The King ✓ (Zolan Book 3)

40

VADNAR

I look out the palace window. There are bodies still scattered in the courtyard. The battle had been a bloody one, and spanned two endless days and nights. There is extensive damage to the palace and capital but practically no casualties. We won. After two years of preparation, masters finally won and could come out of hiding. They will finally be recognized as citizens.

The king and queen have been buried. The queen died climbing out of her bedroom window, plummeting to her death as she tried to escape. And the king was cut down by one of his own men. It's tragic, but their deaths had to happen. They knew for decades how masters were treated but ignored it. Played a hand in the suffering of millions.

My men have been clearing the rooms and putting up the palace gate that collapsed. I want as many bodies as possible removed, because I called for Dee and I don't want her to come across death.

Gods, I missed her. I've had her in my mind with every swing of my sword and every command I've made. I want to know if she's safe. If she has been resting. Knowing the stubborn woman, she hasn't been eating or sleeping as she thinks of me.

The palace is massive. Elegant with the art on the wall and the smooth marble on the floor. There are archives packed with valuable information. Secrets as old as time. And now the most repressed men on the planet own them. We will revolutionize Zolan. Punish the slavers and their supporters. But I need Dee beside me to do it. The upcoming years will be trying. I will spend every night working under candlelight until the flame burns low. The loneliness would consume me if I didn't have her. I would descend to madness without Dee to give me a life to focus on.

This vast castle brimming with history is just another cell with her.

I meet with Hull and a few other men in the throne room. We stand over a long wooden desk, staring at maps and documents.

"We have closed the capital to get everything under control. The men that surrendered have been stripped of their weapons and we've stockpiled them in the castle. Word got out that the king and queen are dead and small rebellion groups have sprouted. We're trying to get that controlled before they bind together and become one large army."

I nod, glancing at the door when I hear a knock. It's too early for it to be Dee, but a man can dream. It wouldn't surprise me if I begin hallucinating from lack of sleep and see her everywhere.

I return my attention to the table when it's just another soldier that enters. "Alright. And what of the citizens? We can't oppress them after just taking over. Let their business carry on as usual. Have carriages inspected for imports and exports and detain any soldiers trying to smuggle out. They must all be documented."

We go back and forth for hours, going over the long list of things that must happen to inherit the kingdom. Everything is a mess. Although we won the war, a new one awaits.

I'm exhausted by the time it's time to rest. I can't lay in any of the many luxurious beds while knowing that Dee was sleeping in a shed and is now traveling a hard, rough road to reach the palace. So I sleep on the floor with a pillow under my head, staring at the tall bed and wishing for the day I can lay on it with Dee.

I close my eyes and fall asleep with a sword in my hand. I must be safe. The door and windows are locked and guards patrol outside, but I know I'm a wanted man.

Nightmares from the depths of hell follow me into sleep. I've killed so many men. Subconsciously, I counted as they dropped. It was a morbid thing that I want to forget, but the number is as clear as my name.

Vadnar... 237.

In the morning, I wake in a sweaty daze. I wipe my face with my sleeve and rise to my feet, ignoring the vomit that tries to surge. I have no time to be sick. There is work that needs to get done.

Today is as busy as yesterday. There was an incident with a kingsguard breaking through the gates, but he was quickly subdued. There is madness everywhere, but we're doing our best to contain it. The looting is a problem we're focused on resolving because we don't want the citizens to suffer.

I eat dinner as I work. Looking at the reports before me instead of my food, and making a mess.

"King Vadnar," someone calls for me.

The name makes my skin bristle. I haven't gotten used to it. Although we won the war, I still remember the days I was a mere farmer. An enslaved gladiator. A liberator of masters. Now they call me their king.

"Yes?" I reply, keeping my eyes locked on my table.

"I heard your female was seen approaching the capital with six riders."

I stand from the small desk, my thighs accidentally shoving it backward until it comes to a screeching halt.

Dee is here? Already? I thought it would take another afternoon of riding to reach the palace! The men sent to retrieve her—my best warriors, were supposed to stop occasionally to allow her to rest. But knowing Dee, she ignored my command and rode non-stop.

"I will ride at once." I say. "I will catch up to her."

His eyes widen. "But sir, you are not safe outside the palace."

"Prepare the beast. I'm riding now!"

My love is here. Fuck this palace, fuck the treasury that's brimming with gold and the archives stocked with knowledge. Dee is the most important person to me on this entire planet. And we've been separated for long enough.