Renouncing the Emperor's Heart

One thing you'll always have (Part I)

Forgoing a proper announcement of her arrival, Lord Maximus led her through a particularly cluttered room instead.

The ordinary disorder of an unmade bed, the stacked cups of coffee strewn across the floor, or the wrinkled white tunics thrown over the chaise weren't what made her frown. It was the piles of papers and folders — all of which were familiar to her — that were scattered across his oak wood desk. Amon's proposals. Files and accounts she had confronted him with. All of them were laid out like a question to be mapped, with yellow tabs marking specific passages and small inscriptions she could barely make out.

She internally shook herself away from the sight, uninterested in dwelling on whatever meaning it held, and settled on where Maximus stopped with his head bowed. He gestured for her to walk through the open balcony door.

Hesitating at the threshold, her frown deepened. "He's out there?"

Maximus held the door open with a grimace. "He's been waiting a long time, Your Majesty."

Unease bled into her as she thanked him for his escort and crossed the threshold. A gust of chill air greeted her, and she clutched Amon's velvet cloak tighter against her body.

The marble deck was spacious and generously furnished with softly cushioned daybeds and settees inviting enough to want to sink into. Along with the hanging lanterns that quietly burned as the sun started to set and the red and gold accents scattered throughout the space, it seemed Richard hadn't changed much from his father's favorite spot. The only addition was a glass table covered in a silver cloche and a half-drunken glass of wine.

Jovine glanced around the terrace. The single time she had been out here was the day after her wedding, when Emperor Alexander welcomed her into his family with a broad smile and grateful words of wisdom she felt too saddened to remember now. Seeing glimpses of his presence made her wonder what it meant to his son to keep those small remembrances, but she wouldn't care anymore.

Instead, she slowly walked to the edge and leaned against the railing, taking it as a reprieve that she was alone out here. For now.

The view was magnificent. Impressive enough to erase the dread prickling her skin. A violet-hued horizon stared back at her, the sun nestling between green mountains. The city itself was further from where she stood, but she saw brick buildings, people who looked like specks in this distance, and the lights that were beginning to kindle for the coming twilight.

Theolos had always been beautiful. It was a home, a formidable empire, and