Gods, she is so beautiful.
“You mean everything to me, Lena. One day, you will rule this kingdom with me. I willalwaysworry about you.”
Her smile faded, and she stroked my cheek. “It’s a lovely dream,” she murmured. “But not reality, Quill.” Her lip quivered, and she buried her face in my chest once more.
I didn’t have the energy to convince her, but I knew she would be my queen, my wife, my equal—the latter being true already, even if she or no one else in the kingdom saw it.
I stroked her hair and kissed her forehead, inhaling her scent again. I let out a hum. “Have I ever told you how lovely you smell?”
She let out a soft laugh. “Only a thousand times,” she teased. She leaned up and brushed her lips against mine. “I don’t ever want to leave,” she mumbled, then sat up, her copper curls falling gracefully on her breasts. What a sight it was. “But I have to,” she continued, leaning down and planting a soft kiss on my lips. I ran my hand through her silky hair and dragged her down, and she let out a giggle. “No more tonight, I’m afraid, Your Highness.”
I groaned with a smirk, and she lifted off the bed and began dressing. The moonlight accentuated her stunning figure. Her wide hips, her perfect ass, her breasts. She was a masterpiece. How could she think she was anything less than spectacular? It had always been beyond me.
“What are you gawking at?” She grinned, but she already knew the answer. I left the bed and walked over to her, and her eyes widened as she looked between my legs.
“You see what you do to me?” I teased, but I sauntered to my dresser instead of claiming her again and slipped on loungewear bottoms.
“Shame.” She smiled bashfully as she fastened her pants and threw on her bra and shirt.
I walked over to her and pulled her into an embrace. I knew that the second she left, grief would consume me once more. “Thank you for checking on me, Flower,” I murmured. “Thank you for caring.”
“No thanks needed.” She squeezed me tight. “I love you so much.”
“I love you.”
We stood silently for a while, lost in each other’s arms. When Lena finally pulled away, I began to feel the lump in my throat forming.
“I wanted to give you something…” I began. A crease formed between Lena’s eyebrows, and I stepped over to my nightstand. I opened the top drawer and retrieved my mother’s favorite necklace. The silver piece had five blue sapphires surrounded by halos of diamonds.
When I held it up to show Lena, she gasped.
“Silas…”
“I want you to have it. Please, Lena.” I motioned for her to turn around, and she hesitantly obeyed. I lifted the necklace over her head and clasped it behind her neck, the gems hanging just below her collarbones.
She turned to me, brushing her fingertips over to sapphires. It looked perfect on her. “It’s beautiful,” she breathed, then met my gaze with teary eyes. "Are you sure?"
"Without a doubt."
Her lip trembled. “Thank you, Silas. I am honored to have it.”
I pulled her into an embrace once more. It took great effort not to break down again. “I am honored to haveyou.”
We slowly made our way to my balcony door. I held it open for her as she stepped outside.
“Please, please be careful,” I begged.
“Always.” She went on her tiptoes and gave me one last peck before she went off into the distance. I watched until she was no longer in view and stepped back into my room.
All my emotions crashed into me once more, and I did everything to hold in my sob until I was face-first into my pillow.
My mother, my poor mother. Mercilessly killed like it was nothing. Likeshewas nothing. Like her death wouldn’t affect so many people. Affect me.
I hated Amatta. It was the first genuine, deep hatred I had ever felt, next to those brutes that threatened to hurt Lena or the one that I had to put down in front of that tavern. I enjoyed ending them, just like I would enjoy ending Amatta.
She must pay.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
