Page 130 of Of Brides Of Queens

In his mind, what must exist between us if love did not?

My mind had reassessed my memories and experiences, and views I had held were changed in the last night as a result. Such was life as a monster queen. But there was a reluctance in myheart on the topic of love—perhaps my heart was too whole still. Had I not seen the love between the Raises? Had not Princess Raise herself spoken scathingly of love?

I gathered my bravery. “The answer, sir? What is there if not love?”

“Respect and choice. Trust and acceptance,” he replied.

I felt each word like a blow.

There was a total sense in them that I was not ready to admit. Love… love must be had. Yet I had seen what love did to a princess and king. Whatlustdid to another couple. Whatpurposedid to a third. Even what subservient duty did to the last. “You believe these must be shared between a queen and a king instead of love?”

“I theorize only, maiden, and fearfully at that, for I have experienced the midnight of your kiss and felt your silken sigh on my cheeks. I have breathed your breath and held you vulnerable in my arms. You are my immortality, and dread immobilizes me and threatens to steer me to vice whenever I lower my guard. I do not trust myself always, nor my theories.”

Distant booms and frenzied screams were louder now. I trailed my fingertips over his jaw. “You speak such romance, King See. Are you sure that you do not believe in love?”

“I do not have the luxury of believing in love when a queen such as yourself exists. She might be mine if I can resist the most common trap of all for enough dusks put together.” He stood and extended a hand to me.

I let him pull me up from the bench and looped my arm in his. We descended to the courtyard together, and twelve pawns exited their chambers to fall into line behind me, though three did not leave their kennels at all.

Tonight, pawns did not join their laughter in glorious symphony, for tonight, most of them would battle against their kings. Understandably, this was not something my pawnsanticipated with delight. Only King See’s pawns were free from writhing guilt on the matter.

The odds were against us, certainly. Kings marched their sixths to reduce my queendom to ash, then likely See’s to ash too.

Yet here he was.

A kiss and touch had settled something in him. Our hearts did thump in tandem, after all. What a pity I had not asked See about his heartbreak obsession and whether it remained.

Another time.

A queen was rather busy for now.

I exited my wall of bars, and the sight of thousands of humans pounding against my picket was marvelous to behold. Beyond them, standing high atop apartment towers were four kings.

“Change, Raise, Take,” I greeted three of them. “You throw your sixths against my walls this dusk.” I shifted my focus to the fourth. “Bring, you do that and more. Here is the way of matters.”

“We do not come to listen to a queen,” Change roared.

His high emotion broke against my power and did not shove at it or force me to slumber. How long would it take them to realize I was now their equal? And more, perhaps. I was still learning of myself now that four bridal gifts were stashed away through hellebores.

Take hissed, “You have my princess. Return her, and I will be content to merely squash your queendom from this world.”

There was that. Princess Take had creeped back to my queendom after the dinner affair, for what reason, she did not care to divulge, but unfortunately, she had spotted Princess Bring in the act of rehydrating herself from fake death.

In a stunning act of self-preservation, Princess Bring had slimed Princess Take to the wall and left her there until my return from the grave.

“Gladly, King Take. Do you gather that she came to my queendom of her own accord?”

He did not answer. “She did notstayof her own accord.”

“Perhaps not, but that was not my doing either. She is quite free now, however, and I am happy to return her to you once kings have listened to a queen.”

Raise had dressed in a gold suit for the occasion. “I have wearied of your incessant words. I will listen no more.”

Bring spoke, the vile king that he was. “You have a chance to save much human life, Queen Perantiqua. You have a chance to save the kingdom and standing of King See. You have a chance to negotiate the safety of those monsters in your queendom. Agree to our union without war and without tribunal and I will join with you and… See… against other kings.”

Three other kings glared at him.

“That would even the odds, more so.”

---