Something sharp crossed Dain's face. "I'm waiting until the full moon," he said. "It's... summer."

"I understand," Ciradyl said. She lowered her hands and stood. "Command me, my prince."

"Return to the garrison and report to your Commander," he said. "Until you are returned to the duty roster of the palace guard, you and Axily Helezeiros will be considered part of the irregular units of the First Army."

"As you command," she said, bowing.

When she'd left, Dain sat heavily in his chair and took down the glamored wall. I went directly over to him; he scooped me into his lap and buried his face against my neck, inhaling deeply. For a few minutes, we just sat there, Dain breathing in my scent while he held me. The heavy beat of his heart slowed as we sat, the tension drifting out of him until it wasn't quite as much like sitting on top of a stone statue.

"I hate this," he whispered against my neck.

"You did really well," I told him, putting my hands over his.

After a moment, he nodded. "Didn't even kill anyone," he said, with what sounded like an attempt at levity.

"Mhm," I said, rubbing my cheek against his temple. "I'm really proud of you, Dain. As far as I can tell, this is pretty much your worst nightmare, and you're handling it incredibly well."

"Not quite my worst nightmare," he said with a sigh, and kissed me on the neck. "It's still terrible, and I would much rather be fighting than reading duty rosters and having people put together timelines of the past six weeks, but I'm glad that you think I'm doing well." Dain rested his chin on my shoulder, then said with some amusement, "I never would have imagined myself in a situation like this a year ago. Swords are so conveniently straightforward, and I'm so very good at using them."

"Don't worry," I said in a chipper voice. "You may yet get the chance to get yours wet."

"Which one?" he purred into my ear, flipping my whole body immediately into sex mode. With a pleased laugh, Dain ran his tongue up my neck and then along my ear, framing it with the fork of his tongue.

"Dain!" I squeaked. "Kamharida is right there!"

"You wanted my throne in front of all of Stag Court," Dain said, with dark delight. He ran his mouth along the curve of my ear before planting a kiss just below my earlobe, where my jaw joined my neck. A low, purring growl rolled through his chest. "And you're embarrassed now?"

I gasped as he slid his fingers down my sides, then slipped one hand up under my shirt, splaying his fingers across my stomach. "Different situation, different rules of conduct," I got out, barely, my pulse throbbing between my legs and my nipples begging for touch.