AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Do you trust me?” he asked. His dark blue eyes held me captive. “At least somewhat?” he added when I didn’t answer right away.
I thought about it. He had saved my life more than once—literally with a sword in his hand and symbolically with a pen when he signed the marriage contract.
“I do.” It was God’s honest truth. Maybe I shouldn’t. But besides the fact that I couldn’t afford not to, something deep down inside me told me that I could.
“Good. Then Wimfred and I will arrange for your father’s funeral to be held soon. Your enemies are using the situation of his delayed funeral to weaken you. To make you look insane.”
My headache was pulsing against my temples now. I hated the thought that I had failed to find the ultimate proof I needed to frame King Algar. Ever-sleep was a good lead, but it wasn’t enough proof. And yet, at least it helped to get Rune on my side.
Now it was time to let my father rest.
I nodded.
“Wise decision, My Queen,” Rune said. “We also”—he paused to take a deep breath—“we also need to be married quickly. The child you carry might show soon.”
I grabbed the silk of my nightgown to clench it within my fists.
“It can be a small affair,” Rune clarified. “Just you and me and your priests. In the wake
of your father’s funeral, it will seem appropriate to get it over with fast.”
Get it over with.
“Yes, of course,” I agreed. It was awful, the circumstance I was in, but every word he spoke was the truth.
“Good,” he said. “Rest now. You are not alone anymore.”
A wave of guilt swept over me. I was asking too much of this man. “Rune,” I said when he was about to turn and leave. His eyes found mine.
“My heart is like broken glass. Don’t try to put it back together or you’ll get hurt.”
He looked at me in silence. I tried to read his emotions but couldn’t.
He nodded once, then left.
Staring at the closed door, without realizing it at first, my hand slipped down my chest and onto my belly. Somewhere deep in there was life. My and Alrick’s child. I almost felt like crying again. How could I keep this a secret from him? And, worst of all, when I started showing, news of this would spread like a wildfire. The whole world would think Rune was the father,and, judging by the way Alrick had looked at me in the courtyard when he found Rune holding my hand, he might believe it too.
Somehow, I had to find a way to tell him. Find a way to travel north and secretly let him know about his baby.Ourbaby.
Were they a girl or boy? Would their hair be as black as the night or as golden as the sun? Would they be brave like her father and stubborn like her mother?
I shook my head. For now, I had to rest, because when I rose from this bed again, there was a kingdom to save.
