“Miss Ivanya,” he acknowledged my friend with a curt nod.
Startling, she rose from the glossy floor.
“You may leave us,” Lukas barked before she’d even had the chance to bow.
“Lukas…” I frowned, but he deliberately ignored me. As Ivy slipped out of my room, I gave her a thankful smile before turning my attention to the scowling king. “I know you’re upset with me, but there’s no reason to be rude to my friends.”
“I am more than upset with you, Naria,” he grumbled, dragging a hand through his hair. “What you said today had serious repercussions that I had to spend the entire afternoon dealing with. Did you really think that proposing the idea of a democracy would go down well in a room full of monarchs?”
My arms wrapped around my chest. “I suppose I was quite tired… But I was only speaking my mind. Surely you, of all people, know I’m hardly suitable to be a queen.”
“You can and you will,” he declared, marching over to my pink shell desk and dropping his parchments on top. His hands pressed against the table, and after a breath of pause, he turned to face me.
“Look.” His voice softened. “I know you’re probably scared of your upcoming responsibilities, but I am here now to help you and I always will be.” As he stepped towards me, my gaze dropped to the floor, embarrassment staining my cheeks.
“I truly am sorry for causing you so much trouble,” I admitted. “That was never my intention.”
“I know,” he sighed.
My breath caught as his fingers swept under my jaw, tipping my chin up to meet his gaze.
“You are so strong, Naria.” He spoke in a commanding yet tender voice. “And you will make a wonderful queen. Don’t ever let any silly thoughts convince you otherwise.” His fingers tapped gently on the side of my head. “I mean it,” he warned.
A tear splashed against my bodice. “But what if that’s not who I’m supposed to be?” His eyes narrowed as I continued, “I’ve already helped my people so much. My goal was to rebuild my kingdom and now Corlixir is slowly growing into what it once was. Why must I be the one to ensure it stays that way?”
“How can you even suggest that?” Lukas shook his head. “Your parents w—”
“Would’ve surely wanted me to just be happy,” I finished for him, desperation blurring my vision. “I love my people,of course I do, but I love them because I am one of them. I don’t want to stand there in front of everyone I grew up with and tell them what they can and cannot do. They should be allowed to decide that for themselves.” I stepped out of his hold, meeting his stare with fire now melting away the shame in my chest. “Please tell me you understand.”
Lukas just blinked. For a moment, a flicker ofsomething I thought might’ve been understanding flashed across his eyes. Then, any flames inside me were smothered by his low, unwavering voice. “This talk is nonsense.”
My lips clamped shut. I’d tried… I’d also had enough of arguing for one day.
“Now, will you please come and see these papers I’ve been working on. I have a plan for how to smooth things over with the other rulers – one that doesn’t involve you dissolving any monarchies.” There was a hint of humour in his tone, but I didn’t laugh. Instead I followed him numbly as he led me over to my desk.
Once I was by his side, he spread out the parchments, the dark ink still fresh enough to glint in the candlelight.
“I take it you didn’t attend our welcome party either, then?” My gaze caught on his neat handwriting. Between the pretty letters, there was so much to take in. He must’ve been working on this for hours.
“We didn’t come here to celebrate,” he replied flatly, glancing at my lips before turning back to the papers. “Now please,” his voice deepened, “behave yourself for once and pay attention.”
Without another word, he dove into explaining his notes, while I tried my best to ignore the heat pooling in my belly. I squeezed my eyes shut, then opened them again, blinking all the unnecessary thoughts away.
After a few minutes, I began to make sense of his plan. It seemed simple at first – mainly involving me building new relationships with the other rulers, then convincing them of the value of my kingdom. Dalking and Ryntook shouldn’t be too much of a challenge, but Hallshire…
“Will probably present us with the most pushback,” he reasoned, his palms pressing into the desk. “I don’t know why Marigold has such a strong resentment towards you, especially since I’ve researched your families and there’s no history of any bad blood.” He paused, letting his gaze fall over his notes again. “But we’ll find a way to win them over.”
“You speak as if I even want their help,” I murmured, more to myself.
“You’ll need it though,” he answered anyway. “Hallshire is powerful. Maybe even more powerful than Drothmore.”
“We can grow our own food.”
“Good luck trying to grow enough to sustain an entire kingdom,” he argued. “Believe me, we’ve all tried, but our lands are just not fertile enough. In the same way that Hallshire cannot gather enough wood and stone to build their homes, or metals to craft their swords.”
“I know, I know,” I groaned, pushing myself away from the desk. “Drothmore has the mountains. Dalking has the forests. Ryntook has the sea, and Hallshire has the volcano that spreads enough life into their soil so that their harvests are always plentiful,” I recited what Lukas had told me months ago over our dinners. “It’s just a shame that it hasn’t decided to erupt yet.” My fingertips skimmed the curtains fluttering by the balcony. “We could all probably benefit from a nice stream of lava, aimed directly at the palace throne ro—”
“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that,” Lukas laughed, returning his focus to the parchment. “You know it’s a serious crime to plot the death of another ruler?”
