Page 80 of Of Skulls Of Shackles

I lifted my gaze and found myself perused by a very serious King See.

There was a moment, a mere second, when I chanced to glimpse his true sentiment before he masked it.

Fear.

What I saw in his gaze was fear. Fear of me? Or fear of what he must do? I should dig deeper to discover the answer. The answer might be crucial. I should. Might.Shoulds and mights.

Yet fear of the answer filledme.I could not.

“King See,” I said. “Could you kindly help King Take up to his position in my conservatory?” I glanced back. “Princess Take, you might visit him there whenever you wish.”

“He can never leave?” she said fretfully.

I lifted a shoulder. “I do not know the confines of kings yet, just that shackles have appeared for kings. Monsterdom is in a period of change and upheaval. Some patience, my marshal, if you please.”

She took a breath. “Of course, my queen.”

The Takes helped one another to the stairs to start their ascent.

I turned to follow but could not help looking again at See. I was relieved to see his fear wiped clean away. Hidden and buried.

From me.

ChapterEighteen

Self-care existed in many forms

Ifrowned at my attire. Having clambered from a grave before dawn, and then enjoyed the deepest of monstrous slumbers, I had woken in a conquering mood. Tonight I would force King Bring to his knees, confident in the knowledge that one of my sneezes could shake the entire city and beyond. After that, I would trip through hellebores, suffer through the disapproval of my ancestral mothers as I recovered from the surge of power from becoming ultimate ruler of the entire world. Afterthat, I would corner King See for several days while we satiated lust and figured out how to transcend love at last.

Simple.

This breezy attire from Valetise spoke of lazy home days and the attendance of simple errands that would not greatly stress. This outfit spoke of not lifting a stitched-on finger. The loose embroidered pants were coupled with an embroidered top. Both lilac, and both revealing my underwear beneath. “I am not meant to conquer the fifth king today?” I whispered.

Despite my whisper, Valetise sucked in a sharp breath at the rumble of thunder in my voice. But she flashed a grin soon after. “I cannot say, my queen. My guess would be no.”

“What is my outfit tomorrow?”

“Daylight slumber has not revealed to me what you must wear tomorrow.”

There went my hopes of predicting a conquering.

I withheld a groan. “And Picket? Has he come to terms with love and duty both?”

“He softens to the idea, my queen. We have shared some small and soul-affirming touches. Now that his purpose finds fruition, and brick wall turns to a vicious picket fence he feels a loosening in his obsessive duty. There might be more space for love and lust soon.”

I blinked. “This is well. I am glad for you both. Love should be shared by some in this world. Did you say a vicious picket fence, Valetise?”

“Yes, my queen. The copper tips are laced in poison, he has told me. Your pickets are sharp enough to slice through ligament and pierce bone. Each picket in the fence towers as high as your King See. ’Tis a wondrous thing to behold, for Picket merely spends a great deal of time banging at the brick walls he has painstakingly built, and then there is an eruption of dust, and the section arises in picket fashion.”

I had been mostly conquering kings and recovering in hellebores lately. “I feel sorry to have missed his display, though I have heard his toil and bang. I must take time to view his craft.”

“We all know how conquering has claimed your time.” She slipped a needle from her calloused arm and stitched the waist of my top tighter.

I sighed. “There is a lot to keep track of as a queen.”

“Your team exists to help you.”

I nodded. “I have not spoken to any of them of queendom matters in over a week with being in Raise’s kingdom, and then through the grave. That is the source of disconnect I feel from queendom matters.” I peered down at my relaxed outfit. “I fathom what tonight must be about.”

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