The wind suddenly shifts, sharp and cold, as Atlas steps onto the balcony. A familiar tension coiling tight in my chest. I turn, forcing a smile that feels brittle, but the look on his face shatters even that perceived try.
“Still clinging to the edge of the sea, are we?” He asks, his voice smooth but dripping with mockery. “Perhaps you think you can drown out your choices with the tide.”
I open my mouth to respond, but the weight of his presence suffocates my words. Instead, I stare at him, feeling the whip of the surrounding wind.
“Is it him?” His voice rises sharply, piercing through my heart like a shard of ice. “You think he can offer you what I cannot? Because you’re mistaken.” A vein throbs at his temple.
“Atlas …” I begin, wanting to soften the sting of confrontation, but he steps closer once again.
“What are you doing with him?” Atlas’ voice is low and laced with an edge. His eyes, once soft when they met mine, blaze with an intensity that feels like fire as they look at me. “I can smell him here … on you.”
“Atlas, I do not have to explain myself to you.” I say as he steps closer, invading my space.
“You think I wouldn’t find out? I’ve watched you disappearing with that baker. The way he looks at you, the way you look at him. You risk everything by being with him.” He leans toward me as his jaw clenches tight enough to turn his face pale.
I swallow, my heart thudding painfully against my ribs. The ocean churns below, mirroring the storm rising in her as well. “You’re being irrational, Atlas. Thesix is not a danger to your –”
“A danger to what? My crown? My title?” Atlas runs a hand through his beard, the moonlight catching the silver of his crown.
His laugh is hollow, echoing against the stone walls of the balcony. “I don’t worry about him taking that from me. Your precious baker doesn’t concern me politically.” The muscle in his jaw twitches as he steps closer, close enough that I can smell the wine on his breath, the subtle notes of oak and spice that cling to his clothes.
“I was elected king for a reason, and I will remain that way, just as you are the queen.” His eyes narrow, pupils dilating untilthey nearly swallow the color. “But what I will not tolerate is him taking what belongs to me.”
“I don’t belong to you,” I say defiantly.
Atlas slams his palms against the balcony railing, the sound cracking through the night air. “Everything in this kingdom belongs to me!” The vein at his temple pulses visibly now. “Including you.”
“I belong to no one!” The ocean crashes below as I step back, my spine pressing against the cold stone as I lift my chin, refusing to be cowed. “You need to leave.”
His eyes widen fractionally, disbelief flickering across his features before hardening into something cold and unrecognizable that I’ve never seen. “You’re dismissing me?”
“Now, Atlas.”
He grabs my wrist, his fingers pressing into my skin with bruising force.
I hold out my hand, a stream of water coming from the palm as it wraps around his own, slinking up his forearm in an equal force.
“You will regret this,” he hisses, his breath hot against my cheek. “Your baker boy can’t protect you, and when your kingdom is torn in two because so many choose to follow me–” He releases me suddenly, as if my skin burns, and I let my water fall. “You’ll come crawling back.”
As Atlas storms off, the weight of his words lingers in the air. I feel the chill of his threat settle in deep, echoing in the corners of my mind.
seven
Pink Moon of The Lunar Year 3302
It’s been eight moon cycles since I first brought Thesix to my bed. Each moment since has been spent with him has become a light against the shadows Atlas casts, but now the flicker of that flame feels perilous.
With every passing day, whispers of rebellion spread like wildfire, fueled by Atlas’ fury and ambition. He’s gathered followers of both Midaeliea and Antalis who believe in his cause. Convinced that he should be the only ruler of Antalis because a woman is too fickle with their emotions. The morehe rants about me–and Thesix–the more his anger festers. I never imagined a twin drop could incite such turmoil within my kingdom, yet here I stand at the heart of a conflict I never wanted.
I stand on my balcony, where it all began, looking up at the rainbow circle that surrounds the sun here, contemplating what I could have done differently. What I might have done to prevent my own children from hating me, as some of them do.
“Henå” Thesix says from behind me, his voice husky with sleep. The silken sheets rustle as he shifts to sit up more, the fabric falling around his waist.
“I’m here, my love.” I step back inside the bedchamber, trying to hide the fear behind a fabricated smile.
“That’s very fake … but thank you for trying.” Thesix says towards me, opening his arms. “Come here.”
I cross the room, the marble floor cool beneath my bare feet, and sink into his embrace, allowing myself this moment. His heartbeat steady beneath my palm. I breathe in his scent and for a heartbeat; the fear recedes.
