Page 74 of A Reign of Embers

“We’ll have to wait and see,” I say.

Coraya has been dozing, but now she blinks and squirms in my arms with a disgruntled murmur. Marc studies her and reaches out, his hand hesitating for a second before he grazes his fingertips over her hair. “You be good to your mother, future empress.”

Hearing the affection in his voice despite the fatherhood he lost provokes a renewed ache around my heart. “She’s always good. She just doesn’t have many ways of expressing herself.” I click my tongue at her and earn a smile.

Marc chuckles. “Look at that face. You can tell she’ll be just as clever as you.”

I glance up at him and take in his expression as he beams down at her. The ache swells into a more tender sensation.

Maybe I can’t return his full devotion, but I can offer him something.

I tilt my head to give him a peck on the cheek. “I consider Raul and Lorenzo her fathers, you know, in every way except the one only Bastien can claim. And you’re her father too. You looked after her as well as you could from the moment you found out she was on the way.”

Marc’s hand stills, his gaze jerking to me. When he manages to speak, his voice has gone raw. “Not every way. I still think about—if I’d stood up to Linus sooner?—”

“We don’t know where we’d be then. All we have is where we are now. And you’ve been making something impressive out of that.”

Marc gazes at me a moment longer as if awestruck. With a rough sound, he leans in and claims my lips with a more thorough kiss than before.

He only pulls back when Coraya makes a squawk of protest.

Her face starts to scrunch up on the verge of a wail. I laugh and yank at the lacing of my dress. “She’s hungry. Just a moment’s patience, little one.”

Marc keeps his arm around me as I bring Coraya’s mouth to my breast. Resolve ripples through his voice. “We’ll make sure all her fathers come back, for her sake too. No matter what it takes. Anything I have to do to open up the way, I will.”

His last sentence quivers through my mind like that remark of Bianca’s did earlier. Perhaps because I’ve let out some of the anxieties that were gnawing at me, this idea takes deeper root.

My spirits leap. I put my gift to use to find more ways to open myself to the gods’ support once. Why shouldn’t I do it again—with the godlen who cares most about seeing all families thrive?

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Raul

Isit at the back of the darkened meeting room, reflecting on all the places I’d rather be right now: Tucked close against Aurelia on her bed while she sleeps. More than balls-deep inside her up against the wall. Dancing with her in the ballroom with my hands placed chastely for our audience.

Fuck, even sitting at a table across the dining room from her would be better. Anywhere I could see her, know she’s all right, and be ready to leap in if the situation changes.

But this is the best thing I can do for her: sitting here in this stuffy room that smells faintly of the rosemary my mother uses to keep her mind sharp. The letter I have tucked in the inner pocket of my jacket could get my empress much farther than any other assistance I could offer.

How far the conversation I add to that letter will get her remains to be seen.

I take a slow breath the way I can imagine Aurelia would suggest to steady myself. I won’t lose my temper. I won’t be the idiotic kid my family has seen me as for so long.

I’m here on business that could change the entire shape of the empire and set my kingdom free. That’s more than any of them have ever accomplished.

The darkness makes the room feel smaller, but it means I’ll be able to hide myself if a random member of staff pokes their head in for whatever reason. I shift on the chair, rubbing my thumb over my new gold ring.

I will return to her—to mywife.

The giddiness of that new title sweeps through me, just as the door clicks open.

I brace myself, but within the first second, I can tell the arrivals are exactly who I expected. As my mother slips inside with my brother at her heels and flicks her fingers toward the magic-blessed lantern, I push to my feet.

Mother and Fernam stall in their tracks, the thud of the door shutting behind them emphasizing their silence. My lips twist into a crooked grin as I raise my hand in a jaunty wave of greeting.

I’d like to think they’re only surprised because I’m supposed to be nearly half the continent away. I suspect it’s also partly that it never occurred to them I’d have listened or remembered well enough to know the covert signal they share with key staff to indicate when a particularly urgent and discreet message needs to be conveyed.

But the signal I left—a tassel tied around the knob of Mother’s door—brought them to this room, so it all worked out regardless.

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