Shantra laughed softly, but did as she was told. “Finally!” he grumbled.
“Finally what?” she asked, as she took a bite of the delicious eggs.
“I’ve finally found an order that you’ll obey,” he teased as he sat down across from her.
She ate her meal quickly. “What did you want me for today?” she asked. “I thought you had some big meeting with your advisors.”
“That can wait. You mentioned some concerns last night so I’m here to reassure you that I heard them.”
Her mouth froze, stunned at his comment. “You’re going to reassure me?” she asked, trying to understand. “About my concerns last night?”
He nodded his head, watching her the whole time.
“What are you going to…?”
“Eat your breakfast, Shantra,” he interrupted her.
She stabbed another bite, but she was too intrigued. “I’m finished.”
“Not enough. Keep on eating. You didn’t eat anything for breakfast or dinner yesterday.”
“I had breakfast.”
“No. You had a cup of coffee. And not even that.”
She almost choked on a bite of toast. “How did you know that?” She hoped he hadn’t heard all of the horrible things Linda had said. Well, they were horrible to her ears, but probably just normal conversation to everyone else in the palace.
“Doesn’t matter. It’s true. Now eat up. You burned a lot of calories last night,” he teased, with a completely straight expression.
Shantra almost choked again, but she managed to swallow the food. “I can’t believe you just said that,” she whispered, looking around to see if anyone had overheard him.
“No one else is in here, Shantra. Why are you blushing?”
“Stop it,” she whispered, and set her fork down. “I’m finished.
“No, eat more.”
“I can’t,” she said and shook her head.
He sighed and picked up a piece of toast, handing it to her. “You’re not eating enough to feed a pigeon,” he commented, then took her hand and led her out of the room. “Tonight, you’re going to eat more and I’m going to tell the staff to let me know if you skip meals again.”
She laughed, but hurried to keep up with his longer strides. “Now will you tell me the mystery?” she asked.
“I think this is something someone else should explain,” and he opened a door to a dark room where three walls were filled with huge computer monitors. “Musef, this is Princess Shantra. She told me last night that she’d like to hear the plans you’ve put in place to protect the children we will eventually have.”
Shantra’s mouth fell open with his words. He’d been listening? He’d truly heard her?
Of course, she wasn’t overly concerned about the security around their future children, that had only been an excuse to ease her conscience for not wanting to have children immediately. The truth was she wanted to get to know him better. She knew he couldn’t love her, not the way he’d loved his first wife. But it would be great if he could at least feel affection for her. Something other than lust would help her feel as if their marriage had a fighting chance.
For several moments, she had trouble focusing on the man’s words, her mind still reeling with the tender emotions Laithir’s tour stirred within her. She wasn’t expecting love, but the fact that the man took time out of his busy schedule to reassure her must mean that he at least respected her, right?
She blinked back the tears and took a deep breath, focusing on what the man was telling her. She was surprised by the amazing security that the man had established, not just inside the palace, but around the city as well. He talked about all the guards, the men and women who were being trained to protect infants, the different tactics they would incorporate over the years as her children grew up and matured. “The university issues have yet to be discussed, Your Highness,” he finally explained. “But I can assure you that, when the university is chosen for your children, we’ll ensure that they are safe.”
The man bowed slightly when he was finished.
Shantra smiled gratefully at the man, and shook his hand. “Thank you very much for your time and patience in explaining all of this to me. You’ve been very informative.” She wanted to turn around and throw her arms around Laithir, to thank him for this morning, but she knew she should maintain decorum.
Laithir took her hand again, and led her out of the security offices. “Thank you,” she whispered when they were out in the hallway.
“We’re not finished yet,” he said and led her down a long hallway with several people bowing and stepping out of the way as she and Laithir passed. She’d only been in her brothers’ offices in Kilar and hadn’t seen where the bulk of the work was done, so this was an interesting window into the machinations of government. She also suspected that not many of the people in this hallway normally saw their leader. Their startled expression and the way some of them dropped their papers or file folders when he walked by, indicated surprise and shock that he would be in this section of the palace.