Sharon Shinn - Reader And Raelynx

Her hand moved in his, but she did not pull it away. Part of him remained astonished by that fact, and part of him remained delighted. There was no detail of this scenario he had envisioned this morning when he woke up. “And you’ll tell me if any of my suitors would be unkind to me,” she said.

“As far as I’m able to judge.”

“But there’s more you can tell me.”

“About the men who come calling? Like what?”

“About men in general. And what they will expect me to know.”

“Know about their family fortunes? I thought Milo briefed you about that.”

“Of course I’m familiar with their estates and their connections,” she said. “It’s just that I-well, I’m a princess. There are things people haven’t thought to tell me. Even Valri.”

He was mystified. “What things?”

She took a deep breath and stared straight in front of her. “I don’t know what happens once I’m married,” she said. “I’ve never even seen a man’s naked body.” A tiny hesitation and then, “I’m sorry if that embarrasses you. I just-I don’t know what they will want from me.”

He was thoughtful, not embarrassed, and he let enough of that emotion flow over to her so that some of her tension eased away. “Not even statues?” he asked presently. “Not even books? You said you spent a great deal of time in your father’s library.”

She laughed, but the sound was slightly strained. “Well, those books were locked up, apparently, or else I could never find them! I mean, I know their bodies are different, I just don’t-I haven’t seen-and then I don’t know the rest of it. How they fit together. It seems mysterious and-well, a little frightening, to tell you the truth.”

Cammon considered it. “I can tell you how it goes.”

The relief poured from her in waves. “You’ve made love to a girl?”

He nodded. “When I lived in Sovenfeld. I was seventeen. My father lived in one town for three whole months, and that’s when I got to know Murrie.”

He could tell that just the rhythm of his voice was calming her down. She was feeling both relaxed and hopeful. Cammon will help me . It wasn’t an articulated thought so much as an unshakable belief. She felt secure enough to allow some of her curiosity to surface. “Were you in love with her?”

He grinned. “Well-she was about ten years older than I was, and mostly bored, and she thought I was a funny kid. So I don’t know that I loved her. But I sure liked her a lot. We were silly together. I made her laugh and she made me feel good.” He felt his grin grow a little lopsided. “So I don’t know. Maybe you don’t ask too much more of love than that.”

“So?” she said. “How does it go?”

He paused, trying to figure out the words. “Well, you’d have to know what a man looks like. I don’t suppose you have drawing paper with you. I could sketch in the mud, I suppose.”

“You could show me,” she suggested.

He nodded. “I could, if you wanted. You realize I’ll be hanged if anybody sees me taking off my clothes in front of you.”

“Nobody ever comes down here except Valri and me. And the groom who brings fresh game, but he was here yesterday.”

If he was going to strip in front of the princess, Cammon wanted to be a lot more certain that no one would accidentally witness the event. He expanded his consciousness outward by feet and yards, searching for other souls wandering nearby. The Riders were the closest but they were acres away, focused on their mock battles. Farther still were gardeners, servants, grooms-the hundreds of people who lived and worked at the palace-but none were close enough to come upon him unawares.

With Valri on her sickbed and Ellynor in attendance, Cammon didn’t think he even needed to worry about Lirrenfolk creeping up on him at a time he most desired no audience.

Slipping his hand free, he stood up and began unlacing his pants. “It’s pretty cold, so that’s going to have an effect, but you’ll get the general idea,” he said. “Do you want me to take off all my clothes, or just my trousers?”

“All of them,” she said. “If you wouldn’t mind.”

So three minutes later he was standing naked before Princess Amalie, heiress to the throne of Gillengaria, explaining how a man’s body worked and how it could be used to pleasure a woman’s. She listened intently, asked a dozen questions, made him turn around, and sought clarification on a couple of points. The raelynx lifted his head as if Cammon might smell a little more appetizing now that his pale skin was uncovered, but it showed no inclination to attack. Cammon was freezing by the time Amalie was satisfied enough for him to put his clothes back on, and he hopped in place for a few minutes just to get his blood warmed back up.

“Thank you,” she said. “I’m still not sure I’m looking forward to this, but at least I know what to expect.”

He grinned and settled next to her on the bench again. There didn’t seem to be any casual way to retrieve her hand. “Murrie liked it,” he answered. “She said most girls did. So maybe you will, too.”

“Maybe it depends on the man you’re with.”

“Maybe,” he said. “So be careful who you pick.”

She gave him a sideways glance through a fall of bright hair. “That’s why I need you,” she said. “To help me make the right choice.”

ITwas Cammon, not Amalie, who insisted that they return to the palace. “Majesty, they will send me away from Ghosenhall altogether if they think I am becoming too familiar,” he said, and that, apparently, was a threat that worked. So she sniffed, and let them out of the garden, and preceded him to the palace so that no one would see them together. He returned to his room to await his summons, and soon Milo had reappeared at his door.

“It seems the princess desires your attendance after all,” the steward said. “She is in the parlor.”

But Valri had roused herself from her sickbed enough to make sure Amalie had a chaperone, and Cammon arrived in Amalie’s favorite room to find Belinda Brendyn already in place. Amalie shot him a warning look, but he knew better than to pull up a chair and instantly deal out a hand of cards.

“Majesty? My lady? Milo said you might have need of me.”

“The regent’s wife mentioned that she knew very little about mystics, and I said you would be willing to tell us stories to pass the time,” the princess said.

Belinda smiled. She was small and dark-haired and growing round with pregnancy, and she simply glowed with goodwill and happiness. “Well, I know that some of them are exceptional healers, and I was hoping one of them might be on hand when my baby comes,” she said. “It’s my first child, and I’m a little nervous.”

“You can’t count on Kirra being anywhere nearby when you need her, but there’s a Rider who’s just married a mystic, and she’s a gifted healer,” Cammon said. “I’m sure Ellynor would be happy to meet with you anytime you wanted.”

He didn’t stay long, and over dinner that night he only sent one or two comments Amalie’s way when something in the conversation struck him as odd or humorous. But it didn’t matter. He was sublimely happy. Amalie was no longer angry with him. And the whole world was glorious.

TWOdays later, Valri was fully recovered, Senneth and Tayse were a day into their return journey, Kirra and Donnal were headed for Danalustrous, and Toland Storian came calling.

Amalie had spent the morning combating her dread. “But I hate him, Valri,” she said every time the queen reminded her to treat him with friendliness. “He’s a pig.”

“Hey, maybe Kirra could really turn him into a pig,” Cammon suggested. Amalie looked amenable to the idea, but Valri frowned.