Page 124 of Ruling the Green

Her movements were slow at first.

Like we both recognized that we wanted to savor the moment. But it wasn’t long before she was riding me hard and fast, her moans filling my ears, filling the room.

When we both came, it was loud and powerful, and it felt like the throne itself recognized all the good that was going to come from our union.

And I knew we would work together to make that happen.

Serin - 2 weeks

“You’re a quick study,” Tove said as he pulled the paper out from in front of me, checking my careful letters and simple words.

I sat in what used to be Cass’s private library, but all traces of the former king had been quickly stripped away.

I didn’t know what it was costing him, but Jet had teams working around the clock to revamp the palace. Colors were changed, fabrics were updated, and all the horror-filled artwork was stripped from the walls.

The library had been brightened to suit what Jet knew I preferred, since I’d been enamored with the room full of books when I’d first seen them.

What a concept they were. Books. Full of knowledge, yes, but also stories. I hadn’t understood them at first, but when Jet started to read a story to me, pictures formed in my head and it was as if I was watching the stories unfold in my mind. Almost the way stories were told to me through the trees around my lake. It was fantastic.

Which was why I’d been up since dawn, sitting in the library with my papers and the books that Tove had brought from his own collection. He’d used them to teach his own siblings how to read. And now he was helping teach me. Along with Jet, Vishen, Nira, and—on occasion—Mendalyn.

But everyone was quite busy these days. Nira was still recovering as she beaded her way through an entire new wardrobe for me. Vishen split his time between taking care of Nira and guarding Jet. Mendalyn was questioning each member of the military, deciding who might need retraining and who was safe to continue in their roles. And Jet, well, Jet was busy from nearly sunup to sundown, working on implementing everything he’d been dreaming and planning his whole life.

So, Tove it was for my teacher.

Well, my and Cora’s teacher.

The girl had been hesitant at first, but she took to it quickly when she realized I wasn’t much further along than she was. Unlike me, she didn’t see the appeal of the stories. She told me she didn’t see the pictures in her head. She was interested in the information, in the potential to become well-educated and have a career of her own one day.

Until then, she spent most of her days with Mendalyn’s women. They trained her in hand-to-hand combat, in weapons, in archery. And in spending time with women who had been equally as traumatized as she was, Cora had started to understand and recover from her own trauma.

As for Cass, well, he was still getting doses of Stillwater while Jet, Vishen, and Tove figured out the right accommodations for him.

“I could do another sheet,” I said as I rolled the tension out of my neck.

“I’m afraid if you do too much all at once, you risk forgetting it all. Better to do the work in smaller batches. Never fear,” he added when my face fell, “these tomes will be here for you when you are ready to read them yourself. Until then, that is what you have your husband for. And, as I’ve said, you are within your rights to employ a lady’s maid whose sole job could be to read you stories.”

“I have Cora.” Granted, I didn’t like asking her to do anything for me, but she would often fetch my meals from the kitchens, then sit and eat with me.

“You’re a queen now. Queens typically employ more than one personal staff member.”

“Maybe eventually. When there are more queenly tasks for me to take on. Right now, I’m perfectly happy with my staff.”

“Talking about me?” Nira called, making me turn to find her striding into the room.

She was looking so much better since the healer had been working with her. The stitches in her head had even been removed already. And while she still winced when she turned, thanks to the wound on her side, she was healing well.

“What are you doing here? You hate the library.”

“There’s too much racket going on in your quarters,” she said, shrugging.

Jet had wasted no time on his dream to implement indoor plumbing. Apparently, I would be able to turn a ‘tap’ and have a freshly drawn bath in moments. I was reserving judgment on the matter until I tried it out myself.

“Where’s all the coin for this coming from?” Nira, as bold as ever, asked Tove.

“It’s amazing how much coin is available when the high-ranking, powerful families are no longer being bribed.”

“Every day, I learn something new about Cass that makes me hate him more,” Nira said. “Do you know how many days I starved working in his military?”