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“No,” she sighed. “I imagine we should probably get back down for dinner, shouldn’t we?”
I burst out laughing, and she eyed me warily. “What’s so funny?” she asked.
“I’d forgotten about the dinner,” I admitted.
Zephy began to laugh as well. “How?” she tittered. “We just left the entire household down there.”
I propped my head up on my hand and peered at her earnestly, my eyes boring into her beautiful, smoldering face. “Because I don’t care about anyone else, Zephy. I only care about you. When you were gone…”
She paled and looked away. “I wish you wouldn’t—”
“I’m sorry. You’re right. You’re here now, and we won’t rehash that anymore. But it was the worst time for me. I don’t want to be without you ever again.”
She offered me a tentative smile. “And you won’t be,” she promised. “We’re together now.” She coughed, but covered her mouth with her hand and caught herself. When she composed herself, she offered me a sheepish look. “But I do need a drink. Come, my love. Let’s go greet our kingdom—and get hydrated, shall we?”
I chuckled, gathering her into my arms. Eagerly, she returned my embrace, kissing me sweetly on the lips. “Yes, my love,” I agreed when we parted. “Let’s go greet our subjects formally. Welcome to queendom, Queen Zephyrine.”
She started to smile, but another dry cough interrupted her.
“Water first,” I chuckled, kissing her again. “Then we’ll rule the kingdom.”
Chapter10
Zephy
Iground my teeth and stared at the dining hall, my blood boiling at the blatant disregard for my instructions. It was almost exactly the opposite of what I’d asked for, like someone was deliberately mocking the painstaking instructions I had spent hours creating.
“Who did this?” I asked Maywin, although I had my suspicions already.
“Grisella, I presume, Luna,” Maywin murmured nervously, the title again taking me aback.
It had been a month, and I still wasn’t accustomed to the new form of address.
“Where is she?” I growled, spinning around to look for the housekeeper.
Maywin shrugged, shifting her gaze away. “I can find her for you.”
“Never mind,” I grunted, my annoyance mounting. “I’ll do it myself.”
I clenched my fist and hurried out of the dining hall, my heels clicking against the stone of the floor, distinctly aware of Maywin and Jasper following after me, as they always did now. They were my constant shadows in the palace. They followed me everywhere I went, without reprieve, until I ultimately turned into my bedroom with Cade at the end of the day, exhausted.
The honeymoon phase had not lasted long, particularly because there had not been a honeymoon to speak of. Cade promised that we would go on a proper vacation after matters had settled in the kingdom, following the coronation ceremony, but every day, there appeared to be another matter to contend with.
Although he didn’t openly discuss the matters of the cabinet, the Council of Ministers, with me, I suspected that he was dealing with issues there, and I certainly had problems of my own inside the household that I didn’t trouble him with, matters like the open defiance of my orders like the ones I had just faced in the dining hall.
I found one of the maids, Lisette, in the main hall, dusting the decorative armored plates.
“Have you seen Grisella?” I demanded.
The maid paused, her feather duster mid-air as she stared at me. “Grisella?” she echoed, as if the housekeeper was a foreign entity and not someone she saw every single day.
“Yes,” I barked, my patience expiring. “Where is she?”
“Uh… the kitchen, I think.”
Spinning around, I marched toward the kitchen, my cheeks flushing as I threw open the doors and abruptly ended a conversation between Grisella and the kitchen staff. Coraline and Heddy both straightened to see me, the female narrowing her eyes as the male paled at the sight of me. Heddy blubbered a greeting, but Coraline snarled outwardly before returning to her work.
Heddy bowed, flustered as usual.
