Page 10 of Reigning
Someday.
I slide my fingers down his, lingering against his skin for just a second longer before I slip out of his embrace entirely. The sound of my footsteps is soft and silent when I walk away from him. The click of the door as I shut it on him sounds monumental.
Four
A Mother’s Love
“You look perfect this morning, darling.”Ellise’s big green eyes gleam in the morning sunlight, and she takes in the clean dress with close scrutiny.
The white gown has a bodice that hugs my chest. The material is thicker than I’m used to, and the heaviness of it weighs on me as the long hem of it skims across the throne room floor.
Wide double doors are directly in front of us, and the room is dim and empty for the most part, emphasizing the two chairs in the center of the space.
“Come sit down. Our guests will be arriving soon.” She gestures to the enormous throne seat at her side. Onyx gemstones shine against the headrest, and the sight of them causes me twirl the ring on my finger with the memory of the men who gave it to me.
She wants me to sit on a throne.
Nothing in my entire life has ever felt as suspicious as that chair.
I do as I’m told. The hard metal of the throne forces my already perfect posture, and I’m not cut out for this much regality. It’s just not as glamorous as you’d think.
Ellise places her delicate hands neatly in her lap. I mimic her, but it feels weird holding my own hand. She picked the wrong mage. I can’t even hold my own hand correctly, it seems.
Rime stands stiffly at my side, and it does comfort me that he’s here. The three of us are up on a sort of platform that looks out at the faintly lit room. From here the large stones of the floor are patterned in a decorative style that the common eye wouldn’t even notice at ground level. It seems like a waste of Attikan funds, but I’m not going to mention it.
There are no windows in this area. Everything is muted into gray and black tones with only a few torches here and there to flicker light into the space. The lack of windows is an obvious attempt to keep us warm, but it gives off a depressing and ominous vibe that I feel deep in my bones.
It’s too dark.
The double doors in front of us part, spreading white light across the floor that chases out all that darkness. It blinds me for several seconds. And then I’m staring down on two small men, flanked by demons. Ellise’s demons.
“Welcome,” she says with a purely serene smile. She lets her voice ring out for a moment before speaking again. “I do hope you had safe travels through my kingdom, my loves.”
The doors close. Then I realize it’s King Barron and Prince Linden.
The struck look that slaps across their faces seems to be exactly what she was hoping for.
It only improves when the two of them glance my way and blazing hate flashes through Barron’s narrowed eyes.
“I came for a mage. I didn’t expect two of the nasty creatures.”
Creatures.In all my years of taming beasts, I’ve never been in their category.
Until now.
“What do you think you’re doing, Ellise?” Barron’s voice is the same belittling sound that I’ve always heard from him, but the seething disgust is something new.
Ish.
Through all of the king’s glaring hate, he never once turns to check on his son who’s seeing his mother for the first time in decades.
But I do. And so does Ellise.
“Linden.” The softness of her voice lulls through the room, and it almost reflects the sweet way she’s gazing down on him.
Linden’s lips part. He looks both in awe and in horror at his mother. He doesn’t speak. He doesn’t rush to her. He’s careful. He’s surprisingly composed at the moment. The deep green of his eyes shifts from Ellise to me, to the room around us.
He seems to be trying to make sense of all this.
