Draven.
redith lowered her head, and then she answered, "Maybe last week. I... I can’t rember the exact date."
Rage surged hot through that instant. My hands curled into fists before I could stop them.
The thought of Gary daring to dictate such a thing to her—my wife, my Queen—made want to rip him apart piece by piece.
In my rage, redith’s hand brushed against mine, light but steady. "Don’t be angry," she whispered. "Please. Don’t."
I narrowed my eyes at her calm face. She wasn’t shaken or even unsettled, and that was what struck .
"Why aren’t you moved by this?" I asked, my voice sharper than I intended. "Why does it not trouble you?"
She lifted her gaze, steady and unflinching. "Because it isn’t the first ti," she said softly. "On the night of our wedding banquet, Gary ordered to have a child for you."
"What?"
As soon as I said that, my mind travelled down mory lane, and back to that night. I had caught Gary with his hand wrapped around my wife’s neck, like he was threatening her with sothing.
Now replaying that scene in my head, my fury knew no bounds. How dare that selfish bastard lay his hand on my wife?
"That was the night he first gave the order," Rhovan’s voice growled inside , as if confirming the mont.
My fists clenched until my knuckles whitened. I wanted Gary dead for that. Dead for touching her. Dead for speaking those words because how dare he?
redith’s hand pressed firmly against my arm, breaking through the edge of my fury.
"Don’t be angry about this because I’m not. And also, I don’t want a child now."
Her words pulled back. I dragged in a breath, forcing the violence to settle, then I locked my gaze on hers. "Why?"
She didn’t hesitate even for a mont. "Because I still have too much to learn in combat, strategy, the arts of war, and leadership. A child would only get in the way of that." Her voice grew firr as she spoke, her eyes shining with conviction.
"I want to be a good leader of our people first, before I can be a good mother to our child. That is what I want, Draven. And I hope you can understand."
I frowned, completely unsettled, but it wasn’t by the decision itself. It was the way she had made it without . This wasn’t hers to decide alone. She was supposed to tell . We were supposed to discuss it together.
The thought cut deeper. ’What if she is taking sothing? Herbs. Tonics. She knows too much about plants and too much of dicine.’
Before I could voice it, she slapped my arm lightly, catching my suspicion in her eyes. "I did no such thing. I’ve left it to fate. To the Moon goddess. That’s all."
Her honesty rang clear, and I believed her.
But my pride clashed with unease and my desire, with restraint. She held her will, and I knew, in the end, I would have to yield to it.
Leaning back into the seat, I exhaled slowly, a bit reluctant to give in. "Very well. If this is what you want, I will accept it. But next ti..."
I angled toward her, my voice dropping lower, edged with command. "You will tell first, then we will think about it together and make a decision."
Her lips curved faintly, her eyes softening with relief. Yet the weight inside didn’t ease fully.
Then I felt her shift closer. Her hand slid over mine, her fingers warm, gentle, and steady. "Thank you," she whispered.
The anger I had carried simred low, but her touch dulled the edge of it. I turned my hand, catching hers in my grip, firm enough that she couldn’t slip away.
Then she leaned against , her head finding my shoulder as naturally as though it belonged there.
The sunlight’s glow touched her hair, softening her features, making her look less like the sharp, unyielding queen she would beco and more like the woman fate had tethered to .
For a long mont, I simply sat there, listening to the quiet crackle of the fire, feeling the weight of her pressed against .
A few seconds later, a polite knock cut through the hush, and I gave my permission.
Dennis and Jeffery stepped inside my Study together, and redith slid away from , folding the small distance as if that was what propriety required; I watched the way she smoothed her skirt more than I watched her face.
Jeffery wasted no ti and went straight for the reason he was here.
"Sir," he said, voice low, "the eting at Governnt House today has been cancelled." He t my eyes briefly and continued.
"I was told that Brackham called it off. When I phoned my informant, he said there was an incident where Brackham’s armoured vehicle was robbed in transit, so Brackham is furious. My informant ntions rumours that vampires could be responsible, and that Brackham is planning an operation on them tonight."
Sothing about the way Jeffery relayed it made the picture clear without him spelling it out.
He had rung soone on the Black Market investigative team, the kind of man who would pass important bits of information to him.
The sound that escaped was a short, amused exhale rather than a laugh. If only that man knew that he was actually helping us.
Dennis shrugged, lounging like he always did, the perfect picture of a man who preferred to let the world burn itself tidy.
"Looks like we might not have to attack the vampires like we had planned," he said with a grin. "Brackham will do that part for us."
Jeffery’s agreent was a whisper. "And he won’t be thinking strategy, only vengeance."
"Good." I let the corner of my mouth lift. "I won’t be risking the lives of my n when the mayor will be covering for us."
Just then, redith asked, her tone careful. "What about the weapons that were stolen from Brackham?"
"We will still keep them," I said without hesitation. "They will be of use one day." The thought settled neatly in ; it always did, the way a resource beca leverage.
Then a mory snagged at the edge of my mind. The old heat flared in my chest like a coal shoved too near the skin.
I touched the mind-link on instinct, brief and silent, and closed it down so our private words would not drift into the room.
I didn’t plan to spill the chanics of violence where redith might overhear.
Just then, Dennis’s voice slid into my skull, private and easy. "Yes?"
"I want Gary beaten up so badly. How do I get it done?" I asked him.
Dennis’s reply ca without his usual grin, low and steady. "Leave Gary to , Brother. I will handle him."
I let the link fall silent and refocused my attention on redith.
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