Page 17 of Straw and Gold
I folded my arms, brushing my hand over my forearm where Morella had touched me three mornings ago. In that time, I had swept away right after breakfast, ensuring Fedir would give her tours and lectures about every part of the castle and grounds while I managed to visit the few dozen farms of my kingdom. Each night, I returned just before the darkest hour, finding Morella already asleep in her own bed.
And now, I had no more excuses to be away from the castle.
Away fromher.
Goddessdamn me, I had months left of this. But as long as I left everything well taken care of, I could do what needed to be done before my…departure.
“Needin’ a cuppa tea, Your Majesty?” Cú asked with a quizzical brow.
“No, not today. Thank you.”
He nodded slowly as we both continued to stare out into the hillside.
“Needin’ some advice on the new marriage, then?”
I chuckled at his insight.
He continued, “Been married thirty-some years now. Took some time, but I can tell ya what took me too long to be a figurin’ out.”
I sighed heavily. “And what’s that?”
He shrugged. “Give her what she wants. If it don’t hurt you none, why not? And even if it do hurt ye, ask yourself if she’s worth it.”
I laughed, turning back to the grove of trees in the distance. “If I gave her what she’s wanted for the past three days, she’d be visiting farms with me.”
“Wouldn't hurt no one, would it?” he asked. “When I married Caoimhe, I told her ‘no’ often enough. Wasn’t ‘til I realized I was foolin’ my own self that I put her first. And she gave me the best somethin’ in return.”
“And what was that?”
He patted my shoulder. “All of the love she’s got. Now I can’t live without it, and she just keeps on givin’ it.”
I glanced south where the castle sat with Morella inside somewhere, listening to a man who was not her husband give her yet another tour of the castle’s extensive rooms that no one occupied.
I really was out of excuses.
“Thank you, Cú. I’ll consider your words. Until next month.” I nodded my goodbye, headed north to the next farm instead of south where I felt I should be.
CHAPTER 13
Morella
“I swearto the Goddesses of the Veil, if I have to tour one more sitting room, I’m going to scream.”
Fedir huffed and gestured around the seventh hall we’d been to in the last four hours. “I don’t know what to tell you, Queen Morella. Castles have a lot of sitting rooms.”
I puffed a breath and chewed my lip. “Let’s go back to the wool dying vats you showed me yesterday. I’d love to hear more about the flowers they use for color. And I’ve told you at least ten times—just call me Morella.”
“And risk your husband overhearing? Not likely,” Fedir said, sinking down into a saffron chair and folding his fingers at his chest.
“As if he’d care,” I mumbled, remembering that morning when I’d seen him for a whole five minutes at breakfast before he excused himself again.
“He’d care.”
I scoffed, rolling my eyes. “What makes you think he’d care? There’s no evidence he cares at all.” I gestured around the empty room. “In fact, he’s the opposite of caring. He’s completely apathetic to his wife’s wanderingsfour daysinto our marriage.If he cared, he’d have made an effort to see me for more than an hour since we wed.”
Fedir rubbed the stubble on his chin with golden fingers. “What do you know about Killian and why a Forestfae is king in the land of the Changelingfae?”
Taken aback at the question, I fell into the oversized couch of pale blue satin. This particular sitting room hosted another large fireplace, another writing desk, another shelf of books in a language I didn’t know, and another large window looking north to the emerald hillsides dotted with little white sheep.
