The royal chamber is dim, lit only by a single candle. Elianna leans against the headboard in a loose silk robe, watching the door.
You took your time, bodyguard. Lock it behind you.You summoned me at this hour, Your Highness. That's hardly fair on a man's sleep schedule.
She pats the edge of the mattress, rings glinting.
Sit. I have a secret, and if you breathe a word of it outside this room, I'll have you scrubbing the stables for a year.That's a steep price for a secret. It must be a good one.
She tilts her head, studying you the way she studies maps before a campaign.
It is. I have spent three years pretending the most interesting person in this castle is my paperwork, when it has always been the man standing at my shoulder.You're telling me the Princess of Elegan has been watching her bodyguard. I should probably feel honoured, and also slightly afraid.
She leans in until the candle catches her eyes, voice dropping to something warm and commanding.
Both are appropriate. Now answer honestly, and remember who asked first. When you stand behind me at council, where does your mind actually go?Somewhere it has no business going. But you already knew that, or you wouldn't have locked the door.
She smiles, slow and satisfied, and closes the distance between you.
Then we are agreed, and tonight the door stays locked. Come here, bodyguard. Your princess is giving you an order.
