Page 121 of Ruling the Green

If it weren’t for Serin’s suggestion, I wasn’t sure I ever would have thought to use it with restraint. To take a small chunk of someone’s pleasure and hold onto it as a punishment. Something that could be earned back.

It felt… fair.

More fair than a life in work camps. Than endless lifetimes in the dungeons, being tortured day in and day out by men who found pleasure in pain.

And I only planned to use it sporadically. For issues like threats to the throne. Otherwise, there would be fines, imprisonment, stripping of titles, things that cause real-world repercussions, but not necessarily gratuitous pain. I never wanted to become like my father.

The chaos had raged outside the palace walls for half a day.

The crowd had started to grow.

It was time to make our next move.

Show me taking the crown and the throne.

Punish those who plotted against us.

Tell the people about a few of my edicts—starting with the dissolution of the work camps.

Hopefully that would be enough to send everyone home, anger dissipated, maybe even with a little excitement about the future.

“Stop looking at me like a wounded animal,” Nira grumbled.

“You are a wounded animal,” Vishen reminded the woman who was propped up in bed with a tray, using it to work on some of her beadwork.

She looked a lot better after Mendalyn’s healer came back and treated her wounds and fed her some sort of tonic that knocked her out cold.

It didn’t escape my notice that the space next to Nira looked like it had been slept on as well.

So that was happening.

I couldn’t imagine a better suited couple. Though I wanted to know how Vishen got someone as guarded as Nira to let him in.

“I have my very own personal healer,” Nira said, smiling at the woman who was bent over a collection of glass vials, pouring the contents from a flask into them. “And a guard,” she added, nodding to the door. “I’m fine. You won’t be more than an hour or two. I’m just mad I can’t be there.”

“We talked about this,” Vishen said. “You’re not risking pulling your stitches.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Nira grumbled. “Good luck,” she said, looking at me. “You are a lucky king to have a queen like Serin at your side.”

“Yeah,” I agreed as the woman in question moved into the doorway.

Her gown was simple and black, skirting the floor but much more form-fitting than the dress she’d worn to the feast and the tournament. It was sleeker, sexier.

I was half-tempted to drag her back across the hall, hike it up, and bury myself inside her until the nerves I was feeling were gone and we were both satisfied and calm.

But there was no time for that.

“Mendalyn went to fetch Tove and the crown,” Serin said as she moved in at my side. “You look better,” she said, smiling at Nira. “Up and doing crafts even.”

“Rumor is, I have a queen to adorn now. I need to get busy. Though, I am still waiting on ‘all the beads in the kingdom’ I was promised.”

“As soon as things are safe out there again, we will secure you anything you want,” I assured her. “Or you can wait until you’re well enough and head to Tenray Square.”

“I will hold you to that.”

“We’ll be happy to deliver.”

“Good. Then go get this pesky part over with so I can have my beads. And you,” she added, looking at Vishen, “stop stalling. I’m fine. You need to make sure Jet and Serin are safe.”