Wed to the War King
CHAPTER 3: The Weight of Crowns & Other Fragile Things
Queen Aria's POV
The castle was too quiet at this hour.
I told myself I'd only come to the war room to review supply
reports. Not because I'd seen the light burning under the door from my
chambers. Not because some traitorous part of me had memorized the rhythm of
his late-night footsteps.
Yet here I stood, watching moonlight fracture through
stained glass across Kael's bowed shoulders. The map between us was a living
thing—our borders stitched together with red thread like an open wound neither
of us knew how to heal.
"You should be asleep," I said, my voice too loud
in the hollow dark.
His fingers hovered over Silverpass, where the ink was worn
thin from too much study. "Do you ever wonder," he began, then
stopped. The candlelight caught the new scar along his jaw—the one I'd given
him during our wedding duel. "If we'd met differently. Not on opposite
sides of a battlefield."
The question settled in my ribs like a blade. I remembered
our first meeting—sixteen and cocky, shouting insults across a negotiation
table while our advisors groaned. How his eyes had sparkled when I'd cursed him
in three languages.
"I'd have hated you less," I lied, moving closer.
"But where's the fun in that?"
His chuckle was warm, but his eyes stayed fixed on the map.
On the valley where so many had died.
The Library Confession
The books began appearing like breadcrumbs leading me home.
First, a volume of Vareen's history left open to the famine
of '32. His note in the margin: "This is why I couldn't retreat
that winter. Would you have done differently?"
My fingers shook as I inked my reply beneath: "No.
But I wish I'd known."
Then came my own war journals, annotated in his precise
script:
- "Here—where
you outflanked us at Greymere. I stayed awake for three days trying to
counter it."
- "This
maneuver saved 200 of your soldiers. I've never admired anyone more."
I traced the words until the ink blurred. Outside, thunder
rolled—the first spring storm breaking over our joined kingdoms.
The Training Yard
I found him at dawn, shirtless and savage in the morning
light.
Every swing of his sword carved through the mist like a
confession. Sweat glistened along the ridges of scars—the old ones from battles
I'd commanded against him, the new one from our wedding duel where I'd nicked
his ribs.
"You're staring, Fireheart."
"Planning my next strike," I lied, throat tight.
He turned, chest heaving. The rising sun painted his skin
gold, highlighting every mark, every story written in his flesh.
"Liar."
The truth sat heavy between us: I was memorizing the map of
his pain, wondering how many wounds bore my name. How many nights he'd spent
nursing injuries I'd dealt.
His sword hit the dirt. "Ask."
"Does it still hurt?" I gestured to the scar over
his heart—the one from Silverpass.
His hand covered mine, pressing my palm flat against the
raised flesh. "Only when you're not here."
The Assassin's Blade
I woke to steel glinting in the dark.
Time slowed as the dagger descended—then Kael was there, a
living shield between me and death. The blade sank into his shoulder with a
sickening crunch.
The assassin didn't have time to scream before Kael snapped
his neck.
Blood soaked my sheets, my hands, the space between us as I
pressed against the wound. His breath came in ragged bursts against my cheek.
"Why?" I begged, voice breaking. "You
idiot, why?"
His laugh was wet with pain. "Because I've loved you
since you called me a 'frostbitten bastard' at the peace talks." The words
tumbled out like a secret too long kept. "Since you spared my men at
Greymere. Since you looked at me across that damned altar like you wanted to
set me on fire."
The world tilted.
I kissed him—not the chaste brush of our wedding, but
something desperate and hungry. My lips found blood and salt and every unsaid
word between us.
He groaned, fingers tangling in my hair. "Aria—"
"Shut up." I pressed my forehead to his.
"If you die, I'll raze Vareen to the ground."
His smile outshone the dawn creeping through the windows.
"That's my queen."
Comments
Post a Comment