AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What do you mean by that?” I finally asked him, all sarcasm and annoyance gone.
He flashed me a playful grin. “Maybe if you don’t abandon me tomorrow morning, I’ll tell you.”
I scowled in response, which only made his grin widen.
We satdown in one of the couches that faced the castle’s large doors.
“Do you intend to sleep in my bed every night?” I asked him, after a few moments.
“That’s a good question.” His words didn’t sound as playful as before, and I got the feeling that he didn’t know the answer to that question any more than I did. “If I said yes, would I be welcome?”
I studied the doors with far more interest than I felt. “As long as you wear pants next time, I suppose so.”
He laughed. It wasn’t a sarcastic laugh, or his soft chuckle, but a full-chested laugh that made me bite back a smile. “That’s fair. I’d prefer if you slept naked every night, though.”
I snorted. “Of course you would.”
“Did I mention that your breasts are absolutely—”
The doors opened, and Halla entered, cutting the king off. I realized our hands were still connected as we stood up together.
Halla pulled the door open wider and wider, gesturing someone to follow her in. A man with markings around his throat wheeled a large metal clothing rack into the building. My eyes nearly bulged out of my head as I scanned the contents of the rack—it was overflowing with black and gold fabrics, stuffed absolutely full.
“I only wanted one dress,” I whispered harshly to Namir.
He chuckled. “You may as well be my queen, Love, and if you haven’t noticed, my people adore me. I’m sure this is far from the last of the gifts you’ll receive from them.”
My stomach clenched and my eyes opened even wider as a pair of women pushed another rack into the room, just as full as the first one.
It was just the evening before that the people had discovered what colors I preferred—how had they already created so many dresses for me?
A third rack followed the first two, and nausea turned my belly.
“I can’t accept these,” I whispered harshly to Namir once again, as we neared Halla, who was beaming.
“You don’t have to; I will,” he murmured back, his voice playful once again.
“Where should we put these?” Halla asked Namir, her voice cheerful.
Namir flashed her a grin. “We’ll fit as many as we can in Diora’s room, the rest will go to mine.”
Another rack full of black fabric entered the castle, and I nearly vomited.
Halla smiled. “Lead the way.”
Namir’s shadows stroked my arm as we led the massive group up the stairs. His magic was comforting, but not nearly as comforting as I wished it would be.
The next half an hour was full of rustling fabric. I ended up seated on the edge of my bed while Namir directed everyone where to put things. More furniture was carried into the room—a large dresser, with a mirror on top of it, followed by a comfortable-looking couch.
Decorative items followed—a few small trees, one of which looked to be growing some type of fruit I didn’t recognize, a few potted plants, a few painted pictures of gorgeous landscapes the likes of which I had never seen before.
It was all beautiful, but intimidating because I hadn’t expected it.
Namir caught my hand again before he led me down the stairs, his shadows stroking my arm and relaxing me a bit more. There were still some more clothes hanging on the last of the rolling racks, so we’d have to stop in his room and put them away. He wouldn’t allow the others in there, though, so he assured them he would carry them in himself.
We thanked most of the people and sent them on their way. Only Halla and her mate remained, waiting for the final clothing rack. They didn’t have a problem mingling with a few other people who were hanging around the castle, though, and were chatting with a pair of women I didn’t recognize when we left.
Namir sent me through the shadows in front of him, pulling the rack behind us. The room grew silent when the shadows closed themselves as soon as we were through, and Namir’s hand found my lower back as he led me toward his closet. It was attached to the portion of the castle that his bed occupied, and when I stepped through that open door in front of him, my eyebrows shot upward.
