Declan shook his head. “Duke Aiden’s about to arrive. Your mother’s having me research Abbas and his father’s holdings before his arrival. She wants to make certain Sultan Raj isn’t hiding anything.”
I grimaced. “I hope you find something.”
“No, you don’t.”
I sighed. “I don’t want her to go.”
Ryan clucked at his horse and then turned to join the conversation. “She’ll have to leave at some point, Bloss. There isn’t a crown here for her. And it’s not like princesses abound, she’s one of what—three eligible in the next decade? There will be a lot of suitors visiting. Hell, she might even start a war.”
The war comment prodded at me and I blurted out without thinking. “I would rather have trusted you all to take care of her.”
Declan stopped his horse. Ryan pulled his horse up beside mine and grabs my reigns. “What’s that mean?”
I stared at Ryan’s deep brown eyes and worded my statement very carefully. “It means my mother went to an awful lot of trouble to ensure she had two female heirs.”
“Why?”
The geas wouldn’t let me answer.
Luckily, Declan stepped in. He wrangled his horse clumsily until it was next to mine and Ryan’s. He waved the guards near us on and waited until they were out of earshot.
Declan grabbed my hand. “She thought she’d need the spare.” His eyes searched mine. I couldn’t respond, couldn’t confirm or deny. I simply squeezed his fingers as tight as I could. It was the best I could do to let him know he was on the right track.
“Is this the riddle, Bloss?” Declan whispered.
I squeezed his hand again.
“Can you squeeze my hand once for yes, twice for no?”
As soon as he asked that, the geas locked my limbs. I couldn’t move. Shite.
“What’s wrong with her?” Ryan reached over and pulled me off my horse, onto his lap. He pulled my stiff limbs into his warm, hard chest and rubbed my back, then gently tried to uncurl my frozen fingers.
Declan held the reigns to my mount, keeping her steady. He looked at me and then met Ryan’s worried gaze. “I think she’s under a spell. And I don’t think she can say what kind.”
The rest of the ride was somber as Ryan and Declan fell back and held a whispered conversation. They refused to let me be part of it.
“You just lock up. You’ll end up falling off your horse,” Declan shushed me and sent me up to the front.
Ryan made several guards ride near me and make small talk. I’m certain it was as uncomfortable for them as it was for me.
I cursed myself for saying anything. My mother had given my husbands an out with the dragon hunting cover story. If something happened to me, nothing had to happen to them. But what if I died publicly? And dragons couldn’t be blamed? Or what if the people waited a decade for me to return from dragon hunting, but grew impatient? What if they rebelled? A million other negative scenarios flooded my head. The last thing in the world I wanted was for my knights to have to follow me into death.
Maybe I should just divorce my husbands, renounce the crown publicly, and then hand them all over to Avia. But Connor’s smile flashed through my mind. Ryan’s dark eyes as he said dirty things. Declan’s thoughtful gaze. And Quinn, on his knees, gripping my ankles, begging me not to go. The last image startled me. It wasn’t what I’d expected.
Are you in my head?
No one answered.
I shook my myself out of my reverie and smiled at one of the younger guards. Shite. I was getting paranoid. Sard that. Today was supposed to be about Declan. Not me or my problems.
“Who wants to race to the first farmhouse?” I called out. I spurred my mare to a gallop before anyone else could respond.
By the time we reached the farmhouse, all serious and somber thoughts were gone. At least from my mind. The guards, Ryan, and Declan seemed to have scolding thoughts on their minds.
I laughed as I dismounted on my own.
“Let’s go talk to Terri, the local burgmaster.”
Ryan stomped next to me, still in a bit of a pout. His horse had lost, by a lot. Of course, it had a lot of extra weight to carry. “You know Terri?”
I grinned. “Spent a whole summer in his corn field.”
“That better not be a metaphor,” Declan added wryly as he joined us.
“It’s not.” I scrambled ahead to shake Terri’s age spotted hand. He didn’t recognize me, of course. I’d been a tall blonde woman when I’d helped him. Not the petite princess his filmy eyes looked at now. He was a bit startled when he heard my plan, but quickly agreed.
