“Don’t fucking tempt me.” I groaned. “You know how much I hate her. If it wouldn’t cause trouble with Ascor, I’d have already gotten rid of her. Lenville needs to move faster.”
Edwin snorted. “I’m sure his ship is sailing as fast as it can, dear.”
Our office door came into sight, but for some reason McCoy stood in the doorway, visibly fidgeting from foot to foot.
“McCoy, what is it?” I called.
“Your Majesty, we’ve gotten a deluge of presents for Edwin.”
I didn’t correct the slipup since Edwin wasn’t formally crowned king yet and the change was still a work in progress. What worried me more was… “Presents?”
“From the lords, ladies, and anyone with a vested interest in the crown, seems like. Word’s spread fast about what happened yesterday.”
“There goes our formal announcement,” Edwin muttered under his breath.
“We still need to make one for the country at large,” I reminded him. “Now, what should we do with these presents?”
“Let me see how many there are, first. Surely McCoy’s exaggerating when he says there’s a deluge—” Edwin rounded the door, then stopped dead in the doorframe.
I was only a beat behind him and almost plowed into his back, then I realized what had caused him to startle to a stop.
I couldn’t see his desk.
Oh, the area where his desk resided was obviously still there, but it was so buried under lavishly wrapped presents, I couldn’t see even a hint of wood. How had people managed to get presents together, wrapped, and delivered here when only a full day had passed since our marriage?!
The speed with which nobility could react was quite terrifying.
Edwin took one look at the pile and then stated flatly, “Send them back. All of them, unless they’re presents from the palace staff. I will not accept bribes before I’m even properly crowned. If they really want to gift me, they can wait for the coronation ceremony.”
And this was precisely why I wanted Edwin as my co-ruler. He was faithful to his own moral code and steadfast against any efforts to sway him. He was not a man who could be bought.
No doubt people would be miffed he’d returned the gifts, but I couldn’t be prouder of him. It was about time people stopped stooping to bribes, anyway.
The start of Edwin’s reign would be the laying down of law and some comeuppance for those who needed it. Did it makeme a bad person if I looked forward to the show? Because when people’s greed clashed with Edwin’s will, sparks were sure to fly.
Sixty-seven
Edwin
After the insanity of informing everyone James and I had not only gotten married but were now co-rulers, we did not get into bed until very, very late. Past midnight. The day had been a lot of either doing things or ordering things to be done.
For instance, I had to send a crew of people to pack up my house. I was torn on what to do with the house, but leaving it to be a hidden hideaway for James and I made the most sense. I instructed that the furniture should stay, but I needed my clothes, all my personal effects, and most definitely my books to be brought up here.
I did instruct my new retainers to set up a meeting with the priests of Asyn for tomorrow morning. I wanted them to devise a spell to track demonic energy. Vuheia’s warning preyed at the back of my mind, and I wanted to know if the demonic energy was here in the city.
I also, reluctantly, ordered the sleeping spell removed from Valentina. She hadn’t woken up immediately, so hopefully she slept peacefully tonight, but there were standing orders on whatto do if she returned to her destructive ways. I wouldn’t tolerate violent behavior.
All said, it had been a very long and exhausting day. I more or less collapsed into our bed face-first, James a comforting weight at my back.
The second my head was situated on the pillow, I tumbled into dreamland.
Or I should have.
I had no idea where this gray space was. I turned this way and that but found a light grey mist, no matter where I looked. My dreams were normally a lot more colorful and action-packed than this. Was even my subconscious tired after today?
A light tread alerted me to the left. A remarkably beautiful woman with tumbling golden locks, a pure white dress, and a subtly glowing aura approached me. She looked so happy to see me, so ecstatic, I found myself smiling back.
“Edwin,” she greeted, even her voice melodic. “Finally!”
