Page 64 of Conspirators' Kingdom

“Then I want my own palace. And a lake filled with the waters of the Hapi.”

“Better! What else?”

Taisiya laughed.

“Statues?”

“They’ll need to be made of solid gold and jewels and dressed in the finest silks,” Mereruka added.

“A floating barge?”

“It’ll be as big as a house.”

“Summoned beasts?”

“You’ll have the biggest, the fiercest, the most beautiful, the sweetest, and a dozen of each.”

By now he had her with a grin on her face, suppressing giggles and snorts. An answering smile took hold of him. He was glad he could have her like this too, not just ambition and plotting, but smiles and warmth. Maybe there could be more than a simple partnership between them. Maybe one day there could be love. She wiped a tear from her eye.

“I hope you have enough coin and magic for this charade. Else we’ll be selling our crowns before we can wear them.”

“No coinage in Maat. We deal in goods, spells, deals and favours. Wealth won’t be the issue. I’ll need to have a few tattoos re-inked, though, and perhaps add a few more for good measure.”

“Bas told me that you’ll need more treatment in order to remove the wounds the iron gave you.”

“I will, but it won’t be debilitating this time. What did you do with the iron, by the way?” He asked. He hadn’t sensed its nearness in the cabin when he’d woken.

Her eyes darkened.

“I put some of it into our attacker. Publicly. Then I had Vasilisa put it away for safekeeping.”

He tried not to grin. Gods below, there would be stories of her spread far and wide when they landed. His barbarian bride, fresh from the Cursed Continent, was cruel enough to stick a failed fae assassin full of iron. Maat would tremble in her wake.

“Carrying iron is punishable by death in Maat, so keep it stowed in the void, if you can. Fae can sense it from a distance unless it’s hidden under non-fae enchantments, and it would be a foolish thing to get ourselves killed over. But if anything happens to me, use it well.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“See that you do.” He leaned down and kissed her brow.

“You don’t need to do that when no one is watching.” She looked away.

“I did it because I’m proud of you. Maat will be too busy trying to figure out if it should fear you or fête you to realise we’re aiming for its throne.”

“If they know what’s good for them, they’ll do both,” she said, her voice fierce.

The sound had his heart pounding in his chest. She could give a dragoness chills.

“You really are perfect,” he murmured.

She blushed.

“Flatterer,” she scoffed.

“I’ve been called worse.” He grinned. “May I kiss you?”

Her eyes darted away as the blush spread to the tips of her ears. Why did tenderness embarrass her? It was the one chink in her armour, the one place he felt he could slip through her barbed defences. If he was careful and persistent, could he capture her heart along with her lips? He looked forward to finding out.

“It’s hardly necessary.”

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