Page 14 of Destiny of a King

“I have yet to decide if I should trust you.”

Kaelan smirked. “I think the same of you.”

Dravic nearly smiled. “I will give you permission to do as you request but betray me, and you and your wife will die together.”

“I appreciate that you would keep us together,” Kaelan said with a chuckle. “Though I have no worries, for I would never betray my cousin.”

“And the king?”

Kaelan laughed again. “The king is lucky he is my cousin.”

Dravic dismissed him with a shake of his head. “Go and ready yourself and your wife to leave by midday tomorrow.”

Kaelan stood. “Aye, my king.”

“I thought I wasn’t your king.”

“I respect your title, but truly, you are just a cousin to me.”

“One who won’t fail me?”

“That, cousin, you can count on,” Kaelan said, and with a respectful bow of his head, left the room.

Dravic sat lost in his thoughts for a while, then swallowed the last of the wine in his goblet before standing.

Adira felt the shift in the room and looked to see the king standing near her.

“It is late,” he said as if she could hear him and held his hand out to her.

She understood immediately and, without hesitation, she placed her hand in his.

He helped her to her feet.

Together they left the solar and climbed the stone steps to his bedchamber, the torchlight flickering along the walls as they moved through the quiet corridors of Caerith Castle.

Inside the chamber, the fire burned strong in the hearth.

Adira waited until the king released her hand, then moved without hesitation toward the shadowed corner near the far wall. It had become habit now—privacy where she could change without being seen. She turned her back to the room and began removing her outer dress, folding it carefully, leaving on the simple shift beneath that she slept in.

Dravic walked to his bed and began to undress as well, unfastening the clasps of his tunic, the fabric falling away from his shoulders. The firelight caught the strength of his muscles as he turned toward the basin near the hearth.

A knock sounded at the door.

“Enter,” Dravic called out.

The door opened and a woman stepped inside.

Adira recognized her immediately. Tall and slender and far more beautiful than the other women who occasionally shared the king’s bed. Though Adira believed she was a favorite of his since she visited more often than the others.

She smiled and boldly stepped forward as if she belonged there and moved immediately toward him.

“My king,” she said softly.

Dravic raised one hand. “Not tonight, Eunice.”

The woman stopped, her smile fading and her tongue sharp. “I have the night. It is my turn, is it not?”

Dravic’s tongue was sharper, more like a blade that sliced. “You dare question me?”