Kingdom's Vice Series: A Voyage of Vengeance ( #2 2015)

Chapter Fifteen: An Account From The Wind

"Is he asleep yet?" Redermarke asks as he nears the bed, his cloak fanning out behind him in the gust of wind. The chamber walls are thick, thicker than stone and the pillars surrounding the cot are pale in comparison. Gweyntarr smiles as he takes his seat beside her, his arm snaking around her waist, while his finger is occupied by his son's curious one.

"He is getting tired," she replies wearily, "he has had a long day."

He rises without a word and looks out over the balcony, where the lights of Alleria shine in the distance. "Any word from Duhamas?" he does not turn his back.

She lowers her head almost shamefully. "No," she admits, "nothing yet. I fear he may still have some hostility left to spare."

Redermarke scoffs, "Stubborn,"

"My love, will you not rest?" she changes the subject quickly, patting the quilt beside her to invite him, draw him back from the lights. "Whatever becomes of my brother, it is not your burden to bear. I shall see to it that I hold my own."

He whips around, his cloak shining in the moonlight and he stares at her with a gleam that startles her. She tenses as he rushes towards the bed and drops down to his knees. He clutches her hands in his own and holds them close to his chest, near his heart. The beat is racing.

"I am your king," he tells her in his smoother voice, the one that enchanted her to him in the first place, all those years ago. "There is nothing I would not do for you, my wife. I would travel to the ends of the earth and climb up to the stars and ask them to adore you. Your burden is mine. You are my Queen." He kisses the inside of her palm. "We need not worry about our tomorrows, for we have everything we need. We have our kingdom; we have our son. Let that forever be enough."

She melts into his eyes again and they share a kiss. If only little Garsef knew what they had done together—the secret crimes of the heart and mind never to see the Light. But no one knows what will befall them...except one.