We waited in the village square as everyone from town gathered with baskets and curious faces. Terri looked proud when he announced that Ryan and his wife would be joining them for the day. He forgot to mention Declan. I wasn’t sure if it was on purpose or not. Terri was on in years.
The village reaction was mixed. Some people came up to greet us, others stood back and whispered behind their hands.
“It’s because I’m here,” Declan muttered to me.
“Bull. It’s because half the women in the village are secretly wondering if they can smother me in order to get their hands on you.”
He chuckled. “And what would they do if they caught me?”
I shrugged. “All the wrong stuff. They wouldn’t know they need to hold you down and spank you before they rode you hard.”
He laughed and held out his elbow to escort me up the road, but his eyes were alight. Perhaps even on fire. “Is that what you would do?”
I tilted my head close so I could whisper up at him. “If you’re a good boy and control your magic today, that’s what I will do.”
Declan’s eyes dilated as he looked down at me. “Challenge accepted.”
My heart swelled. Nerdy sweet little Declan was stepping up and teasing me back. I didn’t want to jinx the possibilities by thinking about more. I’d just bask in this … whatever it was. I winked and patted his hand. I gestured up the rocky hill we’d followed the villagers to and he looked at the hundreds of thorny blackberries lining the hill. “Have at it, love. I want you to reduce the thorns and multiply the berries. One berry at a time.”
He groaned.
Ryan, who’d been visiting with locals and friends he’d grown up with, bounded over. “Are we ready to start?”
“Declan’s thrilled,” I said. “Want a first row seat with me?”
Ryan shook his head. “Sorry, promised I’d help my mother—” he hurried off.
“Aren’t you going to introduce—”
But Ryan was gone.
I bit back my disappointment. Of course, he wasn’t going to introduce you, idiot, I told myself. No expectations. I left him. Still, it hurt.
Declan helped me climb a bit of ridge and we selected a bush. I sat beside it, facing him. I tried to wash away all thoughts of Ryan and focus on my sweet, blond scholar, who was already shivering in the brisk fall air. “Alright, have at it.”
“That’s it? You would have made an excellent tutor.”
“Try to send a small burst. To reduce a single branch of thorns and produce berries there instead.”
Declan shook his head but held out his hand. A yellow glow built around his fingertips. And then it zinged toward the bush.
BAM!
The bush exploded in berry juice, splattering both of us with purple liquid.
I wiped my eyes. “Well, that’s one way to do it.” I tried to clean my face with my skirt, but the stain was everywhere.
“Sard!” Declan shook the gooey mess off his hands. “We need to change.”
“Why bother? You might just do it again.”
He stared daggers at me.
I simply pointed to the next bush. “Try again, sir.”
“Can you really control your power that precisely?” he challenged.
I stood. I straightened my sleeves, making sure my wrists were covered. I grabbed his hand. I met his eyes, trying not to get lost in their blue depths. I took a deep breath to center myself. Then I sent a tiny pulse of peace through his fingertips, up his arm, and across his chest. I spiraled peace down his torso like a snake. And when it reached his dick, I made the power pulse. Again. And again. Driving home the point.
Declan’s eyes widened. His breath caught. His back arched a bit like he was in pain. He gave an involuntary little moan. “Wha—what?” Declan looked down in alarm. “You can do that?”
“It’s just concentration.”
“It’s not. You made me—” He shut his mouth and widened his eyes for emphasis.
It took me a second. I glanced down at his trousers. There might have been a damp patch underneath the berry juice. “Declan, did you …?” I grinned. “I’ve never had that effect before.” I mentally filed that away. It might come in handy the next time I saw Quinn.
Declan groaned. “Now, we really have to go clean up.”
“No.”
“But people will see—”
“They’ll see your purple-stained pants. Move to the next bush. Try again. Tiny pulses. Like ants.”
“But—”
“Do it, Declan. Or I’ll pulse you with peace again until you scream my name and make everyone turn and stare.”