name is Maguire Bennion, and he’s a war veteran, two tours in the Middle East. He’s worked for me on numerous occasions, and I can assure you of his discretion and respect. So, don’t worry, he’s been dispatched to your door, Eleri, and you will not be gaining entry, Devlin.”
I swallowed. “You’re… barring us from…” I squared my shoulders. “Very good, ma’am.”
“It’s not forever,” said the Queen. She spread her hands. “I’m not entirely firm on this time line, so perhaps it can be sped up. But I believe we must first have a formal ball to recognize her. I believe she needs to be given a title of some kind. Let’s make her at least a countess, maybe? I don’t know. So, some ceremony for that. And then a different event, perhaps the dedication of the new chapel, for the announcement of your engagement—”
“That’s a month away,” I broke in.
“Too long?” said the Queen, with a shrug. “Well, we’ll find something then, something within, what? Two or three weeks, then? Would that suffice?”
I let out a breath.
“You’ll have each other for your entire lives, you know,” said the Queen with a little, mischievous smile. “It is a life bond.”
“What if I bit her somewhere no one could see?”
“That eager?” said the Queen.
“She could have… another bite, a visible one, later.”
“Very eager, then.”
