“Crowns,” Ash explained, reaching up to remove his.
A little relieved that I could remove the heavy—albeit beautiful—crown, I carefully worked it free from my hair as Rhain opened the first box. My neck immediately thanked me.
Ash knelt between the benches, placing his crown in the ivory velvet interior. As Rhain closed one box and opened the other, Ash took my crown, his fingers brushing mine and sending a shiver of awareness through me.
“They will remain with you two,” Rhain explained,sending me a quick glance as he slid the heavy boxes against the foot of the bench I sat on. “And then they will be moved to a small chamber off the throne room, where they are stored and can be retrieved whenever you like.”
“Thank you,” I said, and he nodded with one more skittering glance. I hoped he wasn’t thinking of what he’d told me before the coronation.
It was something I couldn’t allow myself to think about as my gaze found its way to where Ash lounged in the seat across from me.
“We will be on our way in a few moments,” Rhain announced before closing the doors and leaving us alone in the soft, dim light of a sconce, either powered by fuel…or Ash.
“Some of my soldiers will ride ahead,” Ash explained, his elbow resting on the ledge of the carriage wall. “To make sure the road is clear for us.”
“Is that necessary?”
“Not really,” he admitted with a shadowed grin. “But they’re taking the safety of their Consort seriously.”
I arched a brow. “But not their Primal?”
“I think they’re more worried about you than me.”
“Sounds a bit…sexist.”
“Possibly.” His grin deepened, revealing a hint of fang in the glow of the sconce. “But not all the guards nor the soldiers are aware of your ability to handle yourself. However, even if they were, they would still want to make sure the path you travel on is a safe one. That is their duty.”
“One they chose?”
His fingers slid across his chin as he eyed me. “All those who serve as guards or soldiers do so out of choice, fully prepared to take on all the responsibilities of such a position. Is it not that way in Lasania?”
“Some say there is a choice for whether one joins the armies. But is it really a choice for those who weren’t able to learn skills while growing up or cannot afford to attend universities to discover new ones?” I said. “For many, joining the armies is the only way to feed themselves or their families, so I don’t see it as a choice.”
“Neither do I,” Ash agreed, and he was silent as the carriage remained still. He offered his hand to me once more. “Sit with me?”
I halted for a moment, mostly out of surprise, and then I rose, taking his hand. He didn’t lead me to the seat beside him; instead, he adjusted himself so he sat with his back against the carriage wall and placed me on the bench between one bent leg and the other that he had propped on the floor. The shimmering gown spilled over the side of the bench and his right leg.
“I can taste your surprise,” he murmured as he brushed the strands of hair from the nape of my neck.
I gave a little jerk at the touch of his cool fingers against my neck. “When you asked that I sit with you, I didn’t think you meant that I was to basically sit in your lap.”
“Do you mind?”
“No.” I drew my thumb against the inside of my palm, following the swirl there.
“Good,” he replied. “How is your neck?”
“A little achy.”
“That’s what I thought. The weight can take a bit to get used to.” His fingers pressed into the tight muscles on either side of my spine, moving in slow circles. My lips parted on a heady sigh. “How does that feel?”
“It feels…” My eyes drifted shut. “Like magic.”
His chuckle was rough as his thumbs pressed in, soothing and working out the knots gathered there. My back arched, my breasts straining against the bodice as he worked his way down. It really was like magic, how quickly he eased the tension that had gathered there.
And how quickly he built up a wholly different tension that gathered itself far from his touch. One relaxing. One exhilarating. I couldn’t pick which was better, not even with a sword held to my throat.
Ash’s palms slid over the diamonds to curl around my shoulders. “How does your neck feel now?”