His brows furrowed.
“I don’t suppose you cook.”
Head tip then, and I heard Varic exhale behind me.
“Well?”
“Cook food?” He sounded perplexed.
I nodded quickly.
He probably thought I was nuts.
“On no, my consort,” Marcellus said, chuckling over me, reaching for Dae-Jung, “you––”
“He’s mine,” I told him, my voice hard, absolute. “You said he was my gift. Yes?”
All eyes were on him, Andreas turning to look at his cousin, eyebrows raised, the queen’s smile warming her eyes, and even the king nodding.
“Well, yes, but—”
“Then we’re good,” I told him, standing up and offering my hand to Dae-Jung. “Do you have stuff you need to get from—”
“No, my consort,” he said quickly, without a trace of an accent, staring at me in absolute wonder and, after a moment, deciding to trust, taking my hand as I helped him to his feet. “I require nothing from my previous service.”
“We can go tomorrow and get you some different stuff to wear, because all this,” I said, indicating his robes, “is gonna be hard to get around in.”
“Yes, my consort,” he agreed, squinting at me.
I turned to Varic. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll take Dae-Jung and get him settled, and then I’ll come right back.”
Varic turned to Nerilla, expectantly.
“I’ll go with you,” she volunteered, as if on cue.
“Oh great,” I said happily, “that way I probably won’t get lost again,” I said to the room.
The clapping was unexpected.
Seven
Tiago was looking at me like I’d grown another head. Hadrian was much the same.
“It’s so lovely to have the opportunity to speak with you both,” Nerilla told Tiago, smiling wide, still holding his hand. “I’ve admired your close ties to the prince and so wished that I’d had the opportunity to bond with Cassius’ rajan before he accepted his new position in Andreas’ household.”
Tiago glanced at her, and then his eyes snapped back to me as she released his hand and turned to Hadrian.
“And I know you fought beside Cassius on all his campaigns,” she told Hadrian, reaching for him. “I know, also, that you almost lost your own life returning him to Varic’s side at the end.”
Tiago jolted, turning slowly to Hadrian, who winced before smiling at Nerilla, taking her hand in his.
“You thank me for ancient service, Your Highness,” he told her, using his gentle tone.
“I always thought that you and the rajan made the most beautiful couple,” she said, beaming at him and then smiling at Tiago.
“May I speak?”
Nerilla had been walking at my side, holding my hand, as had become our new habit. Dae-Jung was on my right, after I’d forbidden him to walk behind me, and Tiago and Hadrian were leading, since it was what Hadrian did. When Dae-Jung asked the question, we all stopped to look at him.
“Who do I address my questions to, and—”
“You talk to me,” I told him, smiling. “And listen,” I said, facing him. “You can do whatever it is you want to do. I’m not sure how all this works, but if you want to go off and live your life wherever you—”
“No,” everyone but Dae-Jung said at the same time.
“Oh, okay,” I said, looking at Hadrian.
“You now owe Dae-Jung safety,” Hadrian informed me. “You will provide for him. You will shelter him, ensure that he is fed—”
“I give him my blood?” I asked, even as my stomach roiled and my chest tightened.
Everyone yelled no a second time, even Dae-Jung, who looked horrified. Nerilla appeared flushed, clutching her chest.
“Sorry, sorry,” I said quickly, exhaling sharply, so relieved. I couldn’t imagine ever willingly allowing anyone but Varic to feed from me. It was intimate, part of a deeper connection between us that I felt was sacred. “I didn’t think that could be right because—”
“Jason, you must not suggest such anywhere,” Tiago said breathlessly, taking hold of Hadrian’s arm to steady himself.
“Please,” Hadrian said patiently, staring at me. “If you are unsure of something, ask first, yes?” he prodded me. “Do not blurt out all that tumbles through your mind.”
“Okay,” I agreed, turning back to Dae-Jung. “You can count on me, all right? Have you ever been to New Orleans?”
He looked confused, his glorious features scrunching up.
“We’re not gonna stay here, but we’ve got an awesome place in the Garden District, and even though, compared to this, it’s small, I think you’ll—”
“I won’t remain here, at court?”
“Oh groovy, you do contractions, nice.”
He looked at Hadrian, who forced a smile for him, then at Tiago, who pinched the bridge of his nose, and then at Nerilla, who stepped close and offered him her hand.
“I know that being in the service of Marcellus Maedoc, entertaining others at his behest, being a pawn in his game whenever you were brought to court, and last time—” Her breath caught as her eyes narrowed. “—taken in front of Varic merely because Marcellus wanted to show him the gifts that Varic would never possess…. Could I have claimed you for myself, as a courtier, I would have.”
He bowed to her and then returned his attention to me. “I have questions, if I may.”
“Yeah, of course.”
Quick throat clearing. “Will you take me to your bed?”
“No.”
“Never?” He needed clarification.
“No, never.”
“Will you allow others to have me?”
“No,” I told him, shaking my head.
“If the prince wants me?”
I took a breath. “If he ever does, I’ll leave him. Do you understand?”
More yelling then, and I threw up my hands in defeat.
“You do not leave the draugr,” Hadrian informed me as Nerilla looked at me, her expression pained, and Tiago took short in-and-out breaths. “He will never allow such. You are to be mated, Jason Thorpe, you will not—”
“Yeah, okay, I got it,” I conceded, my focus back on Dae-Jung. “I’m not trying to be a dick or anything, because clearly you’re very beautiful, and I’m sure super smart, and probably funny—though it’s doubtful that you had the opportunity to trade witty banter in your previous service.”
He was so still it was kind of creepy.
“You’re rambling,” Nerilla pointed out. “Are you aware?”
I made the international sign for her to zip it before I gave my attention back to Dae-Jung. “So, the prince, he wants me. I’m his mate, and we’re not going to have courtesans or courtiers. I had kind of a bad experience with that,” I said, chuckling, and Tiago groaned loudly. “And so it’s just, with us I need you to help take care of everybody, okay?”
His head turned, and he looked at Tiago, then Hadrian, and back at me. “Am I to understand that I will be expected to cook?”