“Can you do me a favor?” I asked Theo. We were still driving through the countryside on the way back from Queen Yarrow’s. “Rather than taking me straight back to the hotel since Charles isn’t even there, can we find a temple for the moon goddess? I’d like to pray for guidance.”“Sure,” he said. “You know? It’s funny. When I first took the job, I didn’t pick you as the devout sort. But you really seem connected with the moon goddess.”“Maybe it seems silly, but she speaks to me,” I admitted. “Not just in a feeling but in dreams and such. Like real conversations.”
“I have come to have the conversations with you that you so long to have,” the moon goddess confirmed. “For the time being, no one will bother us. So, you need to worry about that.”“Thank you. Oh, goddess—”“Please,” she said, “call me by my name.”“Your name?” I asked.“Feray.“I couldn’t possibly. That’s too informal
Charles crossed the small room and gripped my hands. “This is not the way I wanted to announce our engagement. I wanted to do it when the focus could be on you and our upcoming nuptials. I don’t want our union to be a sideshow to everything else that you’ve been accomplishing.”“That’s sweet,” I soothed. “But I’m okay with this. Anyway, you look at it, the public will be celebrating what’s going on in my…our lives. Besides, the sudden announcement might not be a bad thing on a personal level either.”I turned to David and Theo. “Do you think it would help my case with the king if I were
“But probably the hardest thing for me to believe is the whole scent thing.” This time, my laugh was more honest and less nerves. “How stupid is that? The only people who could love me the most smell me?”Charles let out a growl. “How can you doubt the goddess?” He scowled. “If you weren’t going to take anything she said seriously, then why even go there and get her advice? You wanted her to give you information. Then you got it, and now you don’t believe it.”“And you do?” I arched an eyebrow at him and crossed my arms. “That’s so ridiculous. How can a smell bring peace to everybo
A few minutes later, the door opened, and Charles came into the hotel suite’s bedroom. I hadn’t opened my eyes, but I could smell his vetiver.He shut the door behind him, and the bed jiggled when he sat on the corner of it. “Are you all right, Elena?”I nodded but didn’t open my eyes.He lay down next to me and pressed a kiss to the side of my head. “Are you sure you’re all right?”“I haven’t figured anything out yet. If that’s what yo
We returned to our apartment in Packhaven uneventfully. I’d have expected someone from the palace to be waiting at the airport to bring me home, but then again, I hadn’t told them I’d be back yet. So, in order to find me, they’d have to be tracking my flights.I only needed a short time at the house, just long enough to figure out where the stalker lived, and then I would be on another plane out of there. I had done what the mousy little man from the palace had asked and checked in the two days previous.I was positive they were tracking that phone, so they knew exactly where I was at. I assumed that if I wasn’t being bothered, I must
When we arrived, the three of them stayed in the car, allowing me to approach the house on my own. They thought perhaps a woman with three men in tow might scare off anyone who would speak to me.But I didn’t miss the flash of Theo’s weapon as he kept it just below the edge of the window inside the car. If anybody tried to harm me, they’d be dead before they realized what happened.The house in question was a seaside cottage with shake siding and big dormer windows overlooking a neighborhood lined with stately oaks. I pushed open the little gate on the path and made my way to the door, raising my hand and knocking apprehensively.
“I can’t imagine that King James wants to show his face much in front of the goddess,” I said. “So Doctor Milton hiding under her protection doesn’t surprise me.”“Not to mention, living as a monk in that northern temple seems like punishment on its own,” Charles threw in.“It’s not if you’re devout,” I countered. “But I suppose for a doctor, it might be punishing. He probably lived quite the life of luxury before all of this happened.”Mabel nodded. “Not that he deserved to be punished. My son