Burning for Love (Kindred Tales)

“Of course, Your Highness.” The Royal Librarian bustled about, plucking books off the shelves and piling them up on one arm with practiced ease. Then he made a motion to her. “Would you care to follow me back?”

“Yes, thank you.” Rissa smiled at him as the little man turned and led the way back.

She didn’t miss the fact that James lagged behind, reaching easily up to the tall shelf to slip the diary of Queen Lola out of its place. Before she turned her head, Rissa saw him open the book and extend his scope, scanning rapidly as he flipped through the pages. Could he really read a whole book that fast?

She supposed she would find out.

James frowned as he scanned through the diary of Queen Lola and then picked another book off the restricted shelf. The title was: A Royal Husband’s Guide to Slaking Heat. He scanned through this one too and then plucked a third book about Royal Anatomy from the shelf and scanned that as well.

All of them said the same thing and he was well aware that it was something Princess Ka’rissa was not going to want to hear.

But what could he do but tell her? After all, if this was the only way to control her Heat Cycle, she was going to have to accept it.

But given her extremely strict upbringing, James wasn’t sure if she would or not.

21

“I have to what? Surely you must be joking, James. And if you are, it is not very funny!” Rissa exclaimed, glaring up at the big Kindred. They were back in her bedchamber and she was pacing back and forth, trying to process what the big Kindred had just told her. “It must be a joke!” she exclaimed again.

“I assure you, Princess, I am not joking,” he said blandly. “I am telling you the absolute truth. If you need proof, I can provide it.”

“You have proof that the way to control my Heat Cycle is to…to touch my forbidden area?” Rissa shook her head. “What proof? Did you steal books from the restricted section?”

“Certainly not—I had no need to. I simply copied them.”

“Copied them? How?” Rissa demanded.

“Let me close the curtains and I’ll show you.”

Rissa had no idea why closing the floor to ceiling brocade curtains was necessary—to her mind it just made the bedchamber unbearably gloomy. But maybe James just wanted to be certain they had privacy. And if they were going to discuss what he claimed was the solution to her overheating problem, they certainly needed it!

She helped him shut the tall glass doors that led out to the balcony and draw the curtains closed. This had the effect of casting the entire chamber into semi-darkness.

“Now, why—” Rissa began, but then she stumbled in the gloom and would have fallen if James hadn’t caught her easily by the arm.

“Please have a seat at the table,” he said, motioning her to sit where they had eaten breakfast together. “And focus your attention on the opposite wall.”

He pointed to the large wall beside her bed, which was currently bare. Once a month, the art was changed in her room and while the last picture—a colorful masterpiece by the artist, Sir FrouFrou—had been taken away, a new one had not yet been hung in its place.

Rissa was mystified.

“I do not understand, James. Why do you want me to look bare wall?” she asked.

“Just look,” he replied. And then he extended the scope that covered his right eye and a light began shining out of it onto the wall. After a moment, Rissa saw that the scope was projecting what looked like the page from a book, right onto the wall.

“Ohhh!” she breathed, clasping her hands together under her chin. “I didn’t know you were able to do such things, James! Is this from the Diary of Queen Lola the Outspoken?”

“No, this is from a volume titled, Royal Anatomy—it’s Ways and Means, by a Dr. Anthony Finchfeather—I believe he was the Court physician about a hundred years ago,” James replied. “The language is somewhat archaic and dry, but I think it’s a good place to start. Please read it, Princess—I have looked through the book for relevant passages and this one seems to bear on your situation.”

“All right,” Rissa murmured. She looked at the page projected on the bedchamber wall more closely.

“The Fire Blood becomes stronger with each passing generation,” Dr. Finchfeather had written. “Every Royal must deal with it or perish. For the males, ‘tis simple enough. They are to be encouraged to get with as many ladies as they please. This spreads the bloodline so that inbreeding will not occur and cools the heat that builds up inside them. For it must be said that the Heat Cycle is inextricably linked to the Sex Cycle and one may, in fact, control the other.”