“I don’t need anything.” Except silence. Blessed silence. “I’ll let you know if I need you. I promise.”
With that, I shut the door in their faces. What a lovely queen I was making already. My staff would soon revolt or demand they be assigned to someone new.
Other than taking trays from them with regularity, I remained in my room all day, pacing, grumbling, and, dressed in a tunic and pants, throwing endless knives against the door until I’d turned it into a scarred wreck.
Merrick didn’t come knocking.
Neither did Lore, thankfully.
As the sun started to slink toward the horizon, I found myself standing at the window, staring blindly out at the gardens.
And that’s when I finally—finally—knew what I had to do.
“Fuck it,” I snarled, loud enough Farris looked up at me from the sofa. His tail throbbed on the cushion and his eyes lit. He must think I was about to announce we were going outside.
Not quite.
I stalked to the door and swung it open.
Calista caught herself with her palms slapping onto theframe before she fell through the opening. “Yes, my queen? What can we do for you?”
“Where is King Merrick?” I asked.
Her gaze darted down the hall. “He has retired for the night.”
“I want to speak with him.” So much more than speak with him, but I wasn’t going to announce that to my ladies.
“He asked not to be disturbed,” Surren announced in a deep voice.
I lifted my eyebrows. “Is he sick?”
“Not that I’m aware of, my queen,” he hurried to say. “But he will not welcome anyone’s company.”
“It’s not even dark yet.” No one could be that tired.
Maybe hewasill. Was this why all the men in his family died so young?
“Nonetheless, you’ll need to wait to see him in the morning,” Surren said.
Not happening.
Pacing the sitting area until Faelith returned Farris from his walk, I ran this through in my mind. Once I'd urged her back into the hall and locked the door, I hurried into my bedroom and stripped, dressing in my old, familiar fortress leathers, including my new blades because they felt symbolic.
I strode to one of the tall bedroom windows and thrust it open, leaning out to peer along the side of the castle wall to Merrick's window down from my own. The height would frighten almost anyone but a dragon rider. Still, I gaped at the ground many stories below. Leave it to a king to claim a suite on the upper level where he could command the best view.
At least I wouldn’t need to cut handholds into the castle's pretty surface.
Hitching my leg over the sill, I perched, weaving the toe of my boot around until I could secure it on one of the many jutting stones making up the castle's outer wall.
I plucked a blade from the sheath at my side and clutched it between my teeth in case I needed to add to my grip. Large blocks jutted out here and there from the mortar holding the wall together. I clung to those, slowly edging my way across the surface, aiming for Merrick's window he'd thankfully left partway open.
57
REYLA
Resolution found its place in my heart, along with some skips that told me I was either completely out of my mind or decidedly eager to see this through. Merrick and I were going to consummate our marriage, a rather technical term for the hot, wild sex I had planned for my evening, but there it was.
Then I could settle on my throne beside the man I was falling in love with. I would put Lore and his “lure” behind me forever. I'd train myself in magic and avoid him. Before I knew it, the elder's prophecy would come true.
