Chapter 44 Safe With Me
Chapter forty-four
Safe With Me
Aboard the Halcyon, three days later
“Goodbye!”
A large delegation from Aurora turned out to wish the Verdancians a safe voyage. Lark insisted on waving farewell to them before Azaleen ushered her down the steps, through the galley into their cabin, and ordered her to sit.
“Really, I’m feeling much better,” she insisted.
“I’m sure you are,” Azaleen clipped and pressed an incentive spirometer into her hands. “Now, take slow, deep breaths like the nurse instructed you. I’ll not have you developing pneumonia on my watch.”
Lark rolled her eyes, stuck the mouthpiece between her teeth, and sucked a little ball up the tube, holding it there while Azaleen counted to three.
“Nine more times,” the queen ordered. The boat rocked as the crew up top cast off.
Lark always knew Azaleen was bossy, but she hadn’t guessed she possessed such a protective nature.
She’d been in and out of the hospital, checking every few hours and chewing out nurses if the smallest detail was off.
The first night, Lark awoke to spy the queen sleeping in the visitor chair, refusing to leave her side.
And she’d kissed her. It hadn’t been a dream at all, as Lark discovered whenever they’d managed private moments. Almost worth getting shot for.
Skye tromped in, her usually feisty face sagging with gloom. “Are we switching spots or something?”
“Yes.” Azaleen, sitting beside Lark on what had previously been the queen’s side, glanced to Skye, who hung in the doorway.
“You and Camille can share that bed. I have to monitor Lark’s condition, as I’m the one who rushed our departure.
” Lark suspected—hoped—there were other reasons for the change in sleeping situations.
Skye shook her head, trudged over, and plopped on her bench. “Not your fault—stupid Luther Irons and his raging followers. Hey, let’s take over the world. Won’t that be fun?”
Camille entered next, much more cheerfully than Skye.
“What fortuitous timing!” she chirped. “We managed to agree on all the terms amicably and sign the document before receiving word of the Republic’s invasion.
” She made a shooing motion at Skye, who slid over, granting her room to sit.
“I must say, I was impressed by the AlgonCree people and the high council.”
“Me too,” Azaleen agreed, adding under her breath, “even if they were interminably slow about everything.” She glanced at Lark. “Five more.” Her pointed look left no room for argument.
Even while conversing about important matters, she’s still focused on my breathing practice.
The thought warmed Lark as much as did Azaleen’s nearness.
She didn’t bother speculating what would come of their attraction, how long it would last, or whether necessity dictated it remain secret or brief.
There were too many variables, too many competing factors, circumstances, and considerations.
She determined simply to enjoy every minute spent with Azaleen to the fullest.
Lark felt the motion of the river, the jerk of wind catching in the sails. Skye’s chin fell onto her folded hands, elbows propped on knees. Taking a quick break between exercises seven and eight, Lark asked, “What’s wrong?”
Skye huffed a breath and glanced at the skylight.
It was cloudy with a strong chance of rain.
“I wanted to get to know Renée better, spend a little more time here. She wanted to come with us, you know—argued with the high chief about it. I told her I wanted her to stay where she was, safe. We don’t know how far the Republic’s incursions will spread, or where battles might spring up.
She’s more of a lover than a fighter, and High Chief Batise and I put our feet down. But I miss her already.”
Sucking air through the tube, Lark glanced at Azaleen. If this war lasted more than a few weeks, she’d end up in the thick of it, leaving the queen in the safest spot possible.
“I’m happy you made a new friend, Skye,” her aunt said, reaching an arm around her shoulders, squeezing them.
“I’ll be making other trips to Aurora, now that we’re treaty partners.
You’re welcome to come along. You did the right thing, though.
I know you couldn’t live with yourself if Renée suffered any ill effects from the invasion. ”
“Yeah.”
Luke ducked his head to pass through the doorway. “Everyone OK in here?”
“Yes, thank you,” Azaleen replied. “What was General Wasaykeesic’s most recent estimate?”
Having finished sucking a ball up a tube, Lark laid the apparatus down. An hour from now, her new caretaker would be ordering her to do it all over again.
