*Rion*
I held the princess in my arms. Sleep was going to be the last thing that I would be able to do that night with the princess pressed into me the way she was. My wolf panted incessantly. I tried to ignore him, and my thoughts drifted to other places that could help distract it.
My first thought was of my sister and a particular memory we shared, long ago. We were in one of the Royal's palaces, sitting on an ornate bench in a hallway. I stared at the gold filigree decorating a cornice hanging just above my head, lost in a daze. My stomach growled and my mouth was dry.
The king and queen stood at the other end of the hallway with their backs turned, fussing amongst themselves in voices they probably thought were quiet. Their words echoed toward us across the hallway on the golden
