Thirty Four #2
To my surprise, the lift-off was smooth, as if the ground was simply moving away beneath us. My grip on the pole relaxed as Adrian created fire in the two burners between the basket and the envelope, and the balloon began its gradual ascent.
“Are you hungry?” he asked. “I brought a small basket with fruit and cheese. There’s also wine.”
“I’d love some wine, please,” I said, hoping that a drink would soothe my nerves. I wasn’t nervous about the flight, but rather about the less-than-appropriate memories that were trying to break free with Adrian so close to me.
“Sebastian looked happy. He and Miri make a beautiful couple,” he said as he poured a glass of wine and handed it to me.
“They do.” I smiled as I accepted the drink. “He’s going to propose.”
“That’s wonderful to hear.” He was also smiling now.
“It is. He realizes that, as a Fae, Miri will far outlive him, and he wants to soak up as much time with her as his human life span will allow.”
His smile faded at my words, and he averted his gaze, focusing on his hands as he poured a glass of wine for himself.
I took a sip of my drink and cleared my throat. “What about Thea and Tom? I can’t help but feel like there might be a hint of romance between them?”
Adrian took a sip from his glass as he rested his lower back against the rim of the basket. “I think Tom has feelings for her.”
“Do you think she has feelings for him?”
“I don’t know. She might be interested in someone else.”
“Finn?” I ventured a guess.
He grimaced at the mention of the lord. “I hate that you call him that. That you have that level of familiarity with him.”
An apology almost slipped past my lips, but I kept the words in and took another sip of the wine.
“I’m sorry.” The words sounded, but they hadn’t come from me. Adrian had uttered them. “I know I don’t have the right to say that after everything I’ve done.”
Stars. He was dismantling the walls around my heart brick by brick.
“You don’t, but it’s your ring around my finger, and it’s your bedroom that I stayed in last night,” I reminded him to take him out of his miserable state.
I knew I had succeeded when his mouth twitched slightly. “I hadn’t thought it through when I asked you to stay with me. It was quite the torture lying next to you all night and being unable to touch you.”
“You’re the one who asked me to stay,” I pointed out, also fighting a smile.
“I did, and I will do so again tonight.”
“Even though it’s torture?” I met his gaze and arched a brow.
“Of the sweetest kind,” he whispered.
My pulse quickened, and I had to avert my gaze before I did something foolish like close the short distance between us.
I focused on what lay beneath us instead.
We had ascended a considerable height, and the vantage point offered a spectacular panoramic view of the sprawling landscape below.
It felt like looking down at a beautifully painted canvas as the balloon drifted farther and farther away from the castle.
The city of Tardor clustered around the castle walls and stretched for miles.
Even from these heights, it looked whimsical.
In Emeraldia, nature was an integral part of any settlement.
Here, nature came first, and the Fae found ways to integrate themselves into it.
“Breathtaking,” I whispered, taking in Fae dwellings tucked into the nooks and crevices of the woods.
“I couldn’t agree more,” came Adrian’s reverent voice, but when I glanced at him, he wasn’t looking at the view beneath us.
He was staring at me. Blushing, I looked away and took a sip from my glass.
“This is our realm,” he said, reluctantly dragging his gaze away from me and looking down.
“My wish is for us to rule over it together. Will you help me?”
“I don’t know the first thing about running a kingdom. But you could start by leveling that monstrosity of a dais.”
He chuckled. “Way ahead of you on that. I’ve asked for the dais to be lowered and for your throne to be made bigger to match mine.” My heart turned over in my chest as I felt unease about occupying that much space. “Do you have any other ideas?”
I thought about it for a few seconds. In Aubrielle, I felt cut off from Emeraldia, as if I were in another world. What if we brought our two worlds together?
“What do you think about hosting a state banquet to strengthen the diplomatic ties between Aubrielle and Emeraldia? We could open it to the lords and their families, as well as any noblemen and women who want to attend?”
“I think it’s a great idea! It will help to bridge the divide that formed a century ago.”
“We can host it soon to set a precedent for the future we aspire to achieve.”
“How about a month from now? I’m sure Thea will be delighted to take on the task of organizing the celebration.”
“I have no doubt that she will.” I smiled, picturing her excitement.
“We do have a garden party to attend two weeks from now.” He paused. “In the Rolamin Province.”
My heart dropped. “Where Daelana lives. Was I invited?”
“You are my queen. You go where I go.”
“So the answer is no. I’m not welcome.”
“You’ll attend with me, or I won’t attend at all. I’d rather not go, but their Garden Party is a long-standing tradition, and as the king, I’m expected to attend.” When I swallowed and fixed my gaze on a dry patch of land below, he added, “Ask me.”
Not yet. I wasn’t ready to ask him yet.
“What other plans do you have for the kingdom?” I asked instead, desperate to change the subject.
He blew out a breath of frustration, but said, “I want to form a council and ask the four lords to serve on it.”
“Sorin didn’t have a council?”
He shook his head. “My father was a tyrant who ruled with an iron fist. If I’m anything like him as the king, then I failed.”
“I’m sorry I killed him,” I whispered.
His eyes widened. “What?”