Claimed by the Elven King: Part Three Read Online Free PDF Page A

messenger,” she replied as she sat on
the edge of the bed. “Saeria and Rinwen will be along with a change of clothes
shortly. His Majesty wishes for you to remain here in his rooms for the day.”
    I wondered if Lariel knew that I had slept
alone last night. I wanted to ask, wanted to know if she knew where Sethian was
right now, but I just picked up the loaf of bread and remained silent. I wasn’t
really sure if it was proper to ask those types of questions, even if I was the
king’s wife. Prying into or blabbing about the king’s business wasn’t something
we had ever discussed in my etiquette lessons, and even though I considered the
three elven women my friends, they were still part of the king’s staff and
would be expected to follow courtly protocol.
    “You didn’t sleep much last night did you?”
Lariel suddenly accused, nearly making me choke on the piece of bread I was
swallowing. My stomach gave an unpleasant lurch, but thankfully I didn’t feel
the need to gag.
    I coughed and gave her a wry smile. “Do I
look that bad this morning?”
    “Your cheeks are as white as those sheets.
Your eyes are shadowed and also tinged with red.” She tsked . “I didn’t
realize that humans had so much trouble with sleep.”
    “Most don’t,” I said. “Sometimes I just
have a hard time turning my brain off.”
    Lariel fixed me with a particularly deep
stare that made me want to fidget and turn away. It was almost like she was
trying to pry into my mind. With a start, I wondered if she could. So far, the
girls had been really vague about the seemingly magical abilities of the Sidhe I had witnessed so far. Thinking that it was a taboo subject, I hadn’t pressed
for answers, but now I wondered if I should have let the matter drop so easily.
    “You are still worried that His Majesty
will reject you,” Lariel said finally.
    I looked down at the tray, unable to meet
her eyes. “I’ll always worry about that. It’s not something I can help. I’m a
worrywart by nature.”
    She sighed heavily. “Well, I suppose only
time will cure that particular woe. Finish your breakfast and then we shall go
to the baths. Hopefully a nice, warm soak will relax you enough for a nap
afterwards. Your lessons can wait for another day.”
    I managed to eat half the bread and a
couple of slices of apple without having to make a mad dash for the bathroom,
which at that point was a small miracle. Focusing on Lariel’s steady stream of light-hearted
chatter had certainly helped.
    When Saeria and Rinwen showed up, we all
headed for the royal baths.
    As Lariel had predicted, once enveloped by
the pleasantly warm water coupled with the soothing feeling of Lariel’s fingers
massaging my scalp as she washed my hair, my stomach seemed to settle down
enough that it was all I could do to keep from dozing off. A nap was certainly
looking more and more possible. Maybe a nice deep sleep was all I needed to
better manage my morning sickness.
    Yeah and maybe you’ll be crowned the
elven queen tomorrow , I thought glumly.
    Once back in Sethian’s rooms, I changed
into one of the nightgowns Rinwen had brought me and settled down for a nap
with a promise from Lariel to wake me for lunch. I really had to stop skipping
meals.
    It felt like I had only been asleep for a
few minutes when I abruptly heard someone say “Emily” into my ear.
    Hearing my name had me jerking up in bed,
looking around wildly in utter confusion and panic while my heart tried to
escape my chest. Before my eyes could properly focus, I felt a hand cup my
cheek, and the panic seemed to just melt away along the wave of warmth that
began to flow into me. I blinked, and Sethian’s face blurred into vision. He
was looking down at me with a frown and concern in his eyes.
    “Sethian!” I blurted, then immediately
flushed and looked down, horribly embarrassed at how desperate my voice had
sounded.
    “I did not mean to startle you,” he said,
sitting on the bed beside me.
    I rubbed