A picnic.
This moment was what I had clung to even when it felt impossible, even when it was the smallest glimmer of light in the shadows. A picnic with Warrick and Krew.
It was our first, but it wouldn’t be our last. We had many, many more picnics on the never-ending to-do list.
Warrick didn’t delay grabbing his sandwich and begin devouring it. How one little body could eat so much food was beyond me.
“I am going to Nerede tomorrow,” Krew reminded me.
I gave him a nod, as I hadn’t forgotten.
“Can I go?!” Warrick asked.
We’d only let him go back and visit the orphanage a few times. Krew still struggled with his need to protect both Warrick and me, and now that we were king and queen, Warrick not only an heir, but the heir in line to be the next king of Wylan, it was a constant battle. So Warrick’s trips among the people were few and far between for now.
It wasn’t that we didn’t trust the people of Nerede. We were most concerned with the Savaryn Enchanted who had lost their coveted positions when Theon died.
“Not this time,” Krew said as he fluffed Warrick’s dark hair. “But we’ll talk and figure out a time you can go. I need to see your Uncle Keir this trip.”
“Is Uncle Keir still wallowing in Nerede?” Warrick asked without skipping a beat.
I snorted a laugh. This child was honest. Sometimes too honest.
Krew’s eyes hit mine and I felt his amusement too. “He isn’t wallowing, just working through a few things,” he explained to Warrick. “Trying to figure out what he wants to do next.”
Keir had evidently dismissed both Gwen and Delaney before abdicating the throne that morning. While he knew Krew and I were the right couple to rule Wylan, he was also struggling with what he should do. With the new base being built in Nerede, he’d gladly volunteered to go, working with the guards and training as the facility was nearing completion. We were also building a row of tourist homes on the shore, not for foreign visitors, but trying to draw the Savaryn and Rallis people to at least visit Nerede and begin to see it as more than the lesser level of the kingdom.
Though he’d never admit it to us, Keir was a little lost. And I knew Krew was worried about his brother. We wanted and needed him by our sides, so we didn’t need him disappearing to Nerede. Keir thought it was best for us to begin our reign without anyone reminding us that we shouldn’t have been king and queen at all to begin with. We disagreed.
Likely worse than the disappointment of handing off his dream of becoming king to Krew, he was disappointed that his Assemblage had failed. I had seen Gwen only twice since, but she was still not over it either. I had no idea what had happened, other than Keir said he had no desire to ever marry either of them.
The statues honoring Maurice, Theodore, and Rafe were being completed in a few weeks, so he was going to be back to the castle for that. I hoped he stayed. Not because he had to, but because we were family. And Owen had taught me that family didn’t let family struggle alone. Though I hoped we were only half as pushy as Owen was.
“When I have magic someday,” Warrick began as he often did. “I am going to climb trees and then imagine my magic making me fly!” He used his hand as if showing us how he would glide over the trees.
I rolled my eyes. Thank goodness this child wouldn’t have magic for a while.He is his father’s son.
Krew sent me a guilty grin.
I heard footsteps in the grass and turned to see Rafe and Shadow. I smiled.
“The wolves!” Warrick exclaimed as he sat up straight to better see.
“Don’t jerk so quickly,” Krew provided gently as he put his arm around Warrick. “Sudden moves scare them.”
I was oftentimes taken away at how calm and gentle Krew was with Warrick. I felt the guilt Krew still had over missing so much of Warrick’s life. Which was why on those afternoons that Krew wanted to skip parliament sessions or meetings to take Warrick out to the forest to explore, I gladly stayed behind and did my queenly duties, allowing them to make up for lost time.
“How come Mum is the only one who gets to touch them?” Warrick asked with frustration. “I wanna pet a wolf.”
Mum. I wasn’t sure I was ever going to get used to the word. I’d never asked him to call me that, he had just asked me one day if since his real mother was dead, if he could call me mum instead of mother. It was what Krew and Keir had called Katarina.
I didn’t care what he called me, that boy would always and forever be my son too. So of course, I agreed.
Krew’s eyes hit mine before going back to the matching blueish gray eyes of his son. “Because she is the one who has earned their trust. You will have to also.”
Warrick was far more logical than any other child I knew, so he immediately nodded as if he understood, and then sat still as he watched with Krew.
“Rafe,” I greeted as I slowly made my way to him.