The Queen's Consort by Eliza Brown Read Free Book Online Page B

hair swayed with her movement. “Even though I could stare into his green eyes all day and his lips make me swoon—”
                  “Swoon?”
                  Swoon?
                  Clairwyn laughed, and happiness transformed her features. She should laugh more often, every day, and she should smile all the time. She should always be as happy as she was now.
                  “Yes, swoon. I am a silly girl, at least where he is concerned. The crowd melted away until he stood alone. And I danced only for him.”
                  She whirled and the years melted away until she was the girl he remembered, the girl he'd coveted. The girl he still wanted.
                  “He tossed a bag of gold to Tristam, who nearly fainted.” She giggled.
                  Even Gladnys smiled. “I would have liked to see that.”
                  “You'd like to see anything, dear Aunt.”
                  “True.” The fey seemed undisturbed by the teasing.
                  “Tristam told Ansel that I was a Highlander, not a slave girl.'I know what she is,' the prince replied. 'I want her. And I will have her.' He snatched me up, as bold as you please, and kissed me giddy.”
                  “You, giddy? Another sight I would pay dearly to see.”
                  “Yes, giddy. My toes curled and I nearly collapsed at his feet when he released me. 'You will have me as well,' he said to me. 'I will return for you. Be ready.' And he walked away.” Clairwyn collapsed into the chair.
                  “Tristam must have killed a dozen horses in his haste to spirit you away.”
                  “Very nearly.”
                  Ansel's hands curled into fists with remembered anger. When he'd found her gone his wrath had been truly awful. He'd torn apart the fair, the village, and the countryside for miles around in his search for her.
                  Clairwyn's eyes were distant, her happiness slipping away. She pressed her fingers to her lips. “As he held me I felt his strength, his power, and his inner turmoil. He knew that a Highland girl would bring him nothing but trouble—”
                  “He had no idea.”
                  He was still reeling.
                  “I didn't see Ansel again, didn't feel him, until Andromeda died.” Her shoulders slumped with the weight of her grief. A small, sad smile curled her lips. “But he was willing to brave that trouble. For me.”
                  She was worth it.
                  “He is a man of courage and conviction. You unsettle him, make him question, make him think. He is a man of action, not deep thought. It is not easy for him.”
                  He nearly growled at the truth in the fey's words.
                  “But you are sure?” the fey pressed Clairwyn.
                  “I am. Since that first moment, I have been sure. My fate is bound to Ansel.”
                  She sounded sad. As well she should. He was a man of conviction, and he was going to kill her.
     
     

 
     
     
     
    Six
                  “My Queen,” a Guard said, “you have a visitor.”
                  Caine gave the Guard a wide berth as he walked into the room. “Just keep your hands to yourself, young man,” he barked. “Unless you're going to buy me dinner and drinks.”
                  Clairwyn hid her smile.
                  “Your Guard is very interested in your safety, my Queen.” Caine scowled.
                  “They worry overmuch. What threat could reach me here?”
                  Behind the tapestry, Ansel smiled grimly.
                  “You have concerns, sir,” Clairwyn said to her advisor.