I woke in the morning with my head feeling like it weighed at least twice what it usually did. This jet lag was really catching up with me.When I sat up, the room swam a bit, and I had to sit still for a moment, blinking until everything had righted itself.“Is everything all right?” Charles asked.I nodded. “Just jet lag,” I said. “All of this trouble we’ve been dealing with... It’s caught up with me.”He kissed my forehead. “I just wanted to mak
I left my shoes at the entrance to the temple’s interior and traded them for some of the reed sandals offered to guests. Then, I followed the monk deep into the inner recesses of the moon temple grounds.They had small gardens, still bare because of the elevation. Spring wasn’t even close to on its way here, but at least it was ice-free. When we reached the moon pool, a man with silver hair tied back in a ponytail at the back of his head cleaned debris from the water with a skimmer.The monk who led me up there cleared his throat. “Monk Blythe,” he said. “You have a visitor.”
“The moon goddess actually showed up at the baby’s birth,” Monk Blythe explained. He sighed and rubbed his face, then recrossed his arms. “I’m getting ahead of myself. I should probably explain how we got to the birth of the child. Because the poor thing certainly didn’t make it to term.“She was close, in her last trimester, but not ready to give birth yet when it was apparent that Queen Rosemary was succumbing to the poison. King James had been slandering her for their entire marriage, telling the entire Kingdom of Orlune how weak and inferior she was. The couple never even announced her pregnancy.“But honestly, Q
With nothing to do to get rid of those flutters except take the test and prove to myself that I wasn’t really pregnant, I climbed from the bed and headed into the bathroom. I did my business, following the instructions and left the test in there, coming back to sit on the edge of the bed and wait until the timer on my phone beeped.“We never really got a chance to finish our discussion,” Monk Blythe said in a low voice. “There were some things that I needed to warn you about aside from just your personal safety. Because even though I’m positive I know who ordered the poison given to the late Queen Rosemary, I don’t know who the actual poisoner was.
Charles stared at me, starting to look worried. “Are you sure you’re telling me everything?” he asked. “Because you certainly don’t look okay. You’re pale and clammy.”“I still feel a little ill,” I admitted. “But I think that’s to be expected given everything.”“Why don’t you take a nap?” He practically pushed me into the bed, pulling back the covers and stuffing me in.He started to undo my clothing, and I pushed his hands away. “That’s not going to happen right now.”
I lowered myself to my knees in front of Charles, crowded up against his legs by the tight space in the spa’s changing room. But there was more than enough room for me to take him in my mouth and begin working his shaft.I slowly circled the head with my tongue, taking care to tickle the rim with my tongue before sucking the whole mushroom-shaped tip with as much suction as I could get. Then, I slowly took the length into my mouth and back out again.He sighed and then groaned, lacing his fingers through my hair, across the back of my head, and guiding a rhythm. I paused at the sound of voices entering the changing area and then resumed working my mouth arou
I was going to have to come to terms with the fact that I was probably pregnant, and this was probably morning sickness. And it probably explained why I’d been so tired. But the hope that I wasn’t still kept tangling up my will to talk to Charles about it.Perhaps the doctor would call back and tell me that these were all just my fears getting the better of me. I was sick and nothing more.Then again, at the very least, Charles deserved to share this with me. And maybe sharing with him would help relieve some of the anxiety that I was feeling.My phone rang out in the be
I followed the mousy man down the hallways of the palace, nerves rippling through me. Behind me, Charles, Theo, and David all followed, their footsteps echoing off the marble floors. That hollowness didn't do anything to alleviate my nerves. Instead, like the noise of their shoes bouncing off the floors and walls, my nerves bounced all over the place, too.The mousey man stopped in front of a set of doors. “Your companions will need to wait here,” he said.Charles reached for me, gripping my hand firmly and giving me an encouraging look. “We won't go anywhere,” he promised.I nodded, words failing me. Once the three were inside whatever room the mousy man had led them to, the door shut, and he continued to lead me on. We wound through back hallways, getting further and further from the entrance to the palace all the time. How far in were we going to go?A horrifying thought occurred to me. What if he was actually leading me toward a dungeon?This must have shown in the speed with whic