Page 43 of Flameborne: Fury (Emberquell Academy #2)

~ DONAVYN ~

Dawn was coming. Though I was weary and sleep deprived, I fizzed with energy as I hurried out of the Palace and trotted down the lane towards the Dragon Keep, itching for my mate.

But when I finally made it through the silent dark to my building and rushed inside, my apartment was empty.

Dammit.

‘Kgosi, are you—’

‘She won’t be long. Akhane speaks with her, then she’ll come to you. Be patient.’

I frowned. I wasn’t sure why that raised my hackles, but I had to take a moment to stop myself snapping at my dragon—reminding myself that he’d set aside his mating and assisted us in getting this far against his baser instincts.

‘Thank you, Keg. Please, ask her to hurry.’

Kgosi grunted his assurance and I turned my attention to how to pass the time until she arrived.

Once she was here we’d only have a couple of hours before we’d have to be ready for dragonback again.

I knew she’d had a chance to bathe before the ceremony—which was when I remembered my ripped shirt underneath this jacket and a full day and night of travel, sex, and sweat making my body clammy.

Thank God no one had commented on my stench.

Stripping quickly, I hurried to my bathing room to clean my body and wash my hair, praying Bren wouldn’t be long, reminding myself I had no reason for the anxiety crackling up my spine. She was close, she was safe. And she was coming to me.

Twenty minutes later just as I was finishing my bath, I heard the front door creak. I leaped from the water, hurriedly toweling off as tentative footsteps crossed the living room and I remembered she hadn’t been into my apartment yet. She might be unsure if she had the right quarters.

“I thought Kgosi would tell me you were coming!” I called, scrubbing at my skin with the towel barely enough to stop myself slipping on the stone, and hurrying through my bedchamber. “I’m so relieved. There isn’t much time—”

I threw open the door from my bedchamber into the sitting room and froze, blinking, stunned for a moment as I tried to make sense of Diaan standing in my sitting room dressed in a simple riding habit, a tight blouse, waistcoat, and divided skirt, suitable for a wealthy noblewoman, but not a Queen.

She stood beyond my kitchen, hands clasped at her waist, her chin low and eyes locked on me warily.

It was only when her gaze dragged down my form that I remembered I was naked and cursed, hurriedly wrapping the towel around my waist, tucking it securely over my hip as I bowed.

“Your Majesty,” I said through gritted teeth. “I apologize. I didn’t expect you—”

“Don’t call me that when we’re alone, Donavyn,” Diaan said quietly, her voice softer and less imperious than I’d ever heard it. She was often casual with me, but she’d always possessed an air of smug power. But now there was no sign of her usual arrogance or sly self-satisfaction.

It took me a moment to recognize her expression. It was uncertain. Not something I’d ever seen from her before.

Shit.

“Your Majesty,” I said pointedly. “Forgive me, but, what are you doing here?” I glanced at the dark windows and the not-yet-dawn outside, then back to her.

Her throat bobbed and her eyes slid from me to the room around her.

A curl of unease coiled up my spine. “Is there a problem?” I asked quickly. “Did something happen to Alexi—”

“No,” she said firmly, avoiding my eyes for a moment, which was very odd.

“He’s fine. Asleep already, I’m sure. I’m sorry for arriving unannounced, Donavyn, but I very much needed to speak with you alone.

Without even a guard,” she said, gesturing towards her clothing.

“They think I’m asleep as well. And I will be, eventually. Only—”

“Diaan, this isn’t safe. How long have you been sneaking out like this? You know it only takes one wrong set of eyes—God, look at what we’re facing right now! Anything you want to discuss with me, send a messenger. I’ll always come the moment I’m aware—”

“I know, but this is far more delicate. A messenger would have been inappropriate.” Her eyes cut to measure me, then she looked down at her hands.

Nerves bubbled in my gut. “Have I angered the King in some way? Are you here to warn me—”

“No, of course not. He gets irritated when you challenge, but it’s half the reason he respects you. He knows he can trust you when you affirm something because you won’t only tell him what he wants to hear. That’s not what this is about.”

“Are you worried that Alexi would put himself in danger? You’ll have no obstacles from me when it comes to keeping him here. With an enemy on our border, I won’t let him—”

“No, that’s not—”

“Have one of my men been inappropriate? Do we need to speak to them about the servants again? I know it’s been some time since we—”

She closed her eyes and grimaced. “Donavyn, this isn’t about the kingdom.” Her voice shook and when she opened her eyes again, they were locked on mine… and pleading?

