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We weren’t going to wait until tomorrow. I was taking her out to show her today, ready or not.
Disappointment colored her expression until I added, “I have something to show you. A surprise.”
Interest lit her intelligent eyes. “Oh?”
“If you’re in the mood to take a small walk,” I went on.
Dubiously, Zephy sat up. “Out of here?” she demanded. “You’re letting me out of here.”
I scowled lightly. “You make it sound like I was keeping you prisoner.”
“I was starting to feel like I was one,” she admitted. Sighing, I also sat up and stroked her cheek.
“That was never my intention—not since the first day you walked into Ironhelm Place.”
She nodded, lowering her eyes demurely. “I know that, Cade.”
“When you left me, Zephy…”
Her head jerked up, and she cupped my cheek. “That was a terrible misunderstanding, and we got past that. Stralia did a number on us all, but she’s gone now. The darkness that she cast over the palace is gone. You and me? We’ll never let anything come between us again. We’re fated to be together. Nothing is ever going to keep us apart.”
I kissed her lips softly, and she eagerly returned it.
Sitting back, she looked at me. “So? You have a surprise for me, or was that merely a tease to keep me from complaining about my squalid conditions?”
Her eyes twinkled with jest, and I sat back, laughing.
“Squalid, hm?” I told her. “I fear, My Queen, that you have been too spoiled for your own good.”
“No,” Zephy promised. “I know how fortunate we are to have what we do. I count my blessings every day.”
Her eyes told me that I was among the things she was grateful for. I stood and searched for my clothing, nodding toward her. “Get dressed. We’re taking a short walk.”
Zephy squealed like an excited child, and I laughed, slipping into my pants. If she was joyful now, I could not wait to see her expression in a few minutes’ time.
Uncertainty crossed her face as we entered the newly constructed wing of the palace, her hand clinging tightly to mine. “When did you do all this, Cade?” she asked warily. “And why didn’t I hear the construction?”
“That was all on purpose,” I replied slyly, casting her a sidelong look. “Sometimes I swear you forget that I have just as much magic as you.”
She gasped, her eyes popping with the realization. “This is why you’ve been keeping me in the suite? Not for my safety, but to keep this secret construction from me?”
I shrugged nonchalantly and opened the double doors to the new wing, showing the three new rooms. None had doors on them yet, but as the head contractor had promised, all were in the final stages of completion, the most important one finished.
“Oh, Cade…”
Zephy’s hand untangled from mine as she ambled toward the nearest threshold, her eyes wide and disbelieving.
White light flowed through the nursery, the sheer drapery sweeping along with the ceiling fans over the white-washed crib. The smell of fresh paint still lingered over the room, but it would fade with the open windows, the outside air already sucking the fumes through.
In every corner sat a massive plush animal of a different design, staring in at the crib in the center, and along every wall, a piece of furniture. A change table, dresser, rocking chair, bookshelf.
Toys, games, and stuffed animals wove along the thick, multicolored carpet, the ceiling painted in rainbows and clouds, a boat on the wall near the embedded gas fireplace.
“I think it’s suitable for a son or daughter,” I offered when she didn’t speak, suddenly alarmed that she didn’t like it. “But if you don’t like something, we can take it out and replace it.”
Abruptly, Zephy turned to me, tears hazing her eyes. “It’s absolutely perfect, Cade,” she breathed. “It’s everything I ever imagined in a nursery for our child…”
She drew in a shaky breath, and I extended my arms, pulling her against me as she collected herself for a moment.
