This was cruel. Even she recognized that. To put his nephew in such a position. But was that why he’d been appointed her guard to begin with? To spy on her and report back to his uncle?
It shouldn’t surprise her, really. In fact, she’d suspected as much in the beginning. It was smart, especially considering how reckless Cethin had been with all of this. Just like she’d become comfortable with Cethin, the same had happened with Razik, and maybe she’d forgotten they each had roles to play in all this.
“Razik,” Cethin said after seconds of tense silence ticked by. “Do you have any concerns, or are you prepared to vote?”
For the first time since she’d known him, the male faltered. He glanced at his uncle again, clearly unsure what he was supposed to do. Was this a test for him? More than that, if he was hesitating, why? What had she done to give him pause?
Razik cleared his throat, shifting in his chair. “I will trust any concerns were already thoroughly discussed and alleviated, and as such, I’ll trust the opinions of this council who have all unanimously voted yes and cast my vote the same.”
She couldn’t gauge the look on the Commander’s face as his eyes slid from his nephew to her, but she held his stare until he looked away first. Cethin said some other things that she really should have been paying attention to, but all she could think was that she’d done it. She was queen in more than title. The very thing she’d wanted, and yet something in her stomach twisted uncomfortably.
Bringing her eyes to Cethin, she found him already looking at her. Faint wisps of his power flitted in his silver eyes, and he reached for her hand, lifting it to press his lips to her knuckles.
The crowns. The finer clothing. The formalities.
All of it for her.
Did he even realize he’d laid his kingdom at her feet?
A sigh of relief escaped her when she made it to the beach without being seen.
It was hot. Muggy and humid. The moment she stepped from the enchanted Cliff’s entrance, her dress was clinging to her. Plucking at it, all she could think about was how she’d prefer the never-ending cold of Pyry over this.
The brand beneath her skin was glowing softly, and she checked her forearm again to make sure the Mark was still there. A reassurance she still needed after all this time.
Even if this was a dream though, she still needed to get moving. They’d still find her, but if she made it to the trees, she could pick them off one by one with her arrows.
She started walking, bare feet sinking into the sand, but then she paused when she saw him. Moonlight glinting off silver hair. Hands in his pockets as he stared out at the sea. He was finding her in her dreams more and more as of late.
She hesitated another moment before she changed course and headed towards him instead of the trees. She told herself it was to bring him with her, like she had that time inside the Cliffs, but she knew better. Knew it was more. These moments were almost sacred, her dreams a place to explore and share secrets she could never reveal otherwise.
He must have heard her coming, but he didn’t show it. Didn’t move or shift as she approached. Not until she lifted a hand and tentatively ran it down his broad back, the muscles flexing beneath her fingers as he turned. Her breath seized and her belly dipped at the way he looked at her. As if thesemoments were cherished, butshewas what he treasured. No one had ever looked at her like that. This wasn’t because of her magic or her abilities. He looked at her as if he understood her down to her core, which was impossible in reality, but here…
Here she could pretend. Here she could act on desires, and no one had to know.
She frowned when she realized she was disappointed at the thought.
“You’re beautiful, wife,” Cethin said, hands still in his pockets.
“We need to get off the beach,” she replied, glancing over her shoulder at the Cliffs.
“You fear them still?” he asked, following her gaze. “Despite being free of them?”
Pulling her bow over her head, she tightened her fingers around the grip. The feel of it in her hand a comfort she’d come to rely on.
“I don’t know if I’ll ever be free of them if they still haunt my dreams,” she admitted.
“If you could return to have vengeance, would you?”
“This is not the time for pointless conversations, Cethin,” she answered. “We need to get into the cover of the trees.”
But he turned back to the water instead. “I’ve always preferred the waves. Something I got from my father.”
“The waves cannot hide you,” she insisted, itching to grab his arm and tug him to the dense foliage behind them.
“Oh, but they can if you know how to listen to them,” he answered, something mournful and melancholy lingering in his tone.
Finally resigning herself to the fact she wasn’t going to convince him to leave the shore, she repositioned so she could see the Cliffs, nocking an arrow just in case.
