The Duty of a Queen by Dara Tulen Page A

completed it. Her resolve had been firm the night she had chosen
Jonas as her deleon , the one who would make her a woman. She had shown
the same resolve when she had made her decision to enter into a marriage
contract with Prince Oliver. Why, then, did she find tears pricking at her eyes
at the thought of this being her final night with Jonas?
    “I have a boon to ask, my princess.” There was no mocking in Jonas's
address. Though she had never treated him as anything but her equal, he had
always maintained deference for her station. He only used it, however, when he
was serious about something.
    It nearly broke her heart to hear him speak so, but she would never
dishonor him by refusing to acknowledge his request. If it was in her power to
give him, she decided, she would do so.
    “Ask.” Her fingers flexed beneath her cloak, the only indication of
her inner turmoil.
    “Your prince will take you back to his land to show his people their
new queen.”
    She nodded. “Yes.” Her heart gave a twist. As a child, she had once
dreamed of traveling to far off lands, but now that she had gotten her wish,
she found herself willing to trade it to stay among her people, to stay with
him. “We set sail for his land after the ceremony is completed.”
    A pained expression crossed Jonas's face, but disappeared quickly.
He understood the necessity of what had been done. He loved her, she knew, but
he was a warrior first, one of the elite who had earned the intricate markings
of the da'na'sgi . “This is my request, my princess. I wish to journey to
your new land as a part of your court, to guard and protect you.”
    “Jonas.” Her voice nearly broke. She could not grant him this. She
could not take him with her.
    He knew her well and the knowledge showed in his eyes. He went down
on a knee. “My princess, I pledge to you, on the honor of my family, once you
are wed, I will never look upon you as naught but my queen. I ask only that I
not be parted from you. I can bear to never touch you again, but I cannot live
without knowing of your well-being. Allow me to serve you.”
    Astrid took a step forward, her fingers deftly working to unfasten
the ties on her cloak. She knew what she was about to say was not the wisest
decision, but she had been strong for so long, her resolve was weakened by what
she was going to do. If she had Jonas with her, she could continue to be
strong. Even if she could not touch him, to know he was there would be enough.
    She looked down at him and took his face between her hands. That
familiar face that she had known for so many years. She could not lose him,
though if he asked, she would let him go. “Jonas, as my beloved, I should not
agree to this, but as your princess and your future queen, I will gladly grant
you, my greatest warrior, a place on my court as my personal guard.”
    She saw the look of relief on his face a moment before she took his
mouth with hers. His arms slid under her cloak and she felt his lips twitch
with surprise as his hands moved across bare skin. She moved with him as he
stood, not wanting to part from him one moment. He pulled her to him, the heat
of his body blazing through his thin tunic and trousers, and she could feel him
hardening against her hip. Desire flared in her belly and she parted his lips
with her tongue. He made a sound like a growl and walked them back until she
felt the table against her back.
    Jonas lifted her then, setting her on the edge of the table so that
they were near the same height. He pushed her cloak from her shoulders, letting
his hands trail down over her arms, tracing the familiar patterns of her ma'sgi .
She tilted her head back as his mouth broke from hers and began to move over
her jaw and down her throat. The muscles in his shoulders bunched under her
hands, and she could feel his tension as he kissed his way down her neck. She
knew what he wanted, and a part of her wanted it too. Among the People of the
Grey Stones, it was customary to mark