Lifesworn Series

Chapter 10

An hour later, Shanna was dressed in dark pink and forest green, her jewelry all delicate silver, emerald, and pink diamonds. The lawn fell silent as she was announced, then polite applause rolled through the crowd. Her suitors arrayed themselves in one long line, from the largest and most powerful kingdoms down to the smallest and weakest. But so far as Shanna was concerned, that meant the best was saved for last.

Nevertheless, as she greeted each person, she lingered over those she had told her stepfather she was considering. "Your Highness," she said as Princess Cerrithi bowed over her hand. "How are you this afternoon?"

"Splendid, Highness." Cerrithi held on to her hand a moment too long, smiling prettily, tilting her head just a bit to show off the long line of her throat. "I know many have said, but it's an honor to be here."

"The honor is mine, to have such fine suitors grace me with their presence. I hope you will dance with me later."

"I'm looking forward to it."

She was beautiful, and would make an excellent spouse. But Shanna could feel only resignation at the thought of making Cerrithi her consort.

Moving on, Shanna gave her hand to Prince Tuluna, who took it in both of his and dusted her knuckles with a kiss. Bold, which Shanna liked. His eyes were a sharp green behind bright gold spectacles perched on a squashed-looking nose. "Your Highness."

"My princess," Tuluna said, but the words she'd always found so charming and sweet from Kallaar fell flat from Tuluna.

Still, she smiled, and lingered with him a few minutes more before finally moving on. By the time she was nearly to the end of the line, Shanna was already exhausted, acutely aware of Mercen watching and listening to her every move. Her smiles grew stiffer and more strained, and the pleasantries became more and more rote.

The Queen's Courtship was meant to be a pleasant, exciting time, a chance to mingle with peers and friends while she decided which of them was best suited to being her consort. Instead she was terrified that if she stepped wrong just once, it would endanger someone. She was used to endangering herself, but had always tried not to provoke Mercen to harming others.

Her anxieties faded slightly as she finally reached Kallaar. He accepted her hand in his and covered it with his other one, smiling warmly-brazenly, even. "Your Highness, I hope the day has treated you well so far."

"Very well, thank you. Shall we start off the dancing?"

"You honor me." He let go of her hand and offered his arm, leading her to the floor.

One of her favorite dances was the first played, a light, fun number full of sweeping movement that still allowed for the occasional snippet of conversation. "You're a marvelous dancer."

"I have two sisters and a brother quite determined to be the best dancers in the world. But three is an awkward number for practicing, and being the second to youngest, I was enlisted."

"How did the youngest escape that duty?"

Kallaar grinned, face filled with mischief and affection. "She's better with a sword than all the rest of us combined and would have made them trade dancing practice with sword practice."

Laughter nearly cost Shanna a step, and admiring Kallaar's pleased smile almost cost her another.

But as the dance came to an end, she was forced to discard levity and take up more serious matters. "Meet me in an hour in the red parlor and I'll give you what you earlier asked of me."

Kallaar's eyes glittered as he kissed the back of her satin-gloved hand. "Your Highness."

Shanna invited another suitor to dance with her, managing to get through four in total before she had to insist on rest. After another three dances, she excused herself for a longer break, motioning the bodyguards to keep everyone away for a time. Sitting at a small table in a private nook, where she could rest alone for a few minutes, she worked through most of a glass of champagne before excusing herself to use the washroom. From there, it was easy enough to slip through another door and sneak down the hallway to the red parlor.

She was not surprised Kallaar was already waiting, but was surprised Ahmla had come as well. They made a handsome pair, and oh, what she wouldn't give to see just how pretty a pair they could be naked and lost in pleasing each other. She'd always wondered if other people entertained the sorts of notions she did. Penli assured her such was the case, but her impression was people intended it generally as a temporary arrangement. But Shanna didn't want temporary. She wanted multiple lovers permanently; she liked the idea that if she were to die, they'd still have each other, that neither would be left alone. She liked the idea of having more than one person that close to her. Loneliness had been her lot for the past six years, and even before that she'd been isolated by her mother's illness and her stepfather's steady encroachment. She was damned tired of being alone-she wanted to be surrounded with people she loved and trusted.

Dwelling on such things made her miss her mother all over again, the ache sharp, sometimes so painful it left her crying like when her mother had first died. She would have listened to Shanna's questions, would have taken them seriously and answered honestly.

Not that it mattered. Even if other people did want the same unusual arrangement as her, she doubted she'd stumbled across two such people. No responsible bodyguard would ever engage in such behavior with their charge-it was dangerous and risked them failing in their duties for a multitude of reasons.