Page 23 of The King’s Bodyguard (Catkin Trilogy #1)

Landis

I was the King of Sumarene, and I was the most helpless catkin in the world.

I had been working so hard to make a change in my country, but I couldn’t even protect the one person I truly cared about.

Gritting my teeth, I forced myself to keep calm and stare out of my bedroom window.

I was well and truly trapped, and there was nothing I could do about it.

Before me, the windows opened out to a short roof, but climbing down from the great heights would be madness.

I made a mental note to hide chain ladders at crucial corners of the roof in case of future emergencies.

Outside my bedroom door, four guards stood at the ready.

Any chance to make a run for it was cut off.

Somewhere below me in the bowels of the castle, Corrin had been locked up.

Gareth and Hugh hadn’t said much, but they did let drop that Lord Morne and Lord Berran had taken over the interrogation of the prisoner, against Gareth’s express orders.

Only Lord Elthorne, who was arriving tomorrow, could deliver Corrin from my cousin’s clutches.

As a result, I found myself obsessed with the time.

I paced up and down, staring at the sky and asking the sun to fall a few hours earlier.

Of course, the sun didn’t budge. It took its time to slowly move through the sky before sinking behind the distant hills to the west. Now it was time for me to sleep, but I couldn’t.

I lay down on my bed, but I could only toss and turn.

Dark imaginings rose up in my mind’s eye.

What was happening to Corrin? Was he safe?

Was he alright? I wanted to know, but I knew that going down there would only add to my cousin’s ammunition against me.

The next morning, I was still not allowed out.

A hearty breakfast of eggs, bacon, hand-cut potatoes, beans, rashers, and hothouse oranges was delivered on a nice tray and set up on a small table erected temporarily for my dining.

I could barely pick at it. Any questions I posed to the servants went unanswered.

They stared mutely at me with sadness and horror, but the guards who would stand inside the door to watch the servants would put a stop to any conversation. I was to be kept in the dark.

I ground my teeth and began to plan adequate punishment for Lord Morne and Lord Berran.

When Lord Elthone arrived… when he arrived.

I would… I would… I had to stop and think about it carefully.

Clearly, my power in court is far more limited than I would like.

My relative youth and Corrin’s background are working against us. Nobody will listen to me.

It was time I faced the truth. The best I could hope for would be to take Corrin out of the dungeon and send him back to the relative safety of the mountain wastelands. My heart felt as though it had been impaled at the thought.

How would I carry on without him? I couldn’t help but wonder. How could I stay protected? How could I protect Rilla?

I was more frightened than usual, but I knew that sharing my fears with Gareth and Hugh wouldn’t help. After all, they were probably busy trying to get things back under control.

So, I waited and tried to exercise patience.

I spent quite a bit of my morning daydreaming about Corrin.

I thought of our time together. The way he touched me.

The way he said my name. The way he had made me scream with pleasure.

I could feel the touch of his fingers on my skin, around my cock.

He teased me, running his thumb along my slit, pinching my nipples, kissing my shoulders, marking me, and making me his own.

At the thought, my eyes fell closed, and my hand instinctively fell to palm my rising arousal.

Tonight, I would think about him and come.

I wondered if he would ever do the same in the future.

I wanted to do it again. I f Corrin could be freed, perhaps we could meet one more time in secret, and— My thoughts stuttered to a halt. What am I thinking? There is little chance Corrin would be allowed within ten paces of me.

When paperwork was brought in, as well as a few estate managers, I tried to focus on work instead.

I received the tailors for a final fitting of my wedding garments, and then I took luncheon with Lady Hartford.

The good lady was gushing on and on about the flowers, the bunting—what was that anyway?

—the hedge trimming, the feast planned. It was as though nothing terrible had happened, as if my life hadn’t been turned upside.

Depression and disinterest must have surfaced on my face because Lady Hartford ground to a halt and sighed. She set down her tea cup and stared at me with her bright blue eyes. I glanced away, wondering whether she had asked me a question or something. She hadn’t.

“You know, when I was sixteen, I met the tom I was promised to marry. Lord Hartford. Well, as for Nolan… how can I say this? He was, well, difficult. Young. Cocky. And excitable. It was like taming a stallion.” Lady Hartford looked a little sad for a moment.

“We had many fights, misunderstandings. I was upset. I hated the thought of being tied to a loud-mouthed prig like that. I complained to my parents quite a bit. But then we married, and it turned out quite well. He learned to listen, and I learned how to give him a long leash. A leash, still, mind you, but a long one.”

She was trying to comfort me. A lovely gesture, but it didn’t help me in the slightest. I wasn’t sure how to say as much without being dismissive. I sighed, bit into the fluffy scone on my plate, and tried hard not to think about Corrin.

“I heard rumors,” Lady Hartford continued. “They found you in bed with the Munni guard. Just rumors, mind,” she added hastily.

“It’s true,” I admitted calmly. “I… I love Corrin. I feel only friendship toward Rilla.”

“And did you discuss it with her?”

“She mentioned something about… arrangements. It is a custom in Esteria, apparently.” I shrugged. “I told her that I would remain faithful. I can’t—I can’t keep Corrin on the side. He deserves better than second servings. He just wanted to make me happy… and now he’s in trouble.”

