I scoffed, rolling back my shoulders and hiking up my chin. A king was never nervous, least of all when facing his subjects.
But then I met her questioning blue eyes, and I couldn’t lie to her.
“Yes,” I bit out a single word in admission.
It didn’t feel like defeat. Defeat would mean a loss, but all I really lost was my useless bravado. What I gained was far more valuable and precious—a flicker of understanding, a sense of camaraderie, and an encouraging smile from her.
“I wish I could hold your hand right now,” she said.
At the moment, that was my most fervent wish too.
“What wouldn’t I give for that to happen.” I shifted my weight to my other foot to loosen my nerves and muscles.
She ran a gaze down my body.
“Are you worried about being seen naked?” she asked, looking exceptionally adorable in her concern.
A genuine laughter bubbled in my throat, somewhat melting my apprehension.
“My sweet little minnow, at least half of this kingdom have seen me naked already, and that was even before the curse, back when I could wear clothes but often misplaced them after some wild party. Besides, is there anything untoward or unappealing about my appearance that I should want to hide?” I gestureddown my body and over my cock that truly was a masterpiece if I had to describe it with just one word.
She pursed her lips to contain a smile, but it escaped to her eyes instead.
“Everything isveryappealing, Your Majesty,” she assured me in that teasing manner I’d grown to adore. “Well, if nudity isn’t an issue...” She patted her sides, then looked around as if searching for something. “It still feels weird to go anywhere without my purse.”
“Did you always carry it around?”
“Always. Until that asshole Leslo threw it away when kidnapping me.”
Asshole indeed. But if it wasn’t for thebrackbringing Maren here, I would have never met her. And for that alone, I would forever be grateful to him.
I opened the doors and stepped over the threshold. The step wasn’t nearly as nerve-racking as it would’ve been if I’d been on my own. With Maren’s welcome distraction, it didn’t feel like the world had ended. The sky didn’t open above me, and the sun didn’t crash into the ocean the moment I left the palace behind me.
I inhaled the silky evening air and cast a glance around the plaza in front of the palace.
“Your Majesty,” the guards at the door greeted me, bowing their heads.
The guards knew about my excursion tonight. The rest of the people on the plaza did not.
It was late into the evening, and the work on the grounds had already stopped. But my palace stood on the main and busiest island of the reef. Life on it never stopped, even as it had been suspended inside my glass prison.
Sirens strolled along the stone paths. Music and laughter drifted in from a distance. Couples cuddled on the bridges andat the water’s edge. A merchant weaved between them, selling exotic flowers from the basket slung over her shoulder.
From what I could remember, this was a typical evening scene in Lyrei where life had been moving all along for the past hundred years, while its king had become nothing but some ominous shadow, a menacing entity safely concealed behind glass walls.
My sudden appearance in their midst brought the peaceful flow of the evening to a screeching halt. The people stopped on the promenade paths. The men shielded their women from me, as if I were about to snatch them and turn them into glass trinkets to decorate my desolate home. The flower merchant dropped the bouquet she was holding. Even the swishing of the waves around the island seemed to hush at the sight of the monstrous cursed king.
Silence pressed on me, heavier than the weight of the ocean.
I angled my head to Maren, who stood imprudently close to me.
“Please tell me they’re stunned speechless in awe of my magnificent cock,” I murmured, in an attempt to mask the awkwardness with lewd humor.
I knew perfectly well it wasn’t my nudity that shocked them. My people didn’t habitually cover themselves in layers, anyway. Olathana’s climate was forgiving of scarce clothing, and so were the customs of my kingdom. Many men and women around us were clad in hardly more clothing than me. And I wasn’t too vain to admit that some might be even just as well endowed as myself, as few as they were.
Maren snickered softly, hiding her mouth behind her hand. “As impressive as your penis is, Your Majesty, I regret to inform you, most aren’t even looking at it.”
“Damn it. Well then, I’ll try not to whither in disappointment at their lack of adoration. Shall we proceed on our walk?” I gestured at the path beyond the plaza, strolling down the steps.
