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Gentle kisses pressed to the side of my head. “If my hands are ever too much—”
“No.” I wrapped my arms around his waist. “Your touch is what I crave.” My eyes clenched shut. “Here, beside you, is where I am at peace, Erik. Never cease touching me.”
The Ever King was silent, but tightened his hold on my body, as if mutely assuring me those arms would never release me.
“My upbringing was always controlled,” he said, slow and hesitant. “After the war, I was still controlled by the expectations of the nobles and the people of the Ever. I’ve grown accustomed to controllingthe Ever Ship. Be it a raid or simply sailing to meets with the houses, we kept a measure of order. Since he took you, I’ve felt nothing but chaos. I do not know what it is like for a mortal to drown, but I hear it feels like their lungs are bursting. That was every moment you were gone, love. Only when you were in my arms again did I breathe.”
I kissed his lips, soft, slow. “I felt much the same.”
“Never, in all my bitter life, have I craved such violence,” Erik went on. “Not with my uncle, not to avenge my father. Only for you. I suspect that makes me a wretch, hardly suitable for a heart as good as yours, but that is the ugliness of my truth, love.”
For a long moment, the only sound in the room was that of our breaths.
“Serpent?”
“Songbird.”
“I would follow your darkness, every ugly truth, across the skies and seas.”
I heldErik’s arm tightly outside the double doors of the throne room. We’d dressed quickly, Erik in his glossy black, me in a new jade gown filigreed in sun-kissed threads, like beams of light over the glades of the palace gardens.
Maids had come to the room to braid my hair, but I’d pleaded for them to tend to Mira or Celine (who would likely curse me for it) all to spend a moment more, alone and peaceful, with the Ever King.
Loose waves hung down my back, and even Erik had rid his shoulders and waist of the thick leather belts and numerous blades he kept close.
We were not here to be magnanimous. Those beyond the doors would hardly care if we arrived in night clothes.
The doors opened to boisterous chatter, but the moment wecrossed the threshold, all talk stilled. Seated at the far end of the long sea oak table were my father and Stieg. Daj wore ominous clothing, much like Erik. His dark hair was braided off his face, his chin smoother than before. He’d shed a dozen turns since stepping off the Ever Ship.
Stieg had wiped dried blood from his face, split his beard in two braids with silver beads adorning the ends, and a thick plait ridged down the center of his skull. All Rave, always.
Jonas and Sander wore tunics that favored the Ever, unlaced over their chests, with dark trousers. Were they spares of Erik’s? Perhaps they borrowed from Tait. In truth, there was a chance the twins robbed some poor steward on their way to whatever chamber in which they’d been placed.
Mira sat beside Celine. The moment she cast her eyes to me, she stood, ruffling the skirt of her gown, blue as the lagoons near the shore, notably pleased with the thinner fabrics and higher slits in sea fae dresses.
Aleksi had one leg draped over the arm of his chair, slouched as he dragged a whetstone against the curved blade of a knife. On the other side of my cousin sat Sewell, Gavyn, and Tait, awaiting their king.
Erik did not lead us to the smaller chairs. Instead, he guided me to the wooden throne that had been arranged at the head of the table.
“This is your place, Songbird,” he whispered.
I blinked, chest tight, then slowly sat in the new throne. My fingers traced the foxes, the vines. I bunched a bit of the gold satin draped over the back, testing it, memorizing the feel of it between my fingers.
Erik ignored his throne and stood beside me, a hand on my back, as though he couldn’t withdraw his touch just yet.
Down the table, I met midnight eyes. Daj drummed his fingers over the edge of the table, teeth grinding like he was mulling words around in his mouth.
Finally, he stilled his hand. “They call you queen, Livie.”
“Yes, Daj.”
His gaze bounced from me to Erik, then back again. “Did you take vows?”
“Well . . . no.”
“Then, I don’t understand.”
“The king’s word made it so,” Tait explained. “He gave her the title of queen in front of the court.”
