Sharon Shinn - Reader And Raelynx

“That will be tricky,” Senneth said. “We can give him a Rappengrass housemark, of course, but it won’t look twenty years old.”

Ariane stood. “I’m sure you can find a way around the difficulty. Bring me my son, identified with my emblem, and I will give your princess her husband.”

CAMMONwas wholly bewildered by the sudden changes in his fortune that unfolded after their return to the royal city. He had never, not in any scenario he’d been able to devise, imagined that he would be allowed to marry Amalie. All his energy had gone to trying to figure out a way to stay at the palace, a way to serve her-a way, even, to be her lover, if she was willing, if her powerful protectors did not find it preferable to separate them completely. Of course, he was profoundly relieved that the war was over and all his friends had survived it whole, but it had always been clear to him that the cessation of hostilities would signal the end of his idyll with Amalie. What was allowed on the battlefield during tumultuous times could not be permitted in ordinary life. Now that she had won the right to take the throne, Amalie must prove herself a worthy ruler. And her first act must be to choose her husband wisely, with an eye to placating the marlords.

But she loved him. He knew she loved him. And the minute they had five minutes of privacy, he promised he would stay in Ghosenhall as long as she needed him.

“In any capacity,” he added. They were alone for the first time since their return to Ghosenhall, as Amalie awaited the arrival of yet another visiting lord, come to swear fealty. “I will work in the kitchens if that is the only job open to me. I will stay on as a footman. As long as you want me here, I will stay.”

She was almost crying, and he risked taking her in his arms, though he was supposed to be standing impassively behind her throne, scanning the emotions of petitioners. “But that’s not fair to you,” she said against his chest. “To make you live a life in shadows! Just waiting for the few minutes I have free! I wouldn’t be able to do it! If you were king, and I was some serving girl they wouldn’t allow you to marry? I’d run away. I would! I’d marry the first handsome soldier who marched through the city, or the first merchant who brought me a bunch of ribbons for my hair.”

He laughed helplessly and stroked that hair, just now free of ribbons, though a small silver tiara kept its radiance somewhat in check. “Well, I’ve never been good at running away,” he said. “Whenever anyone has loved me, what I’ve always wanted is to stay nearby. As long as you love me, I think, I won’t be able to leave you.”

He was prepared for it to be hard. He was prepared for it to be heartbreaking. But he was not prepared for his life to be lived without Amalie in it.

Two days after that declaration, she called him to the rose-and-cream parlor where, for a wonder, she was completely alone. Naturally, he did not lose an opportunity to kiss her right away. She was bubbling with happiness, but he could not sift through her thoughts and tell what had elated her.

“I have good news,” she said, standing still with her arms twined around his neck.

“You will be alone in your bedroom tonight and you want me to come to you there,” he guessed.

She kissed him. “Better.”

“Your uncle has decided you don’t have to marry anyone for another whole year. And no one will be watching you closely that whole time.”

“Better.”

He laughed and shook his head. “You never have to marry, and I can have free run of the palace.”

“They’re going to let me marry you.”

“ What ?” he whispered.

“It’s very complicated. You have to pretend you’re Ariane’s son. And you have to get a housemark, which will be quite painful, and I’m sorry about that. But then everyone will think you’re long-lost nobility, a bastard from the Twelve Houses, and good enough to marry me. I think we should have the wedding right away, and then we can have the coronation next year for both of us.”

Cammon usually considered himself fairly quick-witted, but it took her another ten minutes and repeated explanations to make him truly understand what she was saying. Abruptly, he sank to a seat in one of her favorite chairs, and stared at her in bewilderment when she sat in the chair beside him.

“But I can’t be king,” he said at last.

“You’ll be a charming king,” she said.

“But I-what do I know about-kingdoms and governing and-and-money-and strategy-and whatever it is kings know?”

“You’ve traveled halfway around the world and all through Gillengaria!” Amalie replied. “You know so much! And you learn so quickly! I think you’ll be a marvelous king.”

“Amalie,” he said, shaking his head, “I want to marry you. I could never dream of anything I would want more. But I’m afraid to be king.”

For a moment, she rested her head against the back of her chair, thinking. “All right,” she said in her usual fashion, her voice seeming so soft but really so decisive. “I’ll be crowned first. And you’ll be my-my prince-consort or some such title. And every few years I’ll ask you again if you want to be king. And if you do, we’ll have a nice coronation for you. And if you don’t, well, you’ll just be my consort forever.” She lifted his hand and carried it to her mouth. “But you’ll be my husband before the month is out.”

RECEIVINGthe housemark was the most agonizing physical experience Cammon had ever endured. He yelped as the brand was laid against his skin just below the hollow of his throat, and the smell of burnt flesh nearly made him gag.

“And you do this to babies ?” he demanded of Kirra, who had wielded the instrument of torture.

“Well, I don’t,” she replied. “But all the nobles do. Yes. When they’re too small to stop us.” She patted him on the head. “You were very brave. And you lay completely still! I was sure you’d be thrashing all over the place.”

“I wanted to kick you. It really hurts .”

“Don’t whine so much,” Justin said. “I’ve had way worse wounds and never even bothered to mention them.”

“An example of stoicism that inspires us all,” Kirra said.

Ellynor stepped over. “Let me see what I can do,” she said. “I ought to be able to heal it so thoroughly that no one will be able to tell how fresh a wound it is.”

Her fingers were cool and gentle against his newly scarred skin, and her mere touch filled him with a sense of extraordinary well-being. He wondered if, while she was there healing the burn, she had just decided to rummage around in his body and chase off any incipient ailments that might have been loitering in the blood. No wonder Justin looked so offensively healthy these days. With Ellynor at his side, he need never suffer a minute’s illness for the rest of his life.

When she was done, they all crowded around him and exclaimed in pleasure. “Look at that,” Kirra said, pulling down the neckline of her dress to show off her own tasteful housemark, a small representation of the letter D. “It looks no different from mine. Well, the style is different, of course. But otherwise just the same.”

Cammon squinted down at his chest, where he could just make out the diamond-shaped scar, appearing as faded and scuffed as if he’d sported it since birth. “Look at that,” he repeated. “I’m Cammon Rappengrass.”

NOTuntil the housemark had been applied was he brought into the presence of his new family. “I’d be more intimidated at the notion of having Ariane Rappengrass for a mother than at being crowned king,” Kirra told him as she escorted him through the palace to the rooms Ariane occupied.