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“I asked for the carriage. You shouldn’t ride a horse in your current state.”
“Nonsense,” I protested. “My doctors told me that riding will sooth the baby with its
motions.”
“Well, Malick sought me out this morning to inform me of the opposite. He was very clear that riding a horse could bring you and the child more harm than good.”
I sighed at Rune. He was doing it again. Worrying about me when he shouldn’t. The words I had said to him in my chambers ran through my head.
My heart is like broken glass. Don’t try to put it back together or you’ll get hurt.
It was still the truth, and yet, watching Rune as he mounted his warhorse, Inga, with ease, I couldn’t help but wonder if I still didn’t want him to at least try.
The monster and the Night Queen,I thought.
I pushed it out of my mind.
These strange thoughts, and the comforting touch of Rune’s hand, were simply a cry for help in the darkest times of my life. I wasn’t betraying Alrick. Only he had managed to make my whole body feel on fire.
That was true love. It had to be.
But was it? How much did I even know about Alrick? We barely knew each other outside the short journey north. Were our feelings rushed? Was I like a child with a new puppy?
“Ultimately, it will be Her Queen’s decision to ride her horse or take the carriage”—Rune tore me out of my thoughts—“but My Queen has to understand that any decision made from here on will affect not only Her Majesty but the life within her as well. It might not seem like it yet, but there is a wonder growing inside you. In time, the Night Queen and the Queen of Ashes will be no more.”
“Where would they go?” I asked him.
“Nowhere, but the Queen of Light would be in charge of them.”
“Queen of Light.” I smirked at him. I wanted to believe it. But I didn’t—not yet. I couldn’t. There was still too much to do.
“When did you become so poetic?” I teased Rune and walked up to my carriage, seeing his shoulders deflate in obvious relief.
“I’m glad to see Her Majesty enjoy mocking again,” he said. The footmen opened the door to my carriage, but I stopped next to Inga and placed my hand on Rune’s lower leg.
Muscle. Steel-hard muscle was all I felt.
“I’m not mocking you.” I smiled at him. “Thank you for your kind words.”
I noticed how the trembling in my hand was still gone—ever since we’d touched. This man brought such a calmness and confidence to my heart. It was different from the love I felt for Alrick, yet beautiful in its own way.
Rune smiled back at me and threw a curt nod toward my carriage.
“After you, My Queen of Light.”
This time, I left it alone.
Queen of Light.
Although I would never dare to believe it, I liked the sound of it. And who knew, maybe, in time, those words would hold true.
