Page 78 of The Reluctant Queen
In front of the king, peppered across the lawn, lay at least twenty glowing moons of his creation. A shimmering silver ribbon caught the faux moonlight as it wound around the lights in the grass.
Hevva met Ehmet’s eye as she approached, and she could see that big goofy grin from all the way across the lawn. She smiled back at him and shook her head, unsure what was happening or what to allow herself to feel, but unable to stop herself from beaming in his presence.
The ribbon that curled amongst the glowing orbs began to undulate and flow, rising up into the air where it found form and stilled, hovering.
She scanned the words writ large and thought her heart might burst from their impact. “I love you” floated in a glowing silver ribbon across theblackened sky.
“I love you, Hevva,” he shouted across the grass.
She took off, racing toward him as she shouted her response, “I love you too, you giant fool! Aren’t you betrothed?”
“Not anymore!” Ehmet threw his arms wide and welcomed her into his embrace, lifting her from the ground as their mouths smashed into one another. With their lips locked in passion and laughter, he twirled her in circles until they were dizzy with joy.
Finally, the king set the countess upon her feet, giving her the opportunity to look over at the cottage and then back at the many moons. “What is all of this?”
He turned her so her back was pressed against his broad chest and brought his hands down to splay across her hips. They stood there silently for a moment, looking at the glowing orbs.
“I asked you a question.”
Chuckling against the top of her head, his stubbled face scratched her. The heat of his breath made up for the infraction by sending the most delightful warmth cascading over the crown of her head. Hevva tried to turn around to face her king, but he held her in place.
“Soon,” he murmured. “Watch this first, I’ve been working on it, for you.”
In practiced synchronicity, the lights rose up into the sky until they were well above the rooftop of Summer Cottage. It was like the gods had made an error and sent twenty moons out that night instead of one. She followed them upward in awe, tilting her head to the skies.
“This will be loud, haven’t figured out that bit yet,” he mumbled.
With an enormousboomthat rattled the windows of the house, again, the orbs exploded into a thousand fragments of light. No, into petals. Millions of glowing white petals—daisies, like her crown—showered from the dark sky, drifting down upon them. With a fizzling ofpops,they vanished into thin air before reaching the ground.
Hevva grinned and clapped her hands. “Oh, that was beautiful!”
“I’m glad you like it.” His rough voice sent shivers down the length of her spine, and she wiggled back into him.
“Can weusethis cottage?”
“Yes, but also no.”
This time when she turned to face him, he allowed it. “Why no?”
“Come inside and I will explain.” He clutched her hand in one of his own and the sensation of him closing his big fingers around her did a number on her sensibilities, which were rapidly waning.
Hevva’s fingers tensed around Ehmet’s hand, and he peered down at her in question.
“What about your great-uncle, Yusuf? And theotherlady?”
Ehmet wanted to laughas much as he wanted to cry. Hevva couldn’t even bring herself to say Lady Tahereh’s name. She was jealous, which was frankly adorable. The bigger problem was that he hated himself for having put her through the pain of his betrothal to the earl’s daughter. In trying to keep his ill-pledged promise never to love, he’d done what he intended to avoid: hurt the woman who held his heart.
He told her as much, and more. They sat on the edge of the cottage’s bed beside the glowing orb-filled hearth, for the smoke escaping the chimney was only an illusion. The king was not a firebearer. For ages Hevva and Ehmet talked, putting to rest, or at least placating enough to return to later, the pain he’d caused them both to wallow in for so many weeks.
“Hevva, I will never intentionally hurt you again. I promise toneverrun from a conversation, to be irrationally angry, to get paranoid, or to chase away a beautiful opportunity out of fear.”
“Those are big promises, Ehmet.”
“I intend to keep them.”
“I’m not sure that you canchooseto avoid irrational anger. Strikes the best of us at the worst times.”
“I promise not to take out any irrational anger on you or any other innocent people. Better?”
