“You may rule your kingdom however you wish,” he murmured against my lips, “but you’ll always be a queen to me.”
I smiled, and he kissed me more until we fell back against the sand in a tangle of limbs.
“So what will you do with all this new time you have?” He pressed soft kisses against my jaw, trailing down to my neck.
Arching my back, I replied breathily, “I’m not certain yet.” I ran my fingers through his soft hair. “Travel the realm with my healing services? Help my people with their research back home? The Dalking Queens wanted me to send a temporary clinic over, so maybe I should leave for Corlixir to assemble a team?”
“You’re not going anywhere until I’m finished with you.” His voice buzzed in my ear as I sighed out a laugh.
“Of course, we still have our honeymoon.”
His fingers laced through mine, a soft smile curling at his lips as his answer rumbled through me. “And our wedding night, dear wife.”
When his hand brushed my thigh, and stars began to twinkle across the darkening purple sky, I’d never felt moreloved. More at home.
Just myself, the endless ocean lapping gently at our feet, and Lukas.
And finally, there was nothing stopping me from drowning in him.
EPILOGUE
ARENN
three months later…
“And so the princess, fair and helpless, was snatched away from our most handsome prince by a hideous water troll and his dragon!” the goblin narrator announced. The chair he was stood on creaked beneath the weight of his tiny green body as he waved his arms dramatically.
A second goblin, smothered in mud and seaweed, scurried past the bed I was lounging on and skidded to a halt in front of another goblin performer. “This wedding is over! I’m here to steal the girl!” he snarled.
“Oh, help me! Help me!” the other goblin wailed. Her yellow string wig flopped around her as she ducked below a handmade dragon puppet.
“No one can stop me,” the second goblin cackled. “And because of my wicked spells, not even your heroic prince can save you! Even though Prince Arenn is the most strong, most handsome, most—” A blob of frosted sweet cream splattered against his face.
Syrup dripped onto the floor, and the three goblins exchanged nervous glances until the one standing on the chair stammered a quiet, “Um, sire? It is a little distracting to perform when you keep throwing—”
“I didn’t tell you to stop.” I scowled. Adjusting against my pillows, I scooped up another spoonful of frosted cream and thrust it into my mouth. “Carry on with the show.”
“Of course, Your Highness.” The little beast cleared his throat. But before they could continue, a sharp knock echoed through the bedchamber.
“Go away.” I spoke without flinching. I didn’t want visitors. Not unless that visitor was a certain human girl returning to beg for my forgiveness. I wouldn’t take her back. But watching her beg would certainly be more entertaining than this poorly-written play.
When another even louder knock sounded, I threw my spoon down and growled out a furious, “If you do not leave me alone right this second, I will grow enough thorns to carve your heart from—”
Of course Elara marched into the room anyway.
“My bards!” she shrieked, ignoring my audible hiss of disapproval. Picking up her lilac skirts, my sister kickedthrough piles of dirty clothes and plates to reach the goblins. “I knew they’d been stolen. Oh, Peter, what has he done to you?” Scooping up the seaweed-covered goblin, she wiped the frosted cream from his face. “You poor, poor thing.”
“I’m quite alright, Miss Elara.” He blushed while I rolled onto my side with a scoff. “We were just rehearsing! Prince Arenn has been gracious enough to task the three of us with writing and performing a play. We’re to give your kingdom the real story for how his queen was stolen from him.”
“His queen?” Elara repeated as I bristled at her tone. “Arenn, it’s been a whole season, you cannot still be obsessing—”
“I amnotobsessing.”
Lowering the goblin, she glanced around the room pointedly. “You won’t eat with us. You’re avoiding your duties. You hide in this bedchamber all day, even though it’s in dire need of a clean.” Her nose scrunched as she lifted a worn cherry-coloured gown from the floor.
“Don’t touch that,” I growled.
“She’s not coming back,” Elara huffed out a laugh. “May as well burn all her clothes and turn this room into a theatre if you love my bards so much.”
