“Yes, you have a lovely home,” she told him and then went on, “Callum –”
He interrupted by correcting her, “We have a lovely home.”
“Yes. Right. Cal –”
He cut her off yet again, informing her, “We’re planning a victory celebration first. I owe it to my men. All the warriors who fought will be arriving over the next few weeks and my guard returning home.” He gave her a squeeze and his voice dipped low. “Then, two weeks later, we’ll have The Royal Mating.” He rested his chin on her shoulder and asked, “Are you okay with that?”
As she didn’t know what A Mating was, even though she heard a lot of talk about it, she couldn’t exactly say.
As she didn’t feel like there was anything to celebrate, though, the answer was “no”.
“Callum –” she began again.
“There you are.” She heard a man say and both she and Callum (though Callum didn’t let her go) turned to the door to see Drogan entering while smiling.
He started to drop to a knee but Sonia blurted out, “No!” and his head jerked up as Callum’s body went solid.
Oh good goodness.
She’d done something wrong.
Drogan looked questioningly at Callum.
“Keep your feet,” Callum told him, his voice purely kingly and sounding annoyed.
Sonia needed to cover.
“I did something wrong,” she stated to which neither man replied so she ventured forth. “It’s just that, in your… I mean our home, it should be casual. People should feel comfortable and not… you know…” she trailed off and twisted her head to look at Callum before asking, “Shouldn’t it?”
Callum looked as annoyed as he’d sounded (and as kingly).
He didn’t speak.
Sonia’s heart started beating madly.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I’m just not used to people bowing to me and it makes me uncomfortable.”
There was a long moment of silence before Callum sighed.
He let her go and looked at Drogan. “Your queen doesn’t want you to take a knee in the castle, inform Mara and Callista.”
“Of course, your grace,” Drogan said but his mouth was twitching and he thankfully changed the subject by informing Callum, “There’s an urgent call from Duke Ryon.”
Callum nodded, curled a hand around her neck and brought her close for a kiss on the top of her head before he started to the door. “Sonia needs coffee. Can you show her to the kitchens so Mara can get her some? Have Mara bring her to me in my study when she’s done.”
He didn’t wait for a reply as he disappeared out the door.
Drogan came forward and held his crooked arm out, inviting, “Let’s get you some coffee.”
She took in a breath, let it out and slid her arm through his.
He escorted her out the door as she announced, “So far, I’m not good at being queen.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” he replied and she looked up at him to see he was grinning. “His grace seemed very pleased this morning with the reports we heard that, during the battles you’d taken our women into your home, kept them company and tried to keep their spirits up even as your own mate was fighting.”
Sonia told herself that the warm feeling that bloomed in her belly was not the feeling of pride at his words (when it was).
“Okay then, I think it’s all the royal stuff I’m not good at. The rules and the protocol,” she went on.
“Don’t worry. I’ll get Mara to explain it to you. She’d love that,” Drogan told her.
If Maraleena was the talker she seemed at their first meeting then Sonia was pretty certain she’d love it too, so would Sonia.
“That’s a great idea.” She smiled up at Drogan.
They’d gone down two flights of stairs and were in a hallway when Drogan stopped her and stated, “You should know, Cal doesn’t like all that official stuff either. I only call him ‘your grace’ in company. I’ve been in his service and the service of his father for so long I never bow anything but my head to him and neither does Mara or Callista.”
She stared up at him in astonishment, not believing a word he said and also shocked because he, too, looked old enough to be Callum’s brother, not to have served his father.
“But he was just so… so… annoyed in there,” she protested.
“You’re his mate and my queen. It’s my duty to kneel before you and, I’m sorry, Sonia, I know it’s different amongst your kind, but it’s Cal’s right to tell me that I don’t have to do so.”
Now how had she forgotten that?
“Of course,” she murmured.
“You’ll learn in time,” he said kindly, patting her hand and then went on to say mysteriously, “Or he will.” When her brows shot up, he chuckled and finished, “Let’s get you coffee.”
He took her to the friendly, warm (both in looks and in temperature) kitchens (three rooms!) where she met Callista who was less chatty, not as tall, but definitely as friendly as Maraleena. Drogan left after depositing her with the women. They gave her a tour of the kitchens, Sonia had a cup of coffee and then all too soon Maraleena led her back to Callum.
His study was also a beautiful room with inviting furniture but included a big, heavily carved desk with two huge chairs facing it. There wasn’t a circular fireplace in the middle but a cavernous one behind his chair at the desk in front of which stood a tall, intricately wrought, iron grate.
Callum was seated in that chair. He was on the phone but the minute she walked into the room, his eyes came to her and his arm went out to the side.
He wanted her in his lap.
She had to admit she’d been getting used to the lap business and, in the end, liking it.
She didn’t like it anymore.
“See you later,” Maraleena whispered and then walked out, leaving Sonia alone with her mate.
With nothing for it, she approached him and sat silently in his lap as he talked on the phone, obviously to Ryon. She knew this because he kept saying “Ry”, not because she was a sleuth that deciphered it from clues in his side of the conversation.
When he finally rang off she instantly wished his attention was on the phone again for it came directly to her.
Both of his arms wrapped around her and he pulled her closer to him.
“Have you been taking your injections twice a day?” he asked, surprising her with his subject.