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Well, fuck, she’s got me there.
None of this would be possible if there weren’t sacrifices being made just for my city to live so extravagantly.
There is a whisper in my head that maybe now is the right time to talk to Katrina about the hardships the south faces every day. About how most of my kingdom is a slave to their labor just so they have enough food to put on the table. How they work hard on the fields from dawn to sunset just to make sure they have produced enough to fulfill the north’s demands.
“I’ve said something to upset you,” Katrina utters beside me, attentive to my declining mood.
“I always get upset when my mind travels to the politics of Aikyam. You, however, could never upset me.” I force a smile.
Her forehead scrunches in confusion.
“Politics?”
“Never you mind, kitten. It’s too glorious a day to speak about such things,” I state, not wanting to get into how fucked up my kingdom really is and that not everyone is afforded all the luxuries that Nas Laed offers.
Her brows draw together in both confusion and curiosity, but thankfully she doesn’t ask me any more questions.
This is a time to woo. Not to confess that her reign and her father’s before her has debilitated my kingdom in such a way that most of its people go to bed hungry every night.
No.
I’ll try to talk to her about my people’s plight after I’ve won her heart. Maybe then she’ll be more inclined to hear me out and help me. As it stands, it could go either way if I broach the subject now.
To ensure her mind isn’t focused on what I just said, I discreetly nudge my feline friend, to which he understands that it’s time for him to move. Katrina pulls her hand away immediately, scared that he might attack her, but is pleasantly surprised when all he does is stand up, stretch his paws, and walk over to her to lay his head on her lap.
“He likes you. Not that I’m surprised. You’re easy to like.”
Easy to love, too, but I keep that thought to myself.
“I have a confession to make,” she says as she runs the tips of her fingers over the panther’s head.
“Oh, are we sharing secrets now? You know I’m a sucker for those.” I wink, nudging her shoulder with mine.
“No,” she giggles, making my heart soar to the heavens with the sound. “It’s not a secret. Just a confession. Remember when we were kids and you told us about how life was here? I have to admit there was a part of me that didn’t believe you.”
“No shit.” I laugh. “Atlas didn’t believe me either.”
Not until the great honorable Levi confirmed it, but again, I keep that nugget under lock and key, since I refuse to mention his name in front of Katrina and remind her of him.
“We were wrong to not trust you. I see that now. This place… it’s a dream.”
It’s the whimsical way she says dream that has me in a daze.
Fuck, but I love her so fucking much.
Please, kitten. Please. Remember that you love me too.
I clear my throat and shake the lovesick fog from my eyes, hoping she didn’t catch it.
“There is still so much for you to see, kitten. So much. This dream is only getting started. Trust me.”
Her eyes glaze over and for the briefest of seconds, I almost see that young girl who fell in love with me.
Stay with me, kitten. Stay with me.
When she shakes her head and pulls her eyes off me, my heart drops to the pit of my stomach.
“I… uh…” she starts. “I think you did leave out some parts, though.”
