“I’m just…happy.”
Her smile grew. “Wonderful. I couldn’t ask for anything more. Your new bride is lovely.”
“Yes, she is.” My own smile rose to match hers. “How are you feeling?”
“Fine, actually.” She tilted her head. “Are you on your way to dinner with your bride?”
“How did you?—”
“I may have retired from ruling, but I still know everything that happens in this court.” Her expression turned knowing. “Rumor has it you’re planning a dinner with Sasha in your suite. That’s very thoughtful of you.”
“I hope it goes well,” I said. “Sasha and I got off to a rough start with the whole giggling-through-our-vowssituation. This is a chance to actually connect without magical disasters interrupting.”
“She seems like a remarkable young woman. Smart, composed, and clearly capable.”
“She is all of those things.”
“But?”
I ran a hand through my hair, wanting to confide in her. “What if once we solve these problems, she realizes that I’m just…ordinary. What if the only interesting thing about me is the problems we’re managing together?”
My mother’s expression softened in a way I rarely saw. “Dominic. My darling son. You have never been ordinary. Not when you were a boy charming the kitchen staff into giving you extra sweets, not when you were a young man learning to navigate court politics, and certainly not now as king.”
“That’s different. Those are survival skills, playing the role people expect.”
“Exactly.” She reached up to straighten my collar with the familiar fussiness of a mother who’d seen me through everything. “You’re brilliant at reading people, at knowing exactly what they need and how to provide it. That’s not ordinary. That’s exceptional. And if your witch can’t see that…” She paused, her smile turning mischievous. “Well, then she’s not as smart as I think she is.”
I laughed. “You’re biased.”
“Terribly. But I’m also right.” She stepped back, looking me over with approval. “Now go get ready for your dinner. And Dominic? Stop worrying about whether you’re enough. You are. I’m sure she’ll see that as well.”
“Thank you.”
“That’s what mothers are for.” She made a shooingmotion with her hands. “Go. Don’t keep your bride waiting.”
I took the stairs to the third floor two at a time, energy thrumming through me with each step. My mother’s words echoed in my mind, mixing with my own hopes and fears about the evening ahead.
I wanted this dinner to be about us, Dominic and Sasha, not king and queen, just two people getting to know each other. Learning whether the connection I felt sparking between us was real or just the intensity of thrown-together circumstances.
But what if she didn’t want that? She could prefer to keep things professional, maintaining the distance that made everything safer and more controlled.
The fear nagged at me as I reached our suite door. I paused with my hand on the handle, listening. Water ran somewhere inside. The bath, probably. Soft sounds of movement filtered through the wood, evidence of Sasha preparing for dinner just as I was about to.
My heart did complicated things in my chest.
This was happening. Our first real evening together. No interruptions, no giggling fits, and no mysterious plant deaths.
I pushed the door open and stepped into our shared sitting room. The space felt cozy in the fading light, shadows gathering in the corners while the last rays of the sun painted everything in muted light. I’d always liked this room. It felt lived-in rather than formal, comfortable rather than impressive.
Now, seeing it through Sasha’s eyes, I wanted it to be perfect.
Magic stirred in my fingertips as I moved through the space, making small adjustments. The flowers in thevase on the side table were wilting, their petals beginning to curl. I channeled power through them, coaxing them back to life and vibrance. It wasn’t a permanent fix. They’d fade again without addressing the underlying problem. But they’d last through dinner at least. I did the same with all the other plants in the room.
The hearth held arranged wood but no flame. I gestured, and fire bloomed to life, crackling cheerfully and adding warmth to the room. The dancing light made everything feel more inviting.
The dining table near the windows needed attention too. I arranged the place settings to take advantage of the view over the gardens, adding a few more flowers from the sitting room arrangement. I made sure the chairs were at the right angle.
Small details, but they mattered.