“He’s called up some reserve units to reinforce his eastern division and mobilized a two-thousand-strong battalion of marines,” Luke reported.
“This morning, he told me they’d be departing Fort Halifax in a week.
They’re running some twenty-first-century frigates, destroyers, and converted freighters with a combination of solar-powered electric engines and diesel backup generators. ”
“We could use some of those,” Azaleen said dryly.
“They’ve also got a state-of-the-art nuclear vessel—but, for obvious reasons, they aren’t sending it.”
“Wouldn’t want that falling into enemy hands,” Lark commented.
“For sure,” Skye concurred.
“Hard to say if they’ll catch up with us,” Luke continued, “even though the electric engines run about twice the speed of our sails. Each ship has cannons, the destroyers have rocket launchers, but, like us, they have a limited supply of rockets. Machine guns.” He shrugged, as if ticking off items on a list. “I think they could crush anything Irons sends at us by sea. It’s the land invasion that worries me.
If I may ask, what reply did you send to General Stark? ”
“You may ask,” Azaleen said, with a calculating sharpness in her beautiful blue eyes.
“I instructed him to alert all bases and launch scout balloons to track the Iron Army. While I’m leaving the details to him, I suggested Stonevale’s forces move to intercept north of Tupelo.
If my brother-in-law is as clever as he thinks, he can lay a trap and catch the enemy off guard.
But we must be careful not to commit our troops without adequate intelligence.
Whisper might say the Iron Army is moving here or there, yet their orders and path could change.
For that matter, the report itself could be a ruse.
That’s why we must have visual confirmation—even if it risks losing a balloon. ”
Speaking of being impressed, Lark thought, admiration for Azaleen growing by the moment.
Remarkable tactical planning. Of course, the suspicion of being double-crossed always rose to the top with Azaleen, as Lark had witnessed before.
It made her wonder when she had been fooled, betrayed, or taken advantage of in the past. Indignation surged—she wanted to punch whoever had hurt the queen, likely long before she wore the crown.
“Excellent thinking, Madam Queen.” Luke cocked his head at Lark. “Are you going to live, Sutter?”
“That’s the plan,” she answered with a cheeky grin.
Luke laughed. “Well, I’d better see if I’m needed topside. Talk to you later.”
“I want some fresh air before it starts to rain,” Camille said and followed Luke out. Lark peered questioningly at Skye.
“Oh, yeah, well …” She stood up and stretched. “I hope everyone likes salmon, ‘cause Pike and Flynn have the ice chests jam-packed with them. See y’all later. Got to go pine over Renée in private.”
As soon as Skye was gone, Lark turned a radiant gaze on Azaleen. “You are such a brilliant leader. Is there anything you don’t think of?”
Azaleen blushed, a surprised laugh spilling from her inviting lips.
“I’m glad you think so. I can’t afford to overlook a single possibility.
Unfortunately, it happens sometimes.” The levity evaporated from her manner.
“Like when the country ran out of medicine. AlgonCree is so far ahead of us in reclaiming lost medical advancements and technology. I’m just glad they can’t grow cotton and need us for something. ”
Lark reached for her hand, squeezed it. “We’re good for more than cotton. I think High Chief Batise was impressed with you—our nation’s greatest asset.”
Azaleen leaned closer, hip and shoulder brushing hers. “You are biased in my favor.” Her lips grazed Lark’s cheek.
“I must say, while I always found you the most beautiful, desirable woman on the planet, my opinions on everything else have shifted quite a bit. But you never answered my question from before.”
Azaleen’s brows knit. “What question?”
“The one about why you would want to be with me?” Maybe Lark should let it be, just accept the blessing, no matter how fleeting it might be.
But she had never been one to engage in casual dalliances.
When she gave her heart to someone, it was all the way.
She just needed to know what kind of ride she was in for.
Azaleen’s arm snaked around her, pulling her nearer.
“Because …” she began, snuggling close. “I’ve never met anyone like you before.
You make me feel safe—not just from physical harm.
There’s a rough and tumble, take on the world Lark, and a warm, vulnerable, teddy bear Lark.
When I’m with you, it’s like I don’t have to perform constantly.
