AllFreeNovel
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The Queen reached forward, waving her hand. “Oh, sweetheart, you don’t want to do that—”
Nate joined in on the no-no-no, dropping his ball and putting one arm over his eyes and the other straight out in front of him as he turned away.
Rahvyn stopped what she was doing. Stopped… everything, actually. Almost including her own heart rate.
“I am… so sorry. I am just making this all worse, am I not.”
Beth laughed, and put her free arm around Rahvyn for a squeeze. “It’s okay. I can’t believe I’ve got any title other than mom, either. Do not worry about it—besides, you saved the thing my husband loves most outside of this little guy and me. And some nights, I’m not sure I’ve got that order right!”
As the female stepped back, Rahvyn smiled a little, and looked at the young—only to become even more self-conscious. Instead of being one of those happy, burbly little males, the son of the King and Queen stared her right in the eye, as if he were judging the merits of her character. Then he reached out, took her finger, and gripped it briefly like he was shaking her palm properly.
Something of her surprise must have shown, because his mahmen let out a sigh.
“I know, he’s a little intense. He takes after his father.” Beth smoothed his black hair. “Isn’t that right, L.W.”
Rahvyn nodded. “He is quite fierce, but I do believe that is a good thing for the future of the race.”
“Some nights, I’m not sure what his destiny is… or even what I dare hope it to be.”
As the words drifted, Rahvyn got the impression that the female knew exactly what was coming her son’s way, and she was seeking to avoid the thoughts of warfare and governing during these years of his innocence.
To change the subject, Rahvyn wrapped her arms around herself—and by extension, the fleece and shirt. “I shall take very good care of your clothing.”
“I know you will, but don’t worry about that, either.” Beth glanced over her shoulder. “And now, I have to take this man down to Doc Jane for his checkup. It’s good to see you both, and Rahvyn, if you ever need more clothes for any reason, you know where to find me. Say bye, L.W.”
After she waved her son’s hand, the pair were off, the door closing behind them.
Rahvyn glanced over at Nate. “I cannot believe I just did that.”
His brows went up, and then he laughed in an easy, genuine way. “You know, if I was feeling sorry for myself? You’ve just done me a tremendous service.”
“Indeed. Whatever challenges you may face, at least you did not try to get naked in front of the Queen.”
“Amen to that.”
As she regarded the male balefully, he was smiling. And she smiled back, thinking that the humiliation was worth it if it cheered Nate up.
Totally worth it.
* * *
“I can see you’re surprised by this.”
As Lassiter threw that no-shit-Sherlock out there, he waited for something, anything to come back at him. Instead, Rahvyn’s cousin, Sahvage, just stood there with his eyebrows up at his hairline and his head tilted to the side like he was a German shepherd who’d heard a dog whistle.
Meanwhile, across the foyer in the dining room, a doggen rolled in a cart full of porcelain to complete the table-setting process for Last Meal. Thank God the staff were busy with their own jobs. Otherwise the imminent humiliation that was about to come in for a landing on his head was going to have one helluva peanut gallery.
“I…” Sahvage started. And didn’t finish.
“I’m going to be honest with you,” Lassiter said as he raised both his palms. “Straight up, I’m probably not a good bet, time-wise. There’s another plan for me, and I don’t know how long I’ll be here, in Caldwell. But here’s the thing. Even immortals can die in a way, and if the last twenty-four hours have taught me anything, it’s that time isn’t relative, it’s rare and precious. I want to be that female’s hellren, and maybe she’ll have me like that, maybe she won’t. I want to ask her, though, and I want to do it in the right and proper way. You’re the eldest male in her family—and back in the Old Country, in her time, it’s customary for the permission to be requested. If you don’t want to give it to me, that’s fine. It’s her decision anyway. I just thought it would be important to her that I pay her bloodline the respect you and she deserve.”
Sahvage’s brows lowered. And so did his voice. “She told you… about the Old Country.”
When Lassiter nodded gravely, the brother said in a voice that cracked, “Just so we’re clear, I tried to protect her.”
Lassiter reached out and squeezed the fighter’s thick shoulder. “I know you did.”
