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After a moment, Tristan finally spoke. “I’m afraid we canna take you home just yet. I must return to my kingdom right away.
13
Legura, Tristan’s planet, was as beautiful as Evlon, and just as foreign. As they disembarked from the ship, the first thing she noticed was two moons hauntingly visible in midday.
Beautiful.
They’d landed in a massive courtyard where other ships had been docked. Tristan came up beside her, gauging her expression. She was secretly grateful for the trouble that had forced her to remain with him. He’d kept her in his bed practically the entire trip. And holy hell did that man know how to use his mouth, and his hands…and, well, all of his man parts. They’d only left his room for nourishment and for Tristan to receive updates on their progress. Then it was back to horizontal aerobics. She must have lost ten pounds with all the work they’d put in.
She grinned up at him, but her smile was a little forced. Would their relationship be different now that they had arrived? He was a king, after all.
Tristan’s tone was different than the one he used with her in the bedroom. Firmer. Short. Careful. “You will walk in behind us, next to Belinda.”
Behind? Because she was a commoner?
Belinda didn’t look pleased to be her escort, but pulled her by the elbow to stand at the end…the very end…of the procession. Definitely different, she thought, as they began moving as one unit.
She didn’t think it was possible, but Tristan’s castle was even more impressive than Kyra’s. Her best view of it had been from the sky just before they’d landed. It was the tallest structure within sight, practically growing out of a dense forest landscape. The castle’s most notable feature was the three uneven towers stretching toward the sky. The whole structure was resided on top of a hill and was encircled by a town of stone and tile-roofed buildings. The city itself was surrounded by a thick, flourishing jungle that stretched out to meet a vast ocean to the north.
As she followed the royals inside, she had to stop and marvel at the castle’s impressive and gimongous stonework, which reminded her of the giant stones that made up Sacsayhuamán in Peru. Two to three times her height, no two stones were alike; skewed and misshapen, yet they fit together perfectly like a puzzle.
Inside, she could imagine she wasn’t in a castle but in a modern, yet oversized mansion. June had never seen such opulence outside of museums. Every entryway was remarkably large—to accommodate dragons, she supposed—and the mark of generational wealth dripped in every direction, from the decorative stone tiles that reflectively sparkled as if polished daily, to the exotic vases and statues displayed on masterfully crafted marquetry stands, and the elegant recessed lighting that illuminated huge gilt-framed paintings of dour men and women who June assumed were past kings and queens and Tristan’s relatives.
All of it made her modest apartment back home look like a flashy outhouse with a paint job. She could not have felt more out of place if she tried.
In the next instant, she was proven wrong—the throne room, which should have had a sign posted at the entrance that readGet ready to pick your jaws up off the floor. She almost spun in circles to see it all. It was decorated in earthy tones with pops of red and gold. One Buick-sized crystal chandelier hung from the center of the high arching ceiling. Six smaller ones edged the room. Built half into the walls were smooth columns capped by elaborate filigree designs that met the base of the arched ceiling. In between those, tall, rounded windows let in a flood of light that sparkled against the reflective tile. A woven red-and-gold runner divided the room, leading up a set of stairs and ending where two majestic thrones sat empty.
Architectural Digestwould piss themselves for an exclusive.
June straightened her spine and lifted her chin, trying not to seem like the yokel she was. Belinda snorted.
From a side entrance, a line of guards entered to meet them, marching in unison and arranging themselves on either side of the room. Following behind was a proud-looking man with dark hair and a Tom Selleck mustache.
“Highness,” he said with a little bow, and June recognized his voice from the transmission Tristan had received. “Your return was swifter than expected.”
“We left shortly after you contacted me and nearly burned up our warp drive. Has the child been found?”
“My men and yours are still searching, but you may want to consider addressing the dishonorable rumor before we get to that.”
Tristan waved that away. “What of the witches you spoke of? Are they hostile?”
“Er, there was a report of a sighting, but no coven has been discovered near the city as of yet.”
“Orik,” Tristan barked.
Orik hurried to Tristan’s side. “Aye, Your Majesty?”
“I’ll rely on you to canvas the area as far out as you see fit. Employ as many guards as you need. Prince Gideon, do you object to lending us your guards to aid in this endeavor?”
“Uh, no, of course no’.”
“Good. Instruct them to follow Orik’s orders. I want this child found.”
Prince Gideon cleared his throat. “And the rumors, Highness?”
“I will consider how to respond to those after I understand where this rumor originated. For now, I trust my people know better than to believe such a farce.”
Prince Gideon seemed to notice June for the first time. “Forgive me, but I have not made the young lady’s acquaintance.”