Lady Hartford laid a light hand over mine and squeezed comfortingly.

“Perhaps you will find happiness with Rilla?” She offered. “Keep an open mind at least, Landis. Otherwise…” She stopped and then resumed on another tack. “I sometimes forget how young you are.”

That stung a little, but I nodded stiffly and finished off my scone. A few minutes later, Lady Hartford took off. I instantly rushed to my south window and looked down as far as I could into the courtyard and beyond. A bell was ringing. There was milling at the gates.

An outrider. My heart leaped up. Lord Elthorne perhaps?

Sure enough, half an hour later, a carriage rolled into the courtyard surrounded by a company of Munni hunters.

Lord Elthorne descended from the carriage and helped three Munni Wise mollies step down.

All of them were pale-skinned, but one had that particular creamy complexion I knew so well.

A catkin dismounted by her and pulled off his helm.

Black hair, pale skin, and green eyes. Even I recognized the tom from the descriptions.

The scar below his eye was unmistakable—Jan Stonewarden and his goodwife and famous Seeress, Meera Stonewarden. Corrin’s parents.

They had come just as Lord Elthorne had hoped.

My heart leaped for joy. Surely between Lord Gareth, Lord Elthorne, and the Stonewardens, Corrin would be freed.

I could still foresee some angry reactions at court.

Corrin would not be able to return for some time, if at all.

And if he did return, I imagined he would be allowed nowhere near my bedchamber.

But at least he would be hale and whole and free.

I instantly turned to the door and waited.

What felt like an eternity passed by. There was no sign of Lord Elthorne. I had asked the guards to bring Lord Elthorne up immediately. Had they listened to me? I was their king!

Just thinking about how powerless I actually was turned my blood cold. Seething, I sat down and tried to focus on a book. When Lord Elthorne finally walked through my door, he had the look of a world-weary traveler. Behind him, Gareth, Hugh, and the Stonewardens stood.

“Your Majesty,” Lord Elthrone said. “You can imagine our shock to find that our king has been placed under house arrest in his own rooms.”

“In all but name, yes,” I said stiffly.

Slowly rising and moving toward him, I kept my voice level. As if I was in control. As if I wasn’t feeling powerless and scared and angry all at the same time.

“My apologies, Your Majesty,” Lord Elthorne said. “I should have sent Gareth or Hugh in my stead and remained here.”

“You had your duties. I was…” I swallowed and rubbed my arm self-consciously. “I was not as careful as I ought to have been.”

“There have been some serious charges laid at Corrin Stonewarden’s door. Treason. Conspiracy… and the seduction of our young monarch.”

I glanced at the Stonewardens who bowed before stepping back behind Hugh and Gareth. I rested my hand casually on the back of the chair by the table and tried to keep up my calm exterior.

“He has done nothing treasonous. As you know, Corrin has shown his loyalty and dedication to the crown.” I raised my chin and met his gaze steadily. “The only crime that could possibly be laid at his door is his devotion to his duty as my guard… and to making me the happiest person in these lands.”

Jan grunted. “The fukken prat,” he shot a glare at Meera.

Meera stared at me thoughtfully.

“He found his way into your bed after all, then.”

Lord Elthorne raised a craggy, grey eyebrow at her words.

“You told him to? Was this planned?”

“No.” She shook her head. “I simply knew that he was excited to meet a childhood friend he had played with in the royal gardens. I warned him. I told him. But our son, well, he has always marched to the beat of his own drum.”

“If they haven’t flayed him alive, I will,” snapped Jan. “May I see him?”

My heart clenched as I realized that Corrin’s parents weren’t too happy about this development either.

Is it the fact that Corrin had bedded a Sunna like me?

Or was it the difference in position that also scandalized them?

Or perhaps they had hoped to bridge the gap between our kinfolk, and Corrin had simply proven to be an obstacle?

I could see the latter being particularly true.

I sympathized with him. All this time, I had been despairing over my own fate, but Corrin would not fare much better. He had his own destiny to contend with.

“I just…” I turned to Lord Elthorne and asked, trying not to demean myself with begging. “Please can you at least ensure he is safe and well? I would not wish him harmed for my sake.”

Lord Elthorne nodded. He glanced at Hugh, who nodded and disappeared in a relieved flurry.

Apparently, he had been barred from Corrin’s presence.

Now Hugh could ensure that Corrin was safe.

After that, our conversation wound to other topics.

I was formally introduced to the Stonewardens. Then everyone left except for Gareth.

“The Munni guards will return to give watch through the night,” Gareth told me. “Corrin, however…”

“I know.” I looked away and fought the tears rising to my eyes. “Was he… hurt badly?”

“He’ll survive. His will is strong.” Gareth hesitated and then added, “I have a feeling that once Corrin knows what he wants, he doesn’t give up without fighting. The question is, what will you do?”

The question haunted me for the next few days as I tried to think of a way out. What would I do? What could I do? All I knew was that I wanted Corrin, and there was no chance I could fix this in time. Our destinies had finally caught up with us.