I can put aside the queen and just be me.
Outside my home, where it’s just Mama and the boys, I’d almost forgotten what it feels like to be Azaleen.
Sabine keeps telling me I need to have someone in my life for balance, for joy, for a shoulder, a support.
I don’t know. That’s probably way too much information.
Heaven forbid I reveal anything personal. ”
Lark cupped Azaleen’s cheek, met her eyes, seeing a tumult.
Leaning in, she captured her lips, sending every ounce of affirmation she could into the kiss.
Azaleen melted into it, opening, relinquishing, reclaiming something long lost. Her response thrilled Lark more than she could have imagined.
Here she was, little Lark Sutter, giving Queen Azaleen Frost exactly what she needed, when she needed it most. She didn’t require promises and platitudes. This was enough.
“You’re safe with me, Azaleen,” Lark cooed, reveling in her touch, her taste, her sweet smell. “Relax and be a woman for a while. And when the world needs the queen, I won’t make demands. Just please, always be yourself with me.”
Azaleen kissed her again, hungry for the touch she’d long denied herself. Pain flared; Lark grimaced.
Backing away, alarm on her face, Azaleen gasped. “I’m so sorry! I forgot for an instant.”
“Oh, don’t apologize,” Lark replied as she readjusted her position. “I want it all—believe me! It’s just these pesky bullet holes.” Shifting again, she laid a hand on her hip. “This one in the gluteus maximus is the worst, though, ‘cause I have to sit on it.”
“No, you don’t.” Azaleen pushed up, moved pillows around. “Lie down. You can roll on your good side, or I’ll get another pillow for your hip. I let myself get distracted.”
Lark stretched out on the padded bench, Azaleen arranging a pillow under her head.
She flashed an incorrigible grin. “I like it when you get distracted—especially when I’m doing the distracting.
But by the time we get home, my stitches will be out, and I should be in much better shape, fully recovered. ”
Azaleen pursed her lips, narrowed her brows. “You had emergency surgery for a pierced lung. I don’t think fully recovered is an accurate prediction.”
Quirking her brows, Lark quipped, “Recovered enough,” and grinned.
Azaleen’s laugh warmed her soul. After pulling up a blanket, the queen edged onto the bench beside her. “If that’s what you want, a lot of rest is required between now and then.”
She began to sing. “Leaves on the wind, not knowin’ where or when, they’ll come to rest again. Hearts on the sea, never knowin’ when they’ll be, swept to the shore again.”
Lark gazed at her in wonder, home tugging at her soul. “Hey, you know the song.”
“Of course, I do.” Azaleen’s smile was the most beautiful thing in the world. “My mother used to sing me to sleep with that song.”
“Mine too,” Lark recalled fondly. “I saw your mother at the festival. You’re so lucky to have her with you. Mine died a long time ago. But I had Gramma, so it’s OK.”
Azaleen took her hand, fingers threading through, and kissed it.
“I’m sorry you lost your mother. In a way, I lost mine too.
I don’t ever talk about it, but I think I need to share the story with someone.
” She went on to pour her heart out to Lark, what a devastating blow losing Thalen had been, shifting focus from him to her as heir, then Edric and Aren’s deaths so close together.
“The doctors said it’s Alzheimer’s disease, but I think she just couldn’t face reality and prefers to forget.
Either way, she’s always sick with something and frequently doesn’t know who I am. ”
Lark drew Azaleen’s hand to her lips. “I am so sorry.” She truly felt Azaleen’s heartache.
How draining it must be for her, what an extra burden to bear.
And, outside the family and Orielle’s caretakers, nobody knew.
Azaleen said that’s how she wanted it. Private matters should remain private.
“Please, Azaleen, talk to me about anything—any weight you need lifted, any secret longing. That’s why the Universe brought us together.
Sabine is right. Everybody needs someone to lean on. ”
Azaleen bent down, kissed her, emotion unrestrained. “I just want you to know—I’d take a bullet for you too.”
The queen left Lark to rest, and she drifted into slumber, the words and haunting melody of the song playing in her head. The wind keeps on blowin’, the river don’t stop flowin’, the spirits are always knowin’, all’s reborn again.