His eyes flicked away for a second, a quiet breath leaving his nostrils that almost sounded like a sigh. “As you wish.”
Vulgaris had cared for me since my father passed. He wasn’t the most affectionate or verbal, but he was there, nonetheless. I believed he felt no ill will toward me, that he didn’t have malintent in his heart. But now, we were married, and I’d never felt more distant from him. Perhaps it was wrong to feel this way, but I felt like a stepping-stone to something greater. I wouldn’t dare accuse him of that, because there was no going back from such an allegation. “Thank you.”
He grabbed the missive he’d just written so he could roll it up into a scroll and seal it with the family crest.
“What are the contents of that letter, and whom is it for?”
That same breath released again, unable to hide his annoyance at my curiosity. “I wrote a letter to King Mormont and informed him of our nuptials.”
It was a late announcement, so I almost didn’t believe it, but would he really sit there and lie to my face like that? “What else are you working on?”
“This winter has been the harshest one in a decade, so I reduced the tariffs from the people. Our priority is staying strong until spring. I’ve increased the annual soldier count and have also increased the compensation?—”
“Why do we need more soldiers?” Our army was strong and well trained.
A beat passed, a long stare ensuing. “An army can never be too strong, Hanne.”
“Of course. But it sounds like you’re preparing for something when we’ve been at peace for years.”
“A kingdom should always be prepared for a siege. Your father has been gone for two years, and in that time, we’ve been a kingless land. Our standing among our allies and our enemies has weakened. We need to fortify our position.”
“My father banished the Mammoths?—”
“This conversation continues to showcase your lack of experience and knowledge. If you really want to be the leaderof our people, then you need to spend your time learning in my shadow, and then once I’m gone, you’ll be prepared to rule.”
“That could be twenty years from now, Vulgaris.”
“Or it could be tomorrow with the amount of steak I eat.”
“Even so, I don’t think it’s right for me to wait?—”
He abruptly rose to his feet. “You are not fit, Hanne. A queen has never ruled the Kingdom of Baccara, and if you’d like to be the first, then you need to learn. I’ve offered to teach you, but I can’t impart decades of wisdom and experience in just a few weeks. Prove yourself worthy, and I will step aside.”
“That wasn’t what we agreed to.”
“I disagree.” He remained standing, looking at me as an annoyance when I was his wife and his queen. It was a look my father never gave me, not once. “I have work to do, Hanne. So, if you’d excuse me…” He lowered himself to the chair again and grabbed a new piece of parchment. The quill remained in the vial of ink as he waited for me to leave.
“I’m not unfit. I know these lands as well as you do. I know every flower that blooms in our garden, have been journaling them and studying them for years. I can poison my enemy or bring him back to my life with the knowledge.”
“The most worthless skill set I’ve ever heard,” he snapped. “Looking at pretty flowers and sketching them in your diary is child’s play. You’re not capable of leading a kingdom or an army. You’re not capable of anything.”
I realized everything he said was true, because I had been stupid enough to fall right into his trap. He’d never intended to sharethe crown with me—but snatch it from my weak hands as I slept. “I will annul this union.”
“The priest will never grant it.”
“We haven’t consummated this marriage?—”
“Your word against mine.”
My heart started to race, my pulse throbbing in my neck, my feet no longer on the floor as I went into free fall. “You would rather tell your people you fucked your best friend’s daughter than lose the crown?”
After he gave me a cold look, he reached for the quill and dragged the tip against the inside of the bottle, wiping the extra ink from the nib before he brought it to his parchment to write another letter. “I have a lot of work to do, Hanne.”
I wanted to run straight to my father’s best friend and tell him what had befallen me. And I nearly gasped as the horrible reality hit me in the face. The one person I had to defend me was the very person who had crossed me.
I had no one.
I stood in the cold morning air, my breath heating my face before it evaporated into nothingness. The cemetery was located in the gardens, hidden behind a stone wall so it wasn’t visible until you passed the iron gates.
