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“Debatable. Even my name sounds off.”
“Your name?”
“Before the abduction, I was Rosita. Then in Valora, it was commanded that I take a more fae name, and Zarid chose Rowan. After he died, I never wanted to be called that name again, so I asked for Rosita or Ro, but neither suit me.”
After pausing for a few seconds, Kai muses, “What if I were to call you something else?”
“Like what?”
“A nickname.”
“And what would this nickname be?” I decide to humor him.
As if he doesn’t even need to think about it, he blurts, “Sunny.”
I laugh, but the sound is saturated with cynicism. “Oh, I’m certain I haven’t earned that. I’ve been nothing but gloom and doom since the second we met.”
“But you smell like sunlight,” he claims quietly. “And in your presence, I feel warm.”
Stunned by the flattering statement, I swallow hard. “What?”
“Even after all your time away from the two suns of the Day Realm, the scent of the air clings to you. You carry the essence of it as though it’s a part of you. It’s… sweet. Like flowers in the forest, dew-soaked grass at dawn, and fresh honey. And just like sunshine, you’re always giving but often taken for granted.”
The things this man says to me.
Words of affirmation aren’t something I’ve gotten a lot of in my life. Even my son, who I know loves me dearly, is the strong-and-silent type. Zander’s better at showing his feelings than telling. And everyone else in the kingdom has always treated me with so much respect, it’s almost like they’re afraid to say anything that could possibly be misconstrued as negative or malicious, so they say nothing at all.
But Kai is full of praise for me. I’ve never been spoken to with such sincere kindness, and I didn’t realize how badly I needed it until now.
Every single compliment from his mouth is like a bucket of water being dumped in the desert, and I’m the cracked ground soaking it up.
I can feel it quenching a dire thirst I was unaware of.
“Sunny,” I softly repeat. “I like it.”
“Would you say life has parallels to chess, Sunny?” Kai ponders, catching me off guard with the random question.
“Parallels, yes, but chess and life are not the same. If they were, I’d be much better at the latter, don’t you think? Because in chess, I can kick ass. But in life, I can’tmovepeople. In fact, it’s the other way around.”
Kai stops again, and we face each other.
His eyes are serious when he says, “You have to stop thinking of yourself as a pawn in someone else’s game.”
“Is this the part where you remind me that I’m the queen? Because I don’t feel like one. I never have. I was only given the title to officiate the purpose I served as the prince’s mother. I didn’t do anything any breeding animal can’t do. I might as well have been a cow or a goat.”
“Well, now you’re just pissing me off,” Kai says gruffly.
Surprised by his candor, I raise my eyebrows. “Is that so?”
“You do move people. Earlier, when I said you’re loved, I didn’t just mean by your family. Even after all these years you’ve been gone, the Day Realm citizens still talk about you like you’re a saint. You singlehandedly upheld a crumbling society. If it weren’t for all the aid you sent out when so many were dealing with crime and death, I’m not even sure the kingdom would still be standing. And on top of all of that, you raised the next king, and despite the shit you went through, you made him a good person. You gave King Zander so much of yourself, so much love, he became the man he is because of you. It’sallbecause of you, Sunny.”
More buckets of water on my dry foundation. My cheeks heat and my heart flutters because it’s overwhelming to be doused so heavily with a freaking cascade of flattery.
I revert to self-deprecation. “And you said I gave Merina too much credit. You’re exaggerating my importance.”
“I fervently disagree. You’re just as significant as Merina or Zarid.”
“Just because I showed people common decency, and I loved my child?”
