In this scene, Raik has arrived at the palace and been ushered into the king's throne room. It's empty except for him. After she gives the brief report she's been dispatched to bring, King Orix picks up an apple from a bowl next to him and bites into it.
Are You Hungry?
"I've missed you, you rogue. The palace isn't the same without you. It feels empty, all the time." Orix took a second bite and spoke around a mouthful. "No matter how much I involve myself in my work. Or my wife."
I turned my head to hide my smile. Not proper to gloat.
"Hungry, Vhalgenn?"
My heart warmed at the childhood title: Vhalgenn—the Chosen One. It was the custom in Qarth to give a child of the opposite sex to the sovereign's firstborn to be playmate, companion, and bed warmer. To prevent the sowing of seed in the wrong field, the Vhalgenn was made incapable of bearing or fathering a babe early on. We Vhalgenns weren't meant to fall in love with the ones we served, though our history bursts with tales of...
"I said, are you hungry?"
"Starving."
"Cyrus sent for food as soon as he spotted your horse. He had bath water heated, too."
"Blessings on his house forever." I made the X sign of our god. "I swear, Orix, I've never been this dirty this long. Remind me to kiss him when I'm clean enough for fit company."
"And I suppose I'm not fit?" He stood and held down a hand. "Come on, you rogue. You can eat after you bathe."
I let him take me where he chose, too tired and too trusting to question or resist. No other man could so easily direct me. Few would try.
Book Hooks is a weekly cooperative blog hop hosted by Marketing for Romance Writers as part of the MFRW Authors Blog.
This is a brilliant snippet. You’re so good at minimalist exposition of back story!
Thank you, Lisabet! I work hard to accomplish that.
You do dark fantasy so well, Kayelle. Loved the excerpt. 🙂
Thank you so much, Tina!
This: “No other man could so easily direct me. Few would try.”
In a few words, this says so much about both of them. Love it!
A former teacher once told me that I “write with an economy of words” — making every word count. I hope that’s become part of my author voice, so reading this makes me really smile. 🙂