The Warrior King

Ten

All three of them turned to me. They had matching looks of concern. I swallowed hard and took a death breath.

“What I mean is they're accustomed to not being with me during important occasions,” I explained.

“Then who came with you tonight my dear?” Shelby asked gently. She rested her hand on the back of my chair. 

“Marko and Bertha Huerto. I've lived on their farm since I was eight to help Bertha. It's not far from here,” I answered shifting in my seat uncomfortably. 

“So your family isn’t here tonight?” Raoul asked. I shook my head.

“No, they live too far away. They used to live here, though. My parents knew Marko and Bertha from their childhood. They couldn't afford me to move with them when they left and Bertha needed help. Their daughter, Brielle, and I were close, so they worked it out so I could stay with them.”

“The Huertos sound like lovely people,” Shelby said warmly. I nodded.

“They’ve always treated me with kindness. I owe them a large debt of gratitude,” I said. Shelby placed her hand on my shoulder and squeezed. 

“Sasha, how long have you lived with this family?” Tristan asked. His gray eyes had become much lighter and were not quite so intimidating. I cleared my throat.

“15 years.”

“And how long has it been since you've seen your parents?” he asked. His tone was not unkind, he was simply gathering information; however, that did not stop tears from springing to my eyes. 

“15 years,” I said quietly, dropping my eyes to the floor. The tent was quiet except for the sound of Tristan making his way toward me. He put his hands on each side of my face and drew my face up. I began to panic as I remembered him telling me to never look down in his presence. He bent down and softly pressed his lips to mine.

“Don’t. Ever. Look. Down ” he said in a low voice, punctuating each word with a kiss. I would stare directly into the sun if it meant he would keep kissing me. He dropped his hands and stepped back.

“Dresden!” he called. The pages had discreetly exited the tent but had not gone far. At the sound of his name, Dresden instantly reappeared.

“Yes, your highness?” he asked giving a deep bow. He had toffee-colored skin and his black hair was cropped close to his scalp. He had a broad nose, high cheekbones, and dark eyes. 

“Please find and bring the rest of the queen’s unit from the party here. Once you've done that, dispatch a messenger to the queen’s parents letting them know of the upcoming enlace,” Tristan said and in a flash, the boy was gone.

“How will he know where to find any of those people or who they even are?” I asked.

”Dres is very resourceful. He will get it done,” Tristan said. 

“Well now,” Shelby said clapping her hands together, “we have to prepare for an enlace. That is NOT happening tonight.” She looked at Tristan, who rolled his eyes. 

“Fine, when will it happen then?” Shelby smiled at him.

“I think six months should be sufficient,” she answered. Tristan’s eyes bulged.

“Six months?! Abso-f*****g-lutely not,” he said. Shelby's smile grew wider. “What about six days?”

“It will take you that long to get to the Iron District Tristan,” Shelby said exasperated. “How about a compromise: three months. That's enough time for things to be done properly but not long enough that your male parts will expire from non-use. What do you think Sasha?”

 I thought for a moment. 

“That sounds fine,” I agreed. She turned to Tristan with an eyebrow raised.

“Yes that's fine but on one condition,” Tristan said. “No one is allowed to speak about my male parts unless you will someday be directly impacted by them.” When he said the word ‘impacted’, he looked directly at me. This was going to be a long three months.