Chapter 10 Dominic #2
“Fine, actually.” She tilted her head. “Are you on your way to dinner with your bride?”
“How did you—”
“I may have retired from ruling, but I still know everything that happens in this court.” Her expression turned knowing. “Rumor has it you’re planning a dinner with Sasha in your suite. That’s very thoughtful of you.”
“I hope it goes well,” I said. “Sasha and I got off to a rough start with the whole giggling-through-our-vows situation. This is a chance to actually connect without magical disasters interrupting.”
“She seems like a remarkable young woman. Smart, composed, and clearly capable.”
“She is all of those things.”
“But?”
I ran a hand through my hair, wanting to confide in her. “What if once we solve these problems, she realizes that I’m just…ordinary. What if the only interesting thing about me is the problems we’re managing together?”
My mother’s expression softened in a way I rarely saw. “Dominic. My darling son. You have never been ordinary. Not when you were a boy charming the kitchen staff into giving you extra sweets, not when you were a young man learning to navigate court politics, and certainly not now as king.”
“That’s different. Those are survival skills, playing the role people expect.”
“Exactly.” She reached up to straighten my collar with the familiar fussiness of a mother who’d seen me through everything.
“You’re brilliant at reading people, at knowing exactly what they need and how to provide it.
That’s not ordinary. That’s exceptional.
And if your witch can’t see that…” She paused, her smile turning mischievous.
“Well, then she’s not as smart as I think she is. ”
I laughed. “You’re biased.”
“Terribly. But I’m also right.” She stepped back, looking me over with approval. “Now go get ready for your dinner. And Dominic? Stop worrying about whether you’re enough. You are. I’m sure she’ll see that as well.”
“Thank you.”
“That’s what mothers are for.” She made a shooing motion with her hands. “Go. Don’t keep your bride waiting.”
I took the stairs to the third floor two at a time, energy thrumming through me with each step. My mother’s words echoed in my mind, mixing with my own hopes and fears about the evening ahead.
I wanted this dinner to be about us, Dominic and Sasha, not king and queen, just two people getting to know each other. Learning whether the connection I felt sparking between us was real or just the intensity of thrown-together circumstances.
But what if she didn’t want that? She could prefer to keep things professional, maintaining the distance that made everything safer and more controlled.
The fear nagged at me as I reached our suite door. I paused with my hand on the handle, listening. Water ran somewhere inside. The bath, probably. Soft sounds of movement filtered through the wood, evidence of Sasha preparing for dinner just as I was about to.
My heart did complicated things in my chest.
This was happening. Our first real evening together. No interruptions, no giggling fits, and no mysterious plant deaths.
I pushed the door open and stepped into our shared sitting room.
The space felt cozy in the fading light, shadows gathering in the corners while the last rays of the sun painted everything in muted light.
I’d always liked this room. It felt lived-in rather than formal, comfortable rather than impressive.
Now, seeing it through Sasha’s eyes, I wanted it to be perfect.
Magic stirred in my fingertips as I moved through the space, making small adjustments.
The flowers in the vase on the side table were wilting, their petals beginning to curl.
I channeled power through them, coaxing them back to life and vibrance.
It wasn’t a permanent fix. They’d fade again without addressing the underlying problem.
But they’d last through dinner at least. I did the same with all the other plants in the room.
The hearth held arranged wood but no flame. I gestured, and fire bloomed to life, crackling cheerfully and adding warmth to the room. The dancing light made everything feel more inviting.
The dining table near the windows needed attention too. I arranged the place settings to take advantage of the view over the gardens, adding a few more flowers from the sitting room arrangement. I made sure the chairs were at the right angle.
Small details, but they mattered.
I caught myself whistling an old fae tune my mother used to sing when I was small.
Preparing for dinner with Sasha made me feel lighter than I had in ages.
I heard the water shut off in the bathing chamber and Sasha moving around, her footsteps soft on the stone. Knowing she was only a wall away, preparing for the same evening that I was, made me both excited and nervous.
She’d be out of the bathing chamber soon. I needed to make myself presentable.
I took the hall to my room, closing the door and listening until I heard her enter her own bedroom.
Grabbing my things, I hurried to the bathing chamber, where I stripped my robes off and bathed quickly, cleansing my teeth. After combing my hair, I donned a light robe and returned to my room, staring around.
What to wear? It needed to be nice but not too formal. I wanted Sasha to feel like this was a comfortable dinner between equals, not another royal obligation to navigate.
I sorted through my wardrobe, running my hands over various options. The deep green tunic would complement my eye color nicely, but that might be too obvious. The midnight blue seemed elegant without being stuffy. The charcoal gray with silver threading—No, that was too formal.
Finally, I selected a tunic in burgundy with subtle gold embroidery at the collar and cuffs, pairing it with black pants. Elegant enough to show I’d made an effort, yet casual enough to be comfortable.
I dressed quickly and stood in front of the mirror to study the result. Not bad. The burgundy brought out the green in my eyes, and the cut of the tunic flattered without being too obvious about it.
Now for my hair.
I’d never been particularly vain, but I couldn’t deny that first impressions mattered. And since our actual first impression had been me giggling through our wedding vows, I’d like to make a better second impression.
I let magic flow through my fingers as I ran them through my hair, styling it into something that looked casual but intentional.
Not too perfect. I didn’t want to seem like I’d spent hours fussing.
I just wanted to look good, the kind of good that suggested I’d made an effort because this evening mattered to me.
Because she mattered to me.
The realization settled over me. After one day of marriage, I was already falling for my serious, strategic, plant-loving witch wife.
Fates help me.
I turned away from the mirror, pacing the length of my room as nervous energy built in my chest. What would we talk about?
The investigation, certainly. She’d spent the afternoon examining tea samples and probably had theories to share.
But I wanted to know more about her as a person.
I wanted to know about her childhood, her dreams, what made her laugh when she wasn’t fighting against uncontrollable magical giggling.
I wanted to know this woman I now called my wife.
I didn’t like feeling this vulnerable. I’d spent years perfecting the art of showing people what they wanted to see while keeping my real self carefully hidden. It was safer that way, less risky, and easier to maintain.
But with Sasha, I found myself wanting to drop my defenses. To let her see the real Dominic beneath the charming king facade. To trust that she might value that person as much as the useful problem-solver I’d been this morning.
A knock rang out on my door.
“Dominic?” Sasha’s voice filtered through the wood. “Are you ready? I wasn’t sure what time we were eating.”
My heart jumped. “Almost. Just finishing up.”
“Alright. I’ll be in the sitting area.”
As she walked away, I took a deep breath. This was it. Our first chance to build something real.
I just hoped I wouldn’t ruin it with my nervousness.
One last check in the mirror. Hair good, clothes good, appearance generally acceptable.
I opened the door and walked into the sitting room, ready to discover whether the spark between us could grow into something more.
Or if I was destined to always wonder what might’ve been.