Oria's Gambit by Jeffe Kennedy

I’d be married to
someone I…”
    “That you what?” he prompted, when she paused
too long. He had that avid feel to him, like Chuffta when he
hunted.
    Pursing her lips and blowing out a breath,
she stepped back. “Someone I don’t abhor.”
    He narrowed his eyes. “That’s not what you
started to say.”
    “Well, it’s what I decided to say.”
    “Uh-huh. Do you know that I dreamed about
you?”
    He had a knack of doing that—disrupting the
flow of her thoughts, taking her by surprise, and destabilizing her hwil . “No,” she replied, face hot under the mask. It was
really too steamy in the baths to be wearing it. That and her
priestess robes. “Why would I know that?”
    “You’re a sorceress. I figured one of your
magic tricks might be to send me dreams.” A bit of tension filled
his voice. Enough uncertainty that she decided not to ask what the
dreams involved. She’d had plenty of her own about him, and if his
were anything like hers…
    “No. It most assuredly is not.” She folded
her hands, then felt too prim, and dropped them. “Now, if we can
discuss—”
    “If you didn’t send them, then I had them
because I couldn’t get you out of my mind,” he interrupted, though
his voice was quiet. “I think you were about to say at least you’d
be married to someone you’re attracted to—and I’m saying I’m
attracted to you, too, Oria.”
    “I know that,” she snapped, so thoroughly
unsettled that she missed denying that’s what she’d been thinking.
“I can feel it.”
    “What does it feel like?” He didn’t come
closer, but his energy intensified so much that it expanded to flow
over her, almost overwhelming. Also addicting, like being warmed by
a sun that never burned.
    “I just—Lonen—can we please drop this topic
and discuss next steps? I’ve arranged to meet with my mother, to
discuss this plan with her. If we’re going to go ahead with this, I
must go now.”
    “You have to schedule time with her?”
    “She’s … not well. My father’s death was
very hard on her. Her health is tenuous and my window of
opportunity narrow because of it.”
    His warmth chilled. “We all lost a lot of
people we loved.”
    “I know. Believe me—” She couldn’t think
about it. Her father dead. Ben and his sweet smile gone forever.
Nat. Her lady-in-waiting. Her faithful guard. She couldn’t count
all the deaths and the misery they’d left in their wakes. “This is
another thing that’s difficult to explain to an outsider, but my
father and mother shared a special bond. Her grief is no greater
than anyone’s, but losing him caused her … damage.”
    Lonen looked thoughtful. “Did they have one
of these temple-blessed marriages—ideal mates?”
    A warrior of such skill shouldn’t be so
clever, too. It simply wasn’t fair. “Yes,” she admitted. “And
that’s all I’m saying about it.”
    “That doesn’t mean I won’t keep asking.” He
grinned and she realized she’d made a huff of frustration. “Okay,
you’ll explain your plan to her and then what?”
    “If she approves, she’ll approach the temple
and we can be married as soon as tonight, and begin proceedings
with the council to make me queen, in case Yar returns sooner than
I expect.” And so she could begin her research into the Trom and be
ready to wrest control from him.
    “ I cannot stress enough how much you
should not hasten that step, at the peril of not only your sanity,
but the wellbeing of us all.” Chuffta’s mind-voice held unusual
sternness, but she ignored him, focusing on convincing Lonen to
stop his games and think about the tasks immediately before
them.
    “And if she doesn’t approve?” he was
asking.
    “Then we’ll have to go with the plan of you
throwing your weight around. But it would be smoother with her
help.”
    “Makes sense.”
    “Tomorrow the council meets. I’ll petition
them to ratify us as king and queen. Once we have the marriage in
place, you and I can plan our