A Queen Named Victory

Chapter Seventeen

Sabre and I awaited in my private garden quarters for our newly elected court mage. She polished her sword while I practiced the sacred light spells. "Your pronunciation is terrible," she informed in her usual matter-of-fact tone. "You have to roll your 'r's." She trilled as an example.

"I'm so sorry for being late!" Ochre burst through the door. Each of us exchanged confused glances at her.

I gasped, momentarily forgetting that she did not need it and neither did I. Sun-kissed locks fell past her hips. Tufts of fur decorated her lower belly like moss on river rocks. Scars from her past lined her legs alongside stretchmarks on her thighs. She brightened the room with her beauty to the point that flowering plants moved to feel her light.

"Ah, it feels good to take this sucker off," I groaned while I stripped my veil. I appreciated it in times of need, but it occasionally annoyed the hell out of me. Ochre took weeks to decide her fate. She pledged her life to me through a sacred bond, just as Sabre and my selected handmaids had upon seeing my unveiled appearance. If I died by their hand, so did they. Grendel made a point to improve the spell by making their death twice as painful.

Under normal circumstances, humans had little to no magical talents. Those who did have magical connections were connected to the fey somewhere in their lineage. I happened to be one of the lucky ones, although none of Grendel's greatest mages and shaman could figure out what type of fey blood ran through my veins. Either way, it did not matter because I enjoyed trying spells from the vast collection of fey magic. I learned new things about myself. First, water hated me with a passion. Rock spells barely succeeded, and if it did, my strength matched that of a two-month-old troll baby.

"Coax it from the dirt. L-like this." Ocher lightly pinched the dirt and pulled a seedling from the ground. The mother plant swatted me for failing again. "It takes time. I'm sure you'll get the hang of it," Ochre sympathetically offered while Sabre enjoyed watching me struggle. She interjected, "Well, you can mark flower magic off the list. It seems as though they fear you more than they like you."

"Maybe she's akin to my magic," Grendel's voice graced my ears.

"Make your lessons private then," Sabre said with disgust as her king held me in his arms. He eagerly took her advice to pull me away into the hallway. "Your family successfully arrived in Geriset," he notified me between placing soft kisses along my neck.

"How did the villagers and our troops handle the alliance?"

"Your grandmother is remarkably talented. They are completing fortifications as we speak." That was his way of translating: your grandmother is very pushy and somehow convinced people to follow her every word. They had no choice but to consent.

I gasped as his grip pushed me closer to him. "What if someone sees us?!" I whispered after he planted another one of his tender kisses upon my lips. I bit my cheek to brush away the clawing urge for more.

"They shall face my fury."

"Don't be foolish," I said while I distanced myself and straightened my veil before any unsuspecting servant witnessed our intimate exchange. He led me to his map room, where we usually discussed important matters without an audience.

"Are you going to tell me why you've approved thousands of marriages but one?" he asked while we entered the stone doorway.

"I'm only having a bit of fun," I said as I propped myself against his window. Ochre's sunlight blessed my skin with ethereal warmth. "I hope you are not thinking about running off to frolic in the garden with Heidrun," said Grendel as he sat in front of his desk. "You also did not answer my question. Elluis's contract is bound to expire. We can't eliminate all ties to Tolkniat."

I shrugged. "Then pick your poison. She's a viper that I'd prefer to remove from the court." He placed his hand on his chin like he had when he was a child. I turned my face away from him to hide my smile from the sight of his sandy hair too. Grendel fully released his glimmer magic when we were alone, and I often enjoyed seeing his hair color shift based on his ever-changing feelings and thoughts. It was the only way to read his desires and toy with him.

"Is she the viper or the songbird? Both warrant a death penalty."

"Death is too lenient," I said casually with the flick of my wrist. Killing her now would only cause more problems to our fragile relationship with Tolkniat, but it also was both a nuisance and a risk to keep her close in our courts. Grendel looked at me with genuine astonishment.

"I did not know my wife had such a taste for torment." He eyed my entire body before he added, "I love it."

I rolled my eyes in response and looked back at the teeming serenity outside. It hardly distracted me from the persistent tingling on my hips where Grendel touched earlier. "Well, I trust your wisdom on the matter," he affirmed while he signed the completed documentation to dismiss Elluis from Montver.

"Tonight's a full moon," I breathed as I rubbed his shoulders. He did his best to concentrate. His fingers wobbled, causing him to blot ink on the parchment. "What do you have planned for us?" I tried again as I pressed my hands harder at the base of his neck and slowly moved to the tip of his chest. He let out a semi-frustrated sigh, "I take back what I said about your lust for torment." His hands stopped my fingers from traveling lower.

"Careful, woman."

"And here I thought you brought me in a private room for...better reasons," I grumbled as I pulled away from him. Grendel pushed his head back while he uttered curses under his breath. "We should consummate our marriage atop comfortable bedding and romantic candlelight," he tested for my approval with a hungry gaze. He waited for an answer before he jumped into action and whisked me away to his bed chambers. "What if I don't mind consummating our marriage over your desk," I teased, then continued to read off the documents.

"—atop next spring's rye field maps and...potential earnings?"

"Ah, I almost forgot to sign that," he said as he scribbled away with his plume. "As for tonight, it's a surprise."

"What will it take for your permission to take me outside of the mountain again?" I asked after ditching my failed attempt at seducing the approval out of him. Grendel gave me a naughty smile. His expression warned me to stop digging a deeper hole for myself. Oddly enough, I wanted to find out what I'd get if I persisted.

"Hm, that's a good question."

"You already have everything. What more do you want?" I thought aloud. He leaned forward as if to say, I warned you. His hair shifted into a muddy color that resembled the stained water we used to dye yarn back in Dovre.

"I have yet to hear you say you love me."

"I think I hear Sabre calling!" I said suddenly over his reverberating laugh. My cheeks burned as I bolted past the door.