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“I thought you hated that name,” he taunts while slowly caressing my arms.
“It’s growing on me.” I wink at him.
“Something’s growing all right, my queen. Don’t come complaining to me in the morning.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it.” I laugh.
But like he’s prone to do, Levi makes sure to halt my laughter to a dead stop, ensuring that for the rest of the night, the only sound he hears is me screaming out his name.
Chapter 20
Katrina
Everything is different the next day.
The beautiful truce our bodies made the previous night long forgotten.
Levi’s different today.
Distant.
When I awoke this morning to find my bed empty, a part of me already knew that the day ahead would be a sullen one. And now that we have officially passed through Arkøya’s wide arched gates, I fear the worst is yet to come.
We gallop through his city, with our train trailing behind so that the person they see first is their king. People wave at the parade of soldiers, all welcoming them home, thankful that no harm has come to them. The crowd cheers in utter jubilation as Levi struts down the cobblestone path that leads to his castle up the hill.
Every so often, Levi waves to the large mass, his lips in a thin line. I don’t wave, since the mob of people are here for him, not me. I’m just the prize he’s brought from the north. While his people welcome him with open arms, there is a definite disdain and loathing toward me. Some of them are even brave enough to hurl out their curses and spit on the ground as I pass by.
I knew they hated me.
They must if they were able to convince their king to try and overthrow me.
But why?
What did I ever do to deserve such contempt?
I’ve been queen for barely half a year. What wrong could I have done that was so unforgivable in that time span?
The only thing that causes me to hope is that anytime a curse rings out attached to my name, I feel Levi go rigid behind me, the hand on my waist fisting the fabric of my gown. We may have returned to our default ways, adamant to be on different sides of this silent war that we’re waging with the other, but one thing I’m certain of—Levi doesn’t like it when his queen is being mistreated.
I guess he prefers to be the only one who has such a privilege.
I try not to let it affect me, his people’s condescension, or Levi’s sudden apathy toward me, since I was half expecting it already. When I put this plan in place, I knew there would be unpleasantries I needed to endure. I’d be a damned fool if I were clueless as to what I was getting myself into.
There would be no parade for me.
I knew I wouldn’t be celebrated or welcomed.
I may be the queen of all of Aikyam, but to them, I symbolize a foreign invasion—a queen out of touch with her kingdom.
And to a point, they’re not wrong.
Haven’t I favored the north, my birthplace, over the rest of my kingdom?
Didn’t I give room for their resentment to fester?
In all my twenty-three winters, this is the first time I have ever left my home to visit the other lands I reign. And that was under duress. If that hadn’t been the case, it would have never even crossed my mind to visit such lands.
And that right there was my first mistake as queen.
