Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 54931 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 275(@200wpm)___ 220(@250wpm)___ 183(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54931 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 275(@200wpm)___ 220(@250wpm)___ 183(@300wpm)
But the captain falls to one knee, bowing his head. “We’re at your command, my liege.”
The rest of the men fall to their knees as well, and I hold on to Roark so I don’t collapse from relief. His large hand rubs my back. “Can’t believe that worked,” he mutters.
I bulge my eyes at him. “You didn’t think it would work?”
He shrugs. “It was my best plan, but no. At least it was a plan that involved kissing you, though.”
I grin. “You’re unbelievable.”
“In bed,” he jokes.
I roll my eyes. “Did becoming king turn you into an immature middle schooler?”
“No. It made me realize I’ve never fucked a queen before. I’m impatient to give it a try.”
I clear my throat, looking at the priests and the guards who all obviously heard what he just said and are trying to look anywhere but at us.
16
Roark
I sit in the throne that was my father’s, and his father’s before him. Though I know the man who claims this throne is one of the most powerful men in the world, I’m more interested in the woman who sits in the smaller throne beside me. My queen.
I reach across to her armrest and grab her hand, squeezing slightly. She smiles up at me. “So,” she says. “It’s our first morning as king and queen. Breakfast was good, but is this what we do? We just kind of sit here in this big room while the guards stand with their backs to us?”
I smirk. “We have a great responsibility. In the next few days, dignitaries from all the major global political powers will be checking in with us and trying to win favor. We’ll be expected to begin participating on the global stage as well--the shadow stage, that is.”
“Sounds important, but boring,” says Elizabeth with a smile.
“I agree. But it’s just a small part of our daily life. A decision here, a decision there. I’ll make sure of it, because I still have a head full of ideas about the things I want to do to you, and where I want to do them. I’ll also need to show you off in every city of the Shrouded Kingdoms as well. It will be very time consuming, very sex-filled work.”
Elizabeth laughs. Her cheeks stain red as she glances to the guards within earshot. Her expression hardens suddenly. “What’s the news on Titus and Korinthia?”
I grip the armrests of my chair more tightly now. After we won the guards back yesterday, taking control of the palace was a quick job. Once we had control, I threw my brother and my mother into the dungeons. They were conscious by then, and pleading for forgiveness, promising if I would just spare their lives they would change.
Some make the mistake of thinking mercy is a weakness, but I know better. Executing Titus and my mother would be as easy as breathing. Easier, even. When I killed those guards on my way to rescuing Elizabeth, it was the first time I can remember that violence didn’t stir the darkness within me. I felt repulsed by it--completely conscious of the waste of life and the hubris required to think I had a right to take it. But I took those lives all the same because something was on the line more important than my own morality.
Now though? Titus and my mother are crippled politically. They have been stripped of their titles and estates. Even if I do free them, they’ll live shame filled lives as lesser nobles with no hope of ever moving up the social ladder. Honestly, death may even be kinder than that fate.
The more I think about it, the more I realize their fate shouldn’t be my decision alone. Maybe I had to tolerate their bullshit for so many years, but the way they wronged Elizabeth surpasses anything they ever did to me.
“I want you to decide their fate,” I say after a long pause.
Elizabeth looks down, picking at the hem of her dress. “If I say they should die, I’ll carry the guilt with me for the rest of my life, whether I should or not. And they aren’t even worth a guilty conscience. Let them live. You said their life would be miserable now, anyway, didn’t you?”
“It would,” I say.
She nods. “Then let them out. Maybe they’ll learn some humility.”
“So be it,” I say. “Kato, send the message to the dungeons. Titus and Korinthia are to be given enough food and water to last them through the day and transportation out of the palace.”
Kato turns, nodding toward me. “As you command, my liege.”
Only a few minutes after Kato has left, a sweaty guard with wide, panic-filled eyes stumbles into the throne room, panting. “My liege,” he gasps. “I came right away. Titus and Korinthia tried to bribe me. They say they have a fortune hidden. That it will go to whoever assassinates the king and queen. They tried to get me to do it.”