Shit. Shit, shit, shit. Unable to divert her, or carry on the pretend ignorance, I stiffened and held her eyes with a warning in my own.

She swallowed again—under any other circumstance I would have marveled. I’d never seen her uncertain of herself. Ever. But my skin crawled, because I knew where she was going, and it would not be.

“Diaan—”

“Please, let me speak.”

Had she been a servant, or a healer, or any other person I would have taken her by the elbow and escorted her from my apartment. But she was the fucking Queen!

I bit my tongue to keep myself quiet, but let her see in my expression that I was not inviting intimacy.

I should have offered her a seat, and a drink, and anything else that she wished.

But I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I knew what she’d say, and I was furious that she didn’t respect me enough to have taken all the hints, all my unspoken warnings.

She was no fool. She knew I hadn’t returned her interest. So, what did she think she would gain by this?

“The last few days have been very challenging ,” she said quietly, licking her lips nervously, but holding my gaze.

I didn’t speak, but my heart sank as she blinked and clearly searched for courage. Don’t do it. Don’t say it. Don’t make me—

“When you disappeared into that storm the entire Keep was on high alert. It wasn’t just me, even Alexi was nervous, though he covered well.

He believes in you, Donavyn. Having you here makes him feel surer.

And me as well. I can’t deny that thoughts of your possible death haunted me.

Your absence combined with those thoughts… they have made me see clearly.”

I pressed my lips together over the curses and anger that wanted to come, and shook my head, but she no longer averted her eyes.

“Donavyn, I know I haven’t been subtle. I know you’ve understood my affection for you.

And you have deflected my advances. I won’t deny that I enjoyed the play of it.

You are a challenge, and there are very few men in this world who truly resist me anymore.

It was a game, and for that I apologize.

I understand why you stand here right now with that wariness in your eyes.

What I say and how you respond will not affect your role in this Kingdom. You have my word on that.”

Fuck. “There’s no need to say anymore—”

“Actually, there is,” she said breathlessly.

Then she inhaled deeply enough to press her breasts high in the tight corset of her riding habit and her cheeks flushed as she raised her chin—not with pride, but determination.

“Donavyn, this is no game. I am not playing. And I do not approach you as a ruler, despite what you might think. The past days with your absence and the whole Keep uncertain what had occurred and what would keep you away, I was consumed by thoughts of the past. Of the waste. Of my own missteps and I prayed that God would provide an opportunity for me to speak simple truth to you.”

“Diaan—”

“I have admired you a great deal for a very long time. But as I stood in that fucking Palace and faced the thought of a world in which you no longer existed, I was tormented, and left with no choice but to reflect on myself, my actions, and my heart.”

I stood there, stunned as she drew herself up, as if bracing for a blow.

“Donavyn, I wish to be with you. This world holds very little upon which I can rely. Alexi values me, but as he would any other wealth or asset—to be protected, to be used when desired or needed, and otherwise to be left awaiting his whim. He does not see me. But you…” She swallowed audibly and her eyes sparkled.

“My crown muddies it, I know, but even with that, you see me as a person. And I don’t believe you understand how rare that is among men of power. ”

I swallowed back a curse.

I’d never missed her attraction, or fooled myself that I had to step carefully with her. But I never expected her to approach like this. Vulnerable. Humble. Human.

I closed my eyes to cut off the eye-contact, clawed a hand through my hair and scrambled to find a way to reply that would make my position clear without adding insult to injury.

I desperately wanted to honor Bren’s desire to be measured on her own merits, and I’d told her I wouldn’t tell anyone of our bond unless it was dire.

But I couldn’t risk this. We couldn’t risk this.

The Queen was far too powerful, and too central to our work.

It was the only way to reject her without making it personal.

I took a deep breath, praying Bren wouldn’t spiral into fear when I told her I’d revealed our bond.

But my thoughts took moments to organize, and when I didn’t immediately respond, when I broke eye-contact, apparently the Queen had taken it as a different kind of struggle.

“Donavyn, I will not make your job harder, I swear it—”

I opened my eyes in time to catch her hand as it brushed my chest. She’d hurriedly taken the steps to close the distance between us, and now she leaned up on her toes, reaching for my hair, her lips full and parted as she came in for a kiss, her breath fluttering on my lips.