Page 42 of Ruling the Green

No, I couldn’t.

I had shit to do.

Alliances to make.

Rats to find and figure out what to do with them.

I didn’t have five minutes to spend on anything frivolous, let alone an hour to take my wife outside for fresh air.

“Really? That would be great.”

Fuck.

Like it was possible to change my mind when she was looking at me like that?

And what the hell was wrong with me that some stranger was starting to have any kind of sway over me?

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Serin

“Well, that was refreshing,” Nira said, wiping a hand down her face, swiping off the water that had just splashed up at her. “Seems like progress. I mean, nothing like how your lake water responds to you, but still workable.”

It’d taken an immense amount of concentration just to make the water spatter Nira, and she’d only been standing a foot away.

“I guess.”

“I think now that you know you can, you will be able to do more. Confidence will make all the difference. The first time I picked up a sword, I felt like my shoulder might fall off, it was so heavy. But once I learned how to hold it and swing, there was no stopping me.”

“It must feel so powerful to know how to defend yourself like that.”

“It does. I worked hard to make myself a weapon. Trust me, it’s necessary out there…”

“Could I become a weapon?”

“Well, being able to drown a man on dry land seems pretty badass. But if you mean learning to fight, yeah, I think any woman can learn. Even scrawny ones like you.”

“Scrawny?” I asked, looking down at myself.

I’d never given my body much thought before coming to the palace. It was on my mind a lot now. Mostly because of the new sensations I’d been feeling. The pain, sure. But more than that, the unfamiliar fluttering and pulsing and heat. That said, I was also more aware of my shape than I’d ever been. I was taller than the average servant at the palace. But I was long and willowy compared to Nira’s curves, strong arms, and thick thighs.

“I guess it’s all that swimming. And all that duckweed or watercress you must eat.”

“I’ve come to love bread,” I admitted, gesturing over to the half-eaten loaf Vishen had brought up for breakfast.

“That might help put a little weight on you. But, sure, I think you could learn to fight. Maybe even wield a light sword.”

“Could we start?”

“Today?”

“Now?”

“Sure. I might have to lend you something to wear. You’d trip over that skirt.”

With that, I was led into Nira’s room—which was nothing like I’d anticipated. It was smaller than Jet’s, of course, but in just a few days, she’d made a home of the place. There were plants in crocks along the windowsills. Fresh flowers were in vases. She had some handwork sitting on a table in the middle of the room—brilliant pinks, yellows, and purples creating some sort of beaded tapestry. Perhaps most telling of the space, though, were the many pillows and blankets on the bed, and the overflowing piles of fruits and vegetables on her dresser.

Clearly, the life she knew before the palace was cold and hard… and maybe lacking in food.