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Gods, they were so handsome and perfect, with the wind ruffling their dark hair, their broad shoulders bowed. Men will never understand how perfect they are when they kneel before a woman.
Then, to my surprise, Zehr came down the aisle behind them. There were ripples of disquiet from the crowd. Apparently, some recognized him even without his crown. The fact he’d ridden in front of the Scourge, on the back of a hybrid, had made everyone anxious too. The Scourge might have fought on their side, but they still feared the Scourge could turn on them at any moment.
Zehr knelt before me. His eyes sparkled up at me, and the quick flicker of his thoughts reminded me of how he had forced me onto his lap on the throne. Now I took a throne willingly.
Talisyn carried the crown to me, and Arren set it on my head. Branok and Lynx, my spies, watched the crowd, searching for any threat. Damyn waited in the shadows, the ultimate blade to cut down anyone who dared undermine my power.
Each one of my men was amazing in their different ways.
I still worried if I was worthy or not.
But I could see these three men thought I was enough, and when I was afraid I would fail my kingdom, I tried to trust their judgment.
We turned to face the crowd together, hoping we could unite our kingdom.
Ragged cheering broke out, and after a moment, it became a wave.
I let myself smile, even though the crown felt heavy.
CHAPTER62
Honor
I was deeply touchedby how my men had acted. Jaik and Caldren had both gripped the crowns. None of us had quite been sure they would surrender them.
“It’s strange to be back in Pend’s palace,” Jaik told me. There was tension etched in every line of his body: his perfect posture, his leanly muscular body coiled and ready for a fight, his jaw hard.
“I’m sure.” I touched his arm, wanting to comfort him. I didn’t know how to take away the intense pressure he felt, but I wished I could.
He glanced around the now-empty throne room. “This castle holds so many miserable memories.”
I could hear the echoes of them in his mind.
“We can fill it with better memories,” I promised him. When his face appeared unmoved, I added, “Or we can burn it to the ground.”
A fierce desire to protect him overtook me.
Dozens of humiliations and miseries and never being able to show how he felt them, because he was supposed to be prince. Because he knew how privileged he was. Because weakness was never allowed.
But we could be weak with each other.
“Jaik,” I said softly. “I’m not sure I’m ready to rule.”
He wrapped his arms around me. Just like that, he softened; we all needed to be needed by each other.
“You’re the best, kindest person I know, Honor,” he said. “I’m not sure any of us are everready to rule, but if anyone is, it’s you. And you’ll have us by your side, always.”
“Funny you say that when you tend to boss me,” I said.
“Well. I might kneel before you, Honor, but that doesn’t mean I won’t…” His lips dipped toward my ear, and a delicious warmth trickled down my spine. “Dominate you in private.”
“Is that so?”
Jaik’s answering growl was one I felt through my whole body, before he added, “I will gladly bow before you go out there. But in our own room, I expect you to submit.”
My core clenched, but I turned a mischievous grin toward him. “You do remember that the last time you touched me against my will, you ended up with a broken nose, right?”
I was teasing him, but it wasn’t as if I wanted him to stop.
