Warrior Blind by Calle J. Brookes Page B

in more than eight hundred years, as all eyes turned toward him.
    He solved the situation by simply tossing all of his female’s possessions at his man Dell and scooping his female up into his arms. She yelped his name and he joggled her. “Be silent, female. I am claiming you and taking you to our new home. It’s best just to go along with it in front of these eyes. Then we may figure it out between us in a private place. The suite I mentioned is large enough for the both of us to be comfortably. We will not trip over one another. This I promise to you.”
     
    ***
     
    She allowed him to carry her away. What else could she do?
    Like it or not, if she was going to run this city successfully, she needed someone with his experience. She had him, and she had Eaudne.
    She wasn’t sure she wanted to put the older woman through the responsibility of leading another group of people into a war. What if something happened and they were attacked? Would Eaudne be able to handle it?
    And he was big and strong and an experienced warrior. And the people—especially the warriors who followed him—would look to him for guidance.
    And most of the injured they would be serving would be warriors just like him.
    No, she definitely needed him.
    But that didn’t mean that Bronwen wanted to share a suite with him. Because she knew what would happen—after a time she’d be accustomed to having him there, she’d look for him, and miss him when he wasn’t around.
    It was the way the Rajni bond worked for her people. And though she’d deny it to anyone who questioned her—and even to him, if it came to that—Koios was the Rajni the goddess Kennera had picked for her.
    He carried her for a while then he placed her on her feet. “The door here slides open on a crude rope and pulley system. I had my men replace the rope with one from our world. It is especially strong, and when you want to lock the door you wrap it around a stone knob here. It will hold. I tested it myself. The suite is a basic rectangle. It has stone archways instead of traditional doors. There are sliding doors on the bedrooms—there is the king suite and two smaller. There is a study area and a sitting area. A dining area and a place to prepare foods. And there is a bathing suite. I have already sent two of my men back to Relaklonos to gather furnishings befitting a queen.”
    “How ancient is it?” She remembered stories Aureliana had told her of centuries past. How the original Dardanos city had been a wooden town when Auri had first arrived.
    “There is plumbing of sorts but not the kind you are probably used to. I had my men set about finding someone with skills enough to fix it. There will be running water, and I have ordered my men to retrieve several heat stones from the heart of Lothicanos. There is a stone box that they can be housed in. It will heat the water for your daily usage. There are bed platforms that have been hewn from rock. I have asked for bedding for you.”
    “And you? Where will you be sleeping?”
    “Next to my mate.”
    Why did she know he was going to say that?
    “And what about my thoughts on that?”
    “I do not care. I will be at your side until I am assured of your safety.”
    “But there are other rooms in this suite.”
    “I am the king. My place is beside the queen.”
    “Listen, Koios...” Bronwen took her time feeling around the suite, learning where everything was. One thing about it, it felt very open. She felt a slight breeze and turned toward it. “I don’t know what you think is going to happen here, but we’re not going to live happily-ever-after in the castle together.” She found the window and felt along it.
    “Careful. There is no glass yet. I do not wish you to fall out.” He wrapped his hands around her waist and pulled her back against his chest. “I am having tapestries brought in from another room. That will give us proper ventilation. And we will live this happily-ever-after you speak of. But now we