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“A kiss to seal our bargain?”She murmured the question against his mouth.
“Whatever promises you need, I’m happy to make.Naked preferably.”
“Greedy witch.”
“Damn straight.”He kissed her like he wouldn’t stop.No matter the guards.In fact, he drank her down as if drunk on her until she broke off the kiss on a ragged breath.
“They’re looking for me.”
Impatience and annoyance flickered across his face, maddening yet charming.“Jura.She was looking for you.Something about the amethysts.”
Ugh, the blood vows.The one thing guaranteed to burst her fantasies of making things work between them.“I need to speak with you both.”She sighed, wishing she could conquer first, talk later.“Where did you see her?”
“In your suite.Oursuite, assuming you let me stay there.”
“It’s definitelyoursuite.I plan to steal you away true goblin-style as soon as possible and keep you there.”
“If that’s as sexy as it sounds, then consider me ready for kidnapping.”He slid her an I-dare-youlook.
“It will be, but first, we have things to discuss.”
Only after they’d met up with Jura, closed the doors to the suite, and engaged the privacy stones did Vori share the conversation she’d had with Clio.
“Your mother is alive?”Jura’s voice cracked on the question.The woman looked as if she would fly apart into a thousand pieces, cobbled together only by hope.
“She is, but she’s in a coma.Clio’s magic sustains her.”Vori could hardly believe it.
Perry shook his head.“That’s amazing news, but why would she bargain for you to see your mom?Or for that matter, why didn’t she let you know in the human realm?Or let Jura know?”He looked at the woman who had finally stopped wearing the awful, tattered uniform.“Maybe you could’ve gone home instead of staying here in an iron collar?”
Jura shook her head.“Queen Clio does as she pleases.She always has a reason.Now, what will you do, Majesty?”
Vori blinked.Oh right.She’d have to get used to the title.“I’ll do what everyone wants and become queen.”
“You will?”Perry’s smile went from radiant to paparazzi-flash blinding.
“That’s wonderful, Majesty.”Jura dropped into a curtsy.“Speaking of which, the gossip among the staff is that you will bring back the blood crown.The one the original goblin queen wore.”
Vori’s heart sank.“You mean the wicked crown?The one that drives royals mad?”She lifted her wrist where the amethysts in the cuff sparkled.“Or at least the cursed jewels do.I’m risking enough wearing three.”
“Nonsense,” Jura said.“The bad behavior of kings has nothing to do with curses.”
“You’re saying it’s genetics?Because that’s not any more reassuring.”Her father had gone mad, and he certainly hadn’t been the first king to do so.
“It’s power,” Perry answered.“The way it corrupts.I’ve done the worst of things for a taste of it.”
Her consort and his need for redemption for his past acts tore at her.Vori pushed past the hurt.“There has to be a compromise.I’ve promised the amethysts to Baba Yaga.Or the ones I have.”Here’s hoping the old crone would be willing to strike a deal.
“What if we ask a jeweler to design a new crown for you?”Jura asked.“Something that incorporates the original design but is more delicate.”
“You mean it doesn’t bleed me?”Because the legends of royal blood and battles that had created the Redcaps stories—those barbaric practices had to stop.She’d be the queen to do it.
Someone knocked.“Your Majesty?A delegation waits for you.”
The title, the responsibilities, the crown—it all overwhelmed when she’d only just decided to take on the role of queen.She glanced at Perry.“They can’t hear us with the privacy stone.”
“I’ll handle it,” he said.
Which was exactly what he did.From the way he accepted an entirely new life in a foreign realm to asking the right questions of petitioners to making sure Vori had lemon tarts.Perry took care of it without undermining her.A skillful negotiator—no wonder he’d won so many cases in the human realm.
