She frowned, turning to the mirror that had been brought in. “What could possibly be missing?”
He came up behind her, and she met his gaze in the glass reflection. Her hair was loose, free and flowing around her shoulders. That blue crystal still hung around her neck, and black slippers peeked out from under the hem of her dress. There was nothing else. No bracelets or rings. Just her and a natural beauty that could never be replicated.
Being careful not to touch her, he brought his arms around her, holding his palms face up. His magic swirled, darkness twisting and writhing, and when it receded, a circlet sat in his hands. Black pearls and sparkling diamonds adorned it, making it simple and elegant and perfect for her.
He lifted it, carefully setting it atop her head. The onyx metal came to a point in the center of her brow, and she was no longer holding his stare but staring at her reflection. He couldn’t read her expression.
“What are you thinking?” he asked after a moment.
“I thought I’d feel different in this moment,” she said, her head canting to the side as she studied herself.
“How so?”
“This moment is a culmination of so much, and yet I question if it’s something I should have at all,” she murmured, and he wasn’t sure if she was talking to herself or to him.
“A ruler who feels deserving of their crown has become too comfortable on a throne,” Cethin said.
She twisted to face him, and he stepped back to give her space.
“You do not feel deserving of your crown?” she asked.
He shook his head. “I sit on a throne because of the blood that flows in my veins, so I spend my days trying to prove to the kingdom I am there to serve them.”
She nodded as another knock sounded. The door opened, Razik, Wren, Zayan, and Tybalt slipping in.
“Sorry to interrupt, but it’s time,” Tybalt said. “You are both ready?”
Cethin nodded, taking the crown Zayan held out to him. Silver and rubies, the contrast was stark compared to Kailia’s circlet. He would prefer something simpler, but tradition and all that.
He unceremoniously set it atop his head, then adjusted the sleeves of his jacket as the others filed out the door on the opposite side of the room.
“Breathe, Kailia,” he said softly as she slipped her arm through his.
She nodded, her fingers flexing on the crook of his arm.
“I need you to trust me tonight, wife,” he coaxed. “Can you do that?”
“Just for tonight,” she breathed.
“I’ll take just for tonight for now,” he replied, bending to brush his lips across her temple. It was scarcely a touch, but he couldn’t help himself. He’d expected her to tense even more than she already was, but she relaxed a fraction. Her shoulders dropped some, and she inched closer to him.
He led her through the door, the black marble floor gleaming beneath their feet. Banners of black with silver moons and stars hung from the ceiling. Zayan was off to the right of the balcony overlooking the hall. Tybalt, Razik, and Wren were already down the stairs and waiting at the bottom.
Zayan smiled brightly. Even if Cethin could tell it was a little forced, no one else could from below. Extending an arm in their direction as they reached the top of the stairs, theHand announced, his voice filling the entire hall, “Welcome his Majesty, King Cethin, and his wife and our new queen, Kailia.”
As one, the entire room dropped to a knee. There were easily a thousand people in attendance, likely more.
Bending down, he felt the shudder that went through her when he whispered into her ear, “I know the list of people you are comfortable dancing with. The others have been informed as well. If at any point the touching becomes too much or you need a moment, you find me. No one else. Understood?”
She turned to look at him, the move placing her lips a breath away from his, and it took everything in him not to steal a kiss. “At what point did you think you could give your queen orders?”
The unexpected retort had the corner of his mouth curling up in a smirk. “I think you’d find you like my orders, wife.”
She huffed a laugh, soft and delicate. “Somehow I doubt that.”
“You’d realize that touch is something to crave rather than avoid. I’d prove it to you.”
An unmistakable curiosity flickered across her features, but before she could reply, the sound of a throat softly clearing reminded them both they weren’t alone. That a room full of people were still on a knee for them.
