Total pages in book: 192
Estimated words: 192810 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 964(@200wpm)___ 771(@250wpm)___ 643(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 192810 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 964(@200wpm)___ 771(@250wpm)___ 643(@300wpm)
“Our last war ended in 1932,” I replied. “Nearly two hundred years ago.”
“And do you not think the True Heir annihilating their king and much of his castle to end that constant conflict is not something that still burrs under the skin of those that live in the Edge?”
Was she for real?
“Are you saying you think there’s a possibility that some lunatic has designs on harming the Royal Family because those of the Edge are still smarting after we ultimately spanked their behinds because they reneged on an agreement after they used our dragons to conquer the trolls who had all but vanquished them nearly eight hundred years ago?”
“I’m saying they don’t believe they reneged on anything at all, hence six hundred years of war and skirmishes between our realms,” she shot back.
“And curtsying keeps that in check?”
“Regardless of our modern weaponry, the dragons would fly if anything happened to King Fillion.”
They absolutely would.
“And again, curtsying keeps that in check?”
“It is not the male,” she barked more sharply this time. “It is the throne. It is the history. It is the idea. It’s the blood, shed and drawn. It is the males and females who shaped this realm, their bravery, their sacrifice, their ambition, their foibles, their failures, their corrections. A weaker throne might mean what we know as Night’s Fall would not even exist. We’ve had good rulers, and bad. It is not one male, or female, who made us what we are. It is all of them, their actions, their decisions, their loyalty. And as a collection, that is the throne. That is what you curtsy to. And that show of respect is how those of the Edge know the citizens of the Fall are loyal.”
“Which makes others hesitate to pull anything, because we’d all go batcrap crazy if they did.”
“Indeed,” she sniffed. “Our king, our queen, our True Heir, all of them are the personification of the totality of our realm. As such, they are elevated as representations of Night’s Fall. No. They are Night’s Fall. So, they are untouchable. As such, if someone would wish to enrage the entirety of a nation, draw them into conflict, inflict the gravest insult, who would they select to bring low? A citizen would anger us, but taking aim at the Fall would be setting your sights on the throne.”
Oh yeah.
This protocol stuff was totally interesting.
It was also super scary, because obviously, in the grand scheme of the general crazies that roamed around and foreign policy’s tendency to get iffy, you understand in a vague way that there were threats to the Royal Family.
But now that I knew one personally, and was coming to like him, I wasn’t a big fan of this at all.
Suddenly, her ramrod-straight back went ramrod straighter, doing this before I heard most of her bones crackling as she dropped into a curtsy.
I got up from my desk, turned, and saw Aleksei leaning on the open doorjamb.
Gods, he sure was hot standing in that doorjamb. He looked like he could hold up the entire building.
Nevertheless, I sighed and dropped into a curtsy too.
When I rose, I noted his eyes dancing and one side of his lips was hitched up as he strolled into the room.
“As ever, an honor, your highness,” Madam Garwah said (and yes, it was still a bark, a quieter one, but one nonetheless).
“Is my female causing you problems with her disrespect for tradition?” he asked, the smooth of his voice rippling with amusement as he approached the stage.
“Not at all, Prince Aleksei,” she responded, and she sounded like it wasn’t a lie.
He offered his hand.
She put hers in his.
He squeezed it and dropped his head in a modified bow.
She preened.
Again, he could be sweet and cute.
He let her go and came to me.
And then he was not cute, instead he was just…everything.
His eyes were now night blue.
Seriously, that was so amazing.
He offered his hand.
I put mine in it.
He didn’t take his eyes off me as he raised it to his lips and brushed them against my knuckles.
I wobbled on my heels and bit my lip.
“Good evening, Laura,” he murmured, causing another wobble.
“Hey,” I choked out.
That earned me his eyes dancing again, another lip hitch, then he moved to my side and curled my fingers in the crook of his arm.
Annnnnd…
Yup!
I was right. Touching the sumptuous material of his suit was life-altering.
“I know I’m stealing her early, but we have a busy night,” he said to Madam Garwah.
“And I have a brandy and book to get to,” she replied, flapping a bony-fingered, swollen-jointed hand at us. “Shoo, young people.” Her eyes focused on me. “Tomorrow night, Laura. Five thirty sharp.”
“See you then, Madam Garwah.”
At this point, I didn’t collect my bag and coat. Ever the gentlemale (I was beginning to see the lure of all this etiquette), Aleksei did.