"It certainly feels that way," she says, sounding tearful.
Two thousand dead. That's awful. "Fucking hell, I'm so sorry. I'll send aid in your direction. Do you need medicine?"
"We really do. Thank you, Rexxan. You? How many?"
"I dealt with it. How are Espan and Marco?"
"Both fine. Espan took a sword to the leg but he's fine. And you ‘dealt’ with it? Does that mean what I think it means? Are your burns bad?.”
"And Retrya?" I ask, ignoring her question.
"She's fine too. I didn't let her fight. I didn't want to risk her being hurt."
"I tried that with this one," I say, looking down at Renna. "She told me to eat a dick."
Ocealia laughs. "Commander Renna, I need you to teach me to be a little more ferocious, I think. I've never found it in me to go against Rexxan."
Selfishly, I sneak in before Renna can answer to ask the question that had been burning at the front of my mind all week. "Siddie? Did he fight?"
"He's a godsend. He led the two armies with Marco."
"Is he hurt?"
"He came out of the war without so much as a bruise and then got bored this afternoon and attempted a fifty-five foot cliff dive to celebrate the war victory. Now he's concussed."
I laugh, my mood buoyant for some reason.Siddie is okay. "But he's fine?"
Her voice softens with a touch of fondness. She loves Siddie with her whole heart. "Siddie's just fine. You know what he's like. He's indestructible—gets it from his father. He's off on a four-month mission across the earth tomorrow. He says he'll stop by and see you."
"I sure hope so. I'll leave you to it. I'm sorry about the number of dead, Ocealia. I'll send that aid this evening."
"Thank you, Rexxan. And it was nice to speak to you, Commander, despite the circumstances."
"Um...hello? Can you hear me too?" Asks Renna, leaning over the bowl even though she doesn’t need to. I grab her ponytail before it splashes into the water. Gods, this woman needs constant supervision. She's fucking adorable, and so, so stupid sometimes.
Ocealia laughs out loud. "Yes, I can hear you."
"Wow! Can you see me too?" Asks Renna, waving at the pool.
I laugh into my hand. "No, she can't see you. She's waving at the pool, Ocealia."
Ocealia chuckles again. "Well, you've cheered me up a little, Commander. Thank you."
This is what Renna does. Even in the darkest of times, she floods people's lives with joy. She came into my life when my world felt grey, and she has stained it with every colour. I pull my hand out of the water and Renna gasps. "It's dry!"
"Not normal water, like I said. Speaking of water, let's have a bath."
"Yes,” she agrees, taking my hand as we speed up the steps back to my rooms. I walk her through my bedroom. It’s a huge space, five hundred square feet. A king-sized bed sits at the near side, an archway going through to the other half of the room which houses a wine cabinet, a table and six chairs, and two green velvet sofas. It is an oasis of pale wood and green foliage, some sort of hybrid between a garden and a bedroom. I like that she likes it.
Another large stone archway leads out to my outside terrace, secluded by trees. The other two doors in my bedroom lead to my dressing room and Renna's favourite; the bathroom. She’s naked and under the water in the blink of an eye. I suppose the good thing about marrying her is she'd get to have this bathroom—
Marrying her?What the fuck, Rexxan?
"What's wrong? Not coming in?" She asks, probably seeing my expression. We can't marry. She wouldn't even want to.
I pull my shirt over my head and she bites her lip, hiding a smile. It feels good to be wanted as much as she wants me. I've been wanted before, most of the women in this kingdomsaythey want me, but not like Renna does. She wants me, scars and bad moods included. "Renna, I have six bedrooms in my apartments. Five empty. I want you to make a home for yourself in one of them. We can renovate the bathroom to be like this one. I'll pay for it all. Put your clothes in the drawers."
"Are you asking me to move here with you?"
