“Ready to meet the elected officials?” Nicholas asked Nora as we all stared at the departing ship.
She broke her concentration on the boat to loop her arm through his and press into him. “Yes, let’s go.” I didn’t miss the smiles they exchanged as they stared into each other’s eyes. To see Nora in love healed a lot of my own sorrows, knowing how much she’d endured during our upbringing. With the way Nicholas looked at her, as if she was the answer to a question he’d been asking for a long time, I knew they’d found the real thing.
I held nothing but happiness for my sister. If anyone in this world deserved it, she did. But pairing with that, a small part knocked me off balance. I’d been so sure of my future for years, but now, uncertainty took its place. I’d been slowly coming to realize that continuing down the path my former self thought it needed to had only been causing me more angst.
Luncheons with the high society ladies should have been the highlight of my days. Past Melody dreamed of those social interactions, doubting she’d ever sit as an equal amongst the highest class. Instead of joy, I felt emptiness. A lack of something I couldn’t quite identify. I knew it wasn’t confidence in their midst, I’d actually found it easy to mingle.
But the shift would happen once the last guest would depart. The doors would close, and my smile would fade. Something unsettled stirring within. I hadn’t put my finger on what it was yet. The only thing that’d become clear to me was that learning and using my magic brightened my days. Figuratively and literally.
“Ready to show me around?” Tio asked. His question broke my concentration, and I shook my head to clear it free of my mood dampening thoughts.
“Yes! Let’s go.” I wanted to play the part of gracious host, provide him with some entertainment so he might not leave as soon. Another part of me wanted to share with him more about where I’d come from.
Nora, and subsequently Nicholas, waved from their carriage as they departed. Half a dozen guardsmen remained, as did a carriage of our own. I waved in reply. Tio didn’t. Instead, he stiffened, though his hand remained on my back.
“What was that?” I asked, gazing up into his sea glass eyes. The tension on his brow confirmed to me that something was bothering him.
“Hm?” He tried too hard to appear clueless, earning him a scrutinizing stare from me. Realizing he couldn’t deter me, he took a deep breath. “I couldn’t be happier to be here with you today, alone. Well, relatively.” His eyebrows jumped toward the party of guards following behind.
His words were weighted. “But?” I pressed.
Casting his eyes ahead of us, it was as if he couldn’t bring himself to say it to my face. “Nicholas doesn’t think I’m worthy of your time. I don’t normally let the opinion of others affect me, it’s just…” Swallowing whatever was holding him back from voicing the rest, he continued, “I can’t help but agree.”
“Did he say that to you?” I halted in place, my stomach coiling with anger.
“He didn’t phrase itexactlylike that. He’s just being protective of you. Wants to know my intentions aren’t fleeting.” Angling to face me, his strong frame remained tense.
Upon first hearing that Nicholas might have overstepped, I’d gotten heated. But knowing that my new brother-in-law held that sort of concern for me only made him feel more like family. It bothered me that Tio questioned himself or his worth because of me, but when I heard the question out loud, I couldn’t help but want an answer myself.
“Are they?” My breath stalled in my lungs as we remained still for only a moment, though it felt endless.
He reached out, taking my hand in his. The pad of his thumb stroked the back of it and moments ago, I would have relished that kind of touch. But waiting for his response felt like preparing for the illusion of it all to shatter. My heart became strained and caged.
“Melody, I can honestly say that I’ve never felt this way about anyone. If I’m honest, which I’m trying to be, it’s terrifying. I find myself thinking about you at all times. I’ve questioned if I’ve been making you to be something greater than reality in mymind during the times we’re apart, but then I see you.” Taking a step closer, his other hand came up to cup my face. “And somehow I still haven’t done the thought of you justice.”
The cage sprung open and my heart did a somersault out of it.
“I’m here, Melody.” He took both my hands, holding them between us. “I don’t know what this means I can offer you, but anything I have to give, it’s yours. And I don’t expect anything in return.”
With his role in the camp, and my newfound status, I knew what he meant. He had responsibilities that meant he couldn’t stay. I had access to riches, but he wasn’t interested in that. Just me, the girl who started learning magic later in life. The one who had a taste of adventure and wanted more. The me I was becoming.
He raised my hands and pressed a kiss to my knuckles, one that wasn’t quick, and that declared loudly what we were becoming to each other.
20
Nora
With essentially zero expertise in regards to ruling, sitting in a room with over a dozen civil authority representatives who’d been running their various cities, towns, and villages for years, knowing I held the power, was uncomfy, to say the least.
These faces were familiar to each other, which meant they wasted no time expressing their biggest grievances. Their requests cascaded over one another’s in a quickly escalating torrent. Then the ridiculing and blaming began. That’s when Nick raised his hands and the voices quieted.
“I know the guardsmen continually shuffling has created gaps in our attention to lesser priorities, and we will work towards resolution, I can assure you. First, I would like to formally recognize our newest attendee, Queen Nora Shen-Charmant of Highcrest.” He birthed a moment of pause wherein the gathered group offered me respectful nods as we all sat around the obscenely large mahogany table in the Council Chambers.
“Now, I’ll ask that we first navigate your biggest concerns. One at a time,” my husband said, returning the time over to the guests.
A woman with beautiful dark skin, the darkest I’d ever seen, and hair shorn close to her head, spoke first. She was the representative for Solei, the town welcoming the Argora Vale refugees as we speak. “Your Majesties, with no amount of disrespect, the instability of the royal guard is a threat to my town. With this new influx, I have no doubt we will see trouble. Proper protection should be in place. I’d wager an increased amount will be the only thing to keep order.”
Next, a bald man with a high-collared burgundy shirt and thick brown mustache added, “I’m already receiving complaints from businesses refusing to aid the new arrivals. They’ve stated they reject Crown funding and refuse to participate. If you order them, Your Majesty, I fear backlash. Maybe not right away, but resentment like that breeds. While I may not be thrilled to have this controversy so close to my front door, I can appreciate the sentiment of progress. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for all my residents.”
