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“Not at all. Now here, I’m looking at you and thinking you should be covered in jewels, expensive silk, gold, diamonds. I’m thinking you should have servants and servants trailing you. Wouldn’t you like that?”
She almost told him how Umbraar didn’t delve in pointless ostentation, but she didn’t want to offend him. “I’m happy the way I am.”
“Perhaps because you haven’t seen more, haven’t tasted more. I came to a conclusion. You should come to Wolfmark—for a marriage alliance. You’d make a great queen.”
Uh, what? Had she heard right? Of course the answer was no. The only person she wanted was River. River, River, River, thinking about him knotted her heart with worry.
But then, Wolfmark was a potential ally, so it would be stupid to deny his proposal like that. As far as she recalled, he had two sons, still unmarried, so the king was suggesting marrying the crown prince, but she didn’t even remember his name or what he looked like.
“I… It’s an honor, your majesty.” She tried to measure her words carefully. “I’ll be honest that my dream is still to marry for love, and I’m sure your son wishes the same. What I can promise is to meet him and consider your honorable proposal.”
He chuckled. “Son. Princess Irinaia, in all my life, I’ve never seen a woman as beautiful, gracious, and intelligent as you, and I’ve never seen a princess so overlooked. Your true place is as the queen of the most powerful kingdom in Aluria, and I can give you that.”
She frowned. “Queen of Ironhold?”
“Wolfmark. Ironhold will no longer be.”
“Oh. It’s an honor. I will be happy to meet your son and consider it.”
He leaned forward. “Why wait, princess? You could be queen now. With you by my side, I have no doubt we’ll crush your enemies.”
Byhisside? Wasn’t he interested in marrying her to his son? “Of course.” She wanted to sever the connection and wished this meeting were not in person. She also realized she was alone with a man in a room, which was looked down upon. Her idea had been that she was acting as interim queen, and kings had private meetings. “Like I said, I will consider your proposal. I think we’ve discussed enough for today.”
“No. We just started. There are many points about this alliance we need to discuss.”
“I think we can discuss them later.”
He ran a hand through her hair. “I want to teach you to be queen. You need a strong hand, a strong, experienced man to guide you. Aren’t you curious to know what it feels like?”
At this point, she was sure that the proposal was to marry him, not his son—which made no sense. “Don’t you have a queen already?”
He leaned back. “Oh. That. My beloved wife passed away over a year ago. We haven’t told anyone. I’ve been lonely, sad.”
“I can see that you look devastated.”
He looked down. “Kings have no luxury of showing their feelings. And it had never been a marriage for love, but a marriage for duty. Now I’d like to marry for love.”
Naia got up and walked to the door. “I’m sure you’ll find someone.”
“I already found my queen.” He stared at her. “And I’ll stop at nothing from having her. Nothing.”
Naia opened the door and yelled, “Guards!” Two men came running. “The king is leaving. Please escort him to his horse.”
“It’s almost night,” one of the men said.
She was about to yellso what, when King Sebastian said, “I’m staying. She meant to escort me to my rooms.”
How dare he talk over her in her own kingdom?
He turned to Naia. “I’m sure you wouldn’t want me to break my neck from a fall because I’m galloping at night.”
She wouldn’t mind that at all. Still, she smiled. “Apologies. This is a soldier outpost, and I hope you don’t mind a soldier’s room.”
“Your hospitality is much appreciated.”
“Please provide him accommodations,” she ordered the guards. When they were gone, she slammed and locked the door. What a creepy king! At this point, she was about to faint from worry about River. As much as she thought it was ridiculous, she had never felt like that. When they were at the house by the ancient city, he would spend his days in Ironhold, and she had never felt so much worry. What was happening?
7
