I felt Krew’s nearness before I could see or hear him, and I knew he was likely done for the day too. He’d been busy all day preparing for the next parliament session at the castle. The issue of a tax increase on Nerede was sure to be a topic they argued extensively over.
Grab yourself a whiskey and join me?
I could almost feel Krew smiling through the bond.Like I would ever turn that down.
He brushed a kiss to the back of my neck as soon as he joined me, putting up a thin sound barrier around us as to not affect my view of the sunset. “Apologies for being so late tonight, love. Did you eat?”
“I did. Are you all ready for parliament tomorrow?” Hopefully Owen and I would be able to escape to the kitchens. I’d already made up some cookies and thrown them in the freezer for that very reason. While Krew was dreading the day, I was actually looking forward to it.
He rolled his eyes. “I don’t know why Father insists on going over the topics with us beforehand. At first, I thought it was part of what he believed was readying us for the throne. But it is likely that of the five topics, four will just be delayed until the next joint session. I’m tired of hearing these same topics and arguments repeatedly.”
I spun to look at him. “If you were king, what would you do differently?”
His eyes burned into mine. “All of it. Parliament-wise, I would request that we argue the same topics no more than three times in a row, and then they will be tabled for six months. If we cannot come to an agreement in three sessions, then there is no point. The time spent arguing those same issues could be spent making real improvements that do matter.”
He paused and took a step closer. “And my queen will be my equal. My mother had a vote, yes, but she was barely allowed to use her voice.” He brushed a kiss to my lips. “I will never do that to you. I will never silence you, even when I might disagree with you.Especiallywhen I disagree with you.”
As my eyes tingled at his love for me, I felt a laugh bubble up.
“You laugh?”
I put up my hand. “I do, but only because when I came here, I always thought I would make a horrible queen. And now it isn’t that I truly believe I’d be a good queen, it’s just that I believeyouwould make an exemplary king.” Krew was moving in to kiss me, and I felt through the bond that things were going to get intense in a hurry. But before he distracted me, I added, “I know it might not ever be you, Krew. Some days I quite selfishly prefer thatfor us. It’s not up to us. But for Wylan... they needyou.”
I barely had time to catch another breath before we became a frenzied mess of lips and touch, all wrapped up in a whispered promise.
The looming future remained so uncertain, but I wasn’t going to allow my fear of it to keep me from loving this man for even a moment.
* * *
Warrick waswith us in the meadow. The three of us were having a picnic like we often did. We heard the rustle of the wolves off in the distance as they chased another rabbit. Soon the weather would turn cold, and we’d be stuck indoors far more often, but I was content knowing that in the spring, the forest would still be alive.
The fall breeze sent a chill down me, but I used my magic to warm myself back up. Looking at the autumn colors of the forest felt so odd. I felt like it should be black for some odd reason.
“Can we still picnic inside?” Warrick asked us. “When the winter comes?”
I smiled at him. “Of course.”
“And make lots of cookies?”
I laughed. “Of course.”
Krew was looking at us with such pride. “I love you.”
“I love you.”
I had just turned back to Warrick when I felt Krew down our bond.
I love you.
I turned to look at him, feeling his panic within the words, but he wasn’t there anymore.
I jolted awake with a start, reaching across the sheets for Krew’s side of the bed. It’d been a dream. But as I grabbed for the bond, I knew his panic hadn’t been a part of the dream, it’d just been what knocked me out of it.
Krew?
He didn’t respond right away.
KREW?
