The energy of the people we passed was incredibly joyous. People shouted out words I couldn’t discern and passed along flowers or cards of thanks to our guards. I felt glad I hadn’t shut the parade down, because the people needed to see for themselves their king was fine. James, too, looked heartened by their love, even if he found it exhausting as well.
He sagged as we passed through the palace gates, his energy sapped. I didn’t even try to talk to him as we made our way inside and up to our rooms.
The maids had followed my instructions to the letter. The bath was a little too hot, as James liked it, with his favorite dishes waiting on the table. James stripped everything off and immediately sat in the tub, sinking in with a sigh.
I shrugged off my formal wear, set my crown aside, and rolled up my sleeves. Right now, I wasn’t a king. I was James’s husband, and my husband could use some pampering.
I put a towel on the rim of the tub and coaxed his head back so I could wet his hair and start shampooing. My man had a serious weakness for scalp massages, and I swear he went boneless.
“Love your hands,” he murmured.
“I know you do. Relax, just enjoy.”
“Oh, I’m enjoying.”
Soap, rinse, then I switched to a stool and sat at his side so I could wash and massage his hands. Another thing he loved, and I enjoyed pampering him.
Tilting his head, he fixed his green eyes on me in a content, almost sleepy manner. “Beloved? You said you’d fill me in.”
“Ah, I did. The noise from the parade distracted me. We had quite a few dignitaries make inquiries. Your battle was so bright, multiple countries could see it. Turns out there was quite the light show when the Demon King’s portal was opened, and again when you summoned Vuheia. Bright enough that not only could we see it, but every country touching borders with us could. I had to field many, many calls from other monarchs, reassuring and updating them on what was going on.”
“Damn. I’m sure they were alarmed.”
“At first. Then relieved when I explained. Well, everyone but Queen Abitha and King Julius from Ascor. That turned out to be incredibly messy. Lenville finally reached the two, and it turned out they’d been possessed. Not a full possession, thankfully, but a sort of influence so they’d ignore what Valentina was doing. Once Lenville forced a priest into the room, it was obvious what had happened, and they were able to reverse the possession.”
“That’s…not what I expected you to say.”
“I also had Lenville repeat himself,” I admitted with a snort. “Because I was quite sure my ears were playing tricks on me the first time. Still, they will recover. Once they had their wits about them, I had to gently break the news that their daughter had been a demon—had in fact abducted hundreds of people from both Ascor and Zuskal to sacrifice to the Demon King—and died in battle. I’m still waiting on the final tally of all we lost in this madness, but it’s in the hundreds.”
“Did they take the news well?”
“Well as they could, I suppose. I think they already knew she was lost to them. They requested her body, and I promised to send it along for burial. Which brings me to ask—Victor?”
“I also brought him back. Honestly, if we threw him a funeral, hardly anyone would attend. I won’t do a state funeral for him. I called Beatrice and Patrick on the way back, and they asked we do a graveside burial and quietly lay him to rest.”
“Probably for the best. You’re right, no one will miss him. You said he wasn’t there voluntarily?”
“No, he’d clearly been abducted. Still, considering how I know he died the first time…at least his death was of some use this time? As callous as that sounds. I know his soul went back to Hell.”
“After all he had done, that’s where it belongs. No one will be surprised.” I had to wonder what people like Victor had been assigned as a Task. Not everyone had some grand purpose, after all, not like James. Victor’s might have been as simple as “don’t be a rotten bastard” but he couldn’t even manage that. Pity.
“What of the fallen knights and soldiers?” I asked.
“Them I will hold a lavish funeral for. You notified next of kin?”
“I did, and sent a healthy compensation to the families.”
“Good. It’s sadly all I can do for them. We lost a little over a dozen people, and to be honest, I’m grateful it was only that. For a rough and ready campaign with little time to prep, it’s a miracle it wasn’t worse.”
“Truly. I’m relieved it was only that number myself.” I switched sides to do the other hand, and James didn’t so much as twitch, just followed me with his eyes. “I don’t like how we had so many citizens disappear without anyone really noticing.”
“No, I hate that. I feel guilty I didn’t realize it was even happening. How far back did she plan this?”
“I feel like, because of the level of possession for some of these people, they’d been enslaved for months. Likely she started her plan before you even came back in time.”
“Possibly? Still, the deaths of innocents don’t rest easy on me. We must put in some checks so people can’t just go missing like this again.”
“Agreed.”
