“Truly, Charles—”
He doesn’t let me finish.
With one swift motion, he grabs me by the waist and lifts me off my horse. Instead of putting me down to allow myself the dignity of mounting his stallion, he unceremoniously lifts me onto his horse, dropping me in his saddle like some unruly child.
Without saying another word, he takes back the reigns of his horse and climbs back up onto Hugo’s back, settling in behind me.
“Where is the food?” he bellows.
A young servant girl hurries over and hands him a small goblet of ale and a chunk of fresh bread.
Charles gives a wave of his hand and the whole procession starts moving again.
“Eat,” he orders, his voice suddenly sounding tired.
I nibble on the bread, even though I am not hungry, but I don’t want to anger him any further.
He silently holds out the goblet to me, his eyes trained on the treeline in front of us.
I take it and down a few sips before holding it against his lips.
He lowers his eyes at me, and suddenly all the anger seems to fade from him. Charles empties the goblet and stashes it away in his satchel.
“My beautiful Queen, you always take care of me, don’t you?” he murmurs and pulls me closer to him. Pulling the blanket around me, he bends his head and kisses me.
“I should not have raised my voice,” he murmurs against my hair. “Forgive me. The thought of you unwell unsettles me.”
His arm tightens around my waist protectively.
“I only want to keep you safe,” he continues softly. “And happy. You are…everything to me, Fastrada. When you suffer, I cannot think clearly.”
I open my mouth to respond, but he speaks on.
“You must be open with me,” he says. “Always. I cannot protect you from what I do not see. Let me carry these burdens for you.”
Another kiss, pressed into my hair, reverent and claiming all at once.
“Rest now,” he murmurs. “I am here. Nothing will touch you while you are with me.”
I close my eyes and let my weight sink back against him, the steady rhythm of the horse beneath us blurring the edges of my thoughts.
He reacted in anger because he cares.
He holds me because he loves me.
He knows what I need better than I do.
I am safe.
I repeat them until the words lose all other meaning.
* * *
“Open the gates!” an unfamiliar voice shouts across the fog in my brain.
“You need to wake up, love, we have arrived.”
I slowly open my eyes and see that we are standing right before the town gates. There is no actual city wall around Acheron, there simply is no need for it. This part of the kingdom has been pacified for decades now, so the low wall surrounding the city and the imposing gates are more for show than anything else.
