“What are you in the mood for?” I asked, lazily dragging my fingers along his forearm.
His lips trailed my neck, stopping to nibble on the lobe of my ear. “You.” His deep, sensual voice made my knees weak.
“Well,” I said breathlessly. “We can’t start our travel unsatisfied now, can we?”
Within moments, he had me on the bed beneath him.
“I think I’m going to take my time with you today,” he threatened with a heady smile. My skin pebbled beneath his trailing kisses that dipped lower and lower.
I exhaled in pure anticipation. “We have all the time in the world. So please, be thorough.”
82
Nora
Two months later
Nicholas strolled into the throne room, hopping upon the dais to take a seat beside mine as if he wasn’t late. He wore a particularly entertained look on his face that had me cheekily asking, “And where have you been?”
“You’ll see soon, my lady.”
I stared, not just because his amused smile was one of the most beautiful things I’d ever seen, with his hair practically sparkling beneath the sunlight streaming through the cathedral style windows, but because we didn’t keep secrets from each other.
I gave a contemplative hum. “I better.”
“Seen any hopeful candidates yet?” He leaned over to ask in a whisper, his crown shined to silver perfection, the sapphire jewels so polished they could blind.
“Mm, I’ve seen a couple who I like. Unsure where I’d want to put them, but still plenty of roles to fill.”
Once we’d announced to the kingdom that the curse had been defeated, and that Nicholas possessed magic, we had nothing holding us back from implementing the changes we’d thought might take years to usher in. We created positions in the castle for specific magical talents, but anyone with magic that wished to contribute to building our kingdom anew was welcome to audition.
One girl had come in with a withered house plant she said her grandmother had killed. She waggled her fingers, and green light flowed around the stem until it was rejuvenated. She’d seemed sweet, and I wanted to find something for her. Potentially helping select floral arrangements for big events. Ricks would love someone who cared to fill that role, since it certainly wasn’t me.
“Ah,” I winced, a sharp pain shooting through my abdomen.
Nick rose from his chair, moving to crouch beside me. “What’s wrong? Are you alright?”
I nodded, though a grimace was still set on my face. “Cramps are just a lot worse now.” I’d started menstruating four days ago, and while my cramps had been debilitating before, the pains had grown sharper. That dagger had sliced my womb, and as I healed naturally in between sessions with Marco and Nick, scar tissue had formed.
When Marco had confessed that chances of me carrying a child to term were next to nothing, I hadn’t known how I felt about it. A baby was never something I’d necessarily planned on, most likely because I could barely take care of myself in poverty, let alone the responsibility of a child.
Nicholas had never pressured me on the issue, and we were still so new into our marriage that the conversation just becametabled for another time. But upon hearing it wouldn’t happen, and not because of my own choice, I felt…mournful.
Nick waved over a staffer, instructing him to prepare a batch of pain relieving tea.
“Thanks,” I said, readjusting myself in my chair to a proper queenly pose.
“If this gets too much, we’ll stop. Just say the word.” He lifted my hand and placed a kiss on the back of my dark blue glove before returning to his seat.
I signaled the announcer at the door, who then introduced a boy by the name of Oliver.
A young man approached, slipping off his cap into his hands before him. “Your Majesties.” He bowed.
“Oliver, thank you for coming here today. We know things are quite different around Highcrest these days, and appreciate your courage for coming here today to present yourself. Tell us about your magic,” Nicholas said.
The boy crumpled his hat in his hands, clearly nervous. “I-I’m a seer, sir.”
My eyebrows lifted. “A seer? That is rare, indeed. Tell me Oliver, what do you see when you look at me?” I smiled, encouraging him.
