Page 268 of The Crown's Awakening
I let that settle, letting the words move through me slowly. “So,” I say after a moment, a small smile finding its way through, “we have accomplished the first part of what we came here to do.”
Colsar nods. “We have. And tonight we will celebrate by finally being alone. The children are fine, Saurin and Cambra found an anthology of children’s tales they wish to read them.”
I smile. “I cannot wait until they are old enough to play with toys. Then I can carve them myself.” My heart pulls a little as I think of the orphan boy, Orsan, and the other children I used to make toys for. I wonder how they are doing.
He reaches for my hand and pulls me up, leading me from the chamber and down the short corridor into the adjoining dining room. The moment I step inside, I laugh softly, recognition hitting at once.
The game room. It looks exactly as it did when he first surprised me with it. “The best gift you have ever given me,” I say, unable to hide the joy in my voice.
“I thought we should play after dinner,” he replies, his voice lighter now.
We eat together without urgency, the tension of the council still lingering at the edges of the room but no longer pressing into us the way it had before. He tells me what happened before I entered, the way the council shifted, the arguments that built and broke, and I lean back in my chair, watching him as much as I listen.
When they bring out the strawberry cake, I cannot stop the small sound that escapes me.
“You remembered,” I say, already reaching for it.
“I realized you had not had any in a long time,” he replies, and there is something in his tone that softens the moment further.
He pulls me into his lap, and I go easily, my body fitting against his without hesitation. “It tastes better when you feed it to me,” I say, tilting my head slightly.
“I know,” he murmurs.
I open my mouth and let him feed me, the sweetness grounding me in a way I had not realized I needed. For a moment, there is nothing else. No council. No throne. No war. Just this.
Afterward, we move into the game room and he keeps his promise. We play darts, then something else, then something else again, the time passing without weight until I feel lighter than I have in days.
When we return to his chambers, the shift comes quietly.
We lie on the bed together, the air between us different now, something deeper moving beneath the ease of the evening.
“So,” I say, turning toward him, “What is next?”
I am asking about the throne. Our plans. Morrath.
“I listen better when your clothes are off,” he murmurs.
I laugh softly. “Fine. You filthy man. Only for you.”
He kisses me then, slow enough that I forget the question entirely, and when I pull back I frown slightly. “Now I have forgotten what I was saying.”
“You were saying you love me,” he replies easily, “and that you cannot wait for me to hand you Veynar, and in return you will give me ten more children just as perfect as the first two.”
I laugh, pushing lightly at his chest. “We will have to figure out what is next,” I say more seriously, my fingers still resting against him. “She is the heir now. So we must decide whether you will take the throne.”
He does not hesitate. His hands move to the ties of my gown, loosening them as though the answer has always existed. “I am taking the throne,” he says. “There was never a decision to be made.”
I pause at that, watching him. “If we find that Morrath is controllable,” I say slowly, “or that it can be destroyed for the sake of peace, do you still want it?”
He stills, pulling back just enough to look at me. “Do you wish for Sevrin to remain king?” he asks.
“I wish to understand what we are inheriting before we take it,” I reply. “He is many things, but he is your brother. And he is…their uncle.”
His jaw tightens. “Asharin,” he says, quieter but no less intense, “he starved you. He locked you away. He refused to protect you when you asked him to. And still you?—”
I press my fingers to his lips, stopping the rest of it before it can take shape. “We are not arguing about your brother,” I say softly. “He is yours. This is your legacy. You will decide what becomes of it.”
I let my hand fall. “I am only saying we need to understand Morrath. It can only be controlled by feeders. We need to know what that means for her.”
