Standing from my desk, I quickly smooth my tunic and comb my wild hair. “I’m sorry I wasn’t expecting?—”
“Don’t,” Tallulah says, “you’re lovely. And besides, you’re the queen now, you can do whatever you want.” She smiles and then there’s another knock at the door.
Jarek and Sorin, the last to enter. Sorin’s wearing his usual black attire, our country's new crest pinned to his left lapel.
A wolf surrounded by four stones.
The five of them settle around the settee near the fire, leaving Calix and I to speak. “I?—”
“Will you?—”
We both laugh when we speak over each other and that’s when I really study him. I let myself see all the parts of him I pushed away before. The slight bend to his nose, the golden flecks of his hair. The way he enters most rooms with a crease between his brow but quickly softens depending on who’s there. So many parts of myself live in him and vice-versa.
“The Onyx Guild is a quick few days away,” he says, sticking his hands in his pockets. “Will you visit? I mean of course, after you’ve settled here.” He runs his hands through his hair. “What am I saying, you’re the queen. How silly of me to request?—”
I place my hand on his arm and his breath hitches. “I would love to visit.”
His smile brightens his entire face, and when he goes to hug me, I let him. And it doesn’t feel forced or foreign. It feels like a hug of trust and a bit of sorrow, lined with a future full of dinners and laughter and memories if he’s willing to share them.
“I don’t have much authority to say this,” he whispers, still grasping me tight, “but I’m so proud of you and there’s no doubt your mother would be too. Getting to know you will be my greatest honor.”
My throat burns as I swallow and when he finally lets me go, I wish he wouldn’t.
Sorin joins us, his hand finding the small of my back.
“Your Majesty.” Calix dips his head, then winks before slipping out the door, leaving a smile plastered across my face.
“When do you leave?” Sam asks, hugging Tallulah and then a reluctant Evren.
“In a few days,” Tallulah says. “I want to ensure anyone who was injured has their plan in place for care.” Evren grabs her hand and she swings into his side.
We lost so many during the fight, a truth I haven’t had the time to face.
Evren turns to me. “I wanted to thank you?—”
“You don’t have to.” I hold my hands in the air.
Evren studies me for a moment, chewing his bottom lip. “But we do. We owe you so much.” He dips his head, then so does Tallulah and I feel as though I may faint. Tallulah offers me a quick hug, and when I get to Evren, he takes my hand in his, bending to place a kiss on the back of it. “Long live the queen.”
With Evren and Tallulah gone to find Thaddeus, it’s just Sam, Jarek, Sorin, and I in the room. We take a seat by the fire, going over again and again all the things we must do in the days to come.
But as the chatter brews next to me, I glance to the window and catch sight of the most marvelous thing I’ve ever seen and the voice around me fade.
A single crow sits perched outside my window, silver eyes looking in.
The room is suffocatingas I sit atop a tufted, patterned throne. Gold filigree lines the arms and back. I trace the seam, finding comfort in the consistent pattern that runs along the edge of the throne.
My hair is braided around my head, adorned with a crown of thorns and flowers. The gown that was chosen for me is made of deep, green silk and it does nothing to help the hotness I feel creeping over my skin.
I run my fingers down the buttery fabric, and despite how uncomfortable it is, I can’t deny its beauty. After Sorin and I were sworn in, one of the first demands after freeing Enchantresses and rectifying the use of magick was changing the colors. So, instead of the navy that’s haunted my dreams, Sorin and I wear matching green.
Like the forest.
The guard shoves the hunter forward again, and as Sorin and I rise, everyone in the room takes a knee.
Except for him.
I hold my chin high as the hunter’s dark eyes meet mine. Sorin, who has been at my side, steps forward. His suit fits snug across his broad shoulders and chest and atop his head a small crown of golden thorns.
