“To bed a few weeks ago,” she says with a long-suffering sigh, as if my question is a silliness she chooses to indulge.
“Would you mind if I look around your bedroom then?”
“I already looked.” She waves me toward her bedroom door, though, so I go in, opening the curtains, and have a good look under the bed and around the bedside tables. They are too heavyfor me to move since Agnidari furniture is large and awfully sturdy, so I resolve to bring one of my knights to help. Idrina allows it with an air of munificence, but I spy a tiny, pleased smile curving her lip.
For such a thorny old lady, my mother-in-law enjoys attention an awful lot.Especiallyfrom my knights.
I almost collide with Raduna when I step out into the corridor. He steadies me with his hands, chuckling. His hair is gathered on his nape today, his arms bare, since he only wears a vest. I give him an appreciative look. Yes, if I were Idrina, I wouldn’t pass up an occasion to look at my knights, either.
“I was just looking for you, my queen,” he says, warmth sparkling in his brown eyes. “I wondered if you might do me the same honor as you did Khay today.”
My mouth is already open to ask him for help moving some furniture, but Raduna’s words distract me. I gape, blinking, until understanding dawns. A pulse of pleasure curls in my belly, followed by a flash of annoyance. It seems everyone wants a piece of me today. Maybe I should give up trying to do any work until my men say their lewd goodbyes to my body parts.
“Honor, was it? Somehow I don’t thinkthat’sthe word he used when he went around boasting about it.” I sigh under my breath. “Very well. But first, can you help me with a little chore? It won’t take but a minute.”
I turn toward Idrina’s door, and Raduna places his large palm on my shoulder, gripping it gently.
“I can wait, my queen. Today, tomorrow, or a month from now will be perfect as long as you want it. Don’t force yourself into something you’d rather avoid.”
His kind face is serious, his mouth gentle as he watches me calmly. I can’t help but laugh when I consider how different his manner is from Khay’s.
“You know, if Khay was half as considerate as you, I would be swallowed in work and quite miserable right now. No, I don’t wish to avoid being with you, my knight. It’s just… I demand a lot of myself—so much that it feels like there’s nothing left for others sometimes.”
“Yes, you do.” Raduna cups my cheek, watching me with intense warmth that travels from the top of my head down to my very toes in a shivering, relaxing wave. “And it’s our task to keep you from burning too much of yourself away. What do you need my help with?”
“Oh! Yes. Idrina lost a brooch, and I’m helping her find it. I think it might have fallen behind some furniture.”
“I’ll help.”
Raduna moves both bedside tables away from the walls, then a chest of drawers and even an enormous wardrobe in Idrina’s parlor. He grunts, gripping the wardrobe with his enormous arms as he tackles it, bearlike yet controlled. When I tear my eyes away from his bulging muscles gleaming with sweat, I catch Idrina’s eye. She arches her eyebrow with a smirk, and I realize my face is all flushed.
Raduna is a powerful man, and his display of strength makes my knees delightfully weak.
“I told you I already looked,” Idrina scoffs when I stand in front of her, unhappy to report my lack of progress. “Someone took it. Maybe that new serving wench you forced on me.”
Accusing the servants? Oh, that’s low. I narrow my eyes, true anger rising in my belly.
“Sarah is no thief. I have tested and vetted her myself, and I vouch for her. If this is some ploy to get rid of your nurse,Mother, I’m telling you right now it won’t work.”
I put my hands on my hips, staring down my mother-in-law as fury and suspicion burn in my chest. Idrina mutters something, avoiding my eyes.
“Speak up. I can’t hear you.”
“Sarah’s a good nurse,” she says, sounding defensive. “This is no ploy. But who else could it be, Caliane? The only people who visit me are family and her these days. And I’d sooner believe it was a servant than any of you.”
“Oh.” A surprising bout of affection fills my heart when I realize Idrina trusts us so much.Family.She’s really distraught because of her loss, and yet, she believes none of us have taken her brooch. Before I think better of it, I drop down by her chaise longue and put my arms around her frail shoulders.
“What even!” she huffs, trying to push me away with half-hearted effort. “Unhand me this moment, you grabby wench!”
Even as she says it, her long fingers curl around my upper arm. I hide a smile. I’ve seen her with Khay’s nieces and my children, heaping kisses on their heads while they tried to squirm away. The old grandma only pretends to loathe familial affections.
I pat her shoulder and heave myself up to my feet with a grin. Idrina huffs, rearranging her blankets about her form, but her cheeks have purpled with a faint blush.
“I’ll find your brooch,” I vow. “I promise. You’ll be reunited with your husband soon.”
Idrina pauses her fussing to give me an incredulous look, and Raduna chuckles. I realize with a gasp how my words must have sounded.
“I donotmean in death!” I exclaim. “You’ll be reunited here, you and his ashes, and whatever else you desire.”
