She was flustered the second she stepped inside.
“Everything okay?” I asked.
She walked inside in her full armor and cape, looking like the queen she was, with straight shoulders and a strong spine, the hilt of her sword visible past her shoulder. “The dispute turned into a much bigger ordeal than it needed to be, I’ll say that much.” She told me about the new king of the Empire Colonies and the fact that they were changing the jurisdictions of the colonies. “I have better things to do, but they’re idiots, so…” She looked toward the bedrooms where the boys were sleeping. “How was your day?”
“It was good. Took the boys hunting.”
“Deer?”
“We didn’t get anything.”
“Guess the dragons have been hungry.”
“Actually, we found them, but Xiathan didn’t want to shoot.”
She regarded me with a reserved expression.
“Said he doesn’t want to shoot a deer.”
“And what did you say?”
“I said it was fine. I want him to fend for himself, but I’m not going to make him do something he doesn’t want to do.”
She nodded in agreement. “He’s always been that way…so sweet.”
I nodded in agreement. “He was afraid to disappoint us.”
“Ridiculous.”
“Yes, but he said how much he looks up to you.”
Her eyes softened, and she took a breath. “You don’t have to hunt deer to be a queen. Maybe when he’s older, he’ll feel differently about it. But if he doesn’t, that’s okay too.” Her eyes fell, and she looked lost in new thoughts almost instantly.
“Anything else on your mind?”
“Um…” She crossed her arms over her chest and stepped away from me. “Yes. Kinda… I don’t know.”
I’d never seen her react this way to anything, being so unsure of herself. “Xivin?”
She started to pace slightly, her boots distinct when they tapped against the floor. “So…I don’t know this for sure, but…I’m late.” She stopped then looked at me again.
“Late for what?”
“My womanhood. It hasn’t come yet. And it’s usually here by now.”
Now I understood. We’d agreed to have two children and she went back on the herb, so this was something neither of us had planned for. The news should give me a distinct jolt, but I didn’t feel scared.
She stared at me and waited for my reaction.
“What’s the problem?”
“The problem?” She crossed her arms over her chest. “We don’t have the space for a third child.”
I cocked my eyebrow automatically. “We live in a castle…that belongs to you.”
“But our chambers don’t have the space.”
“Then we move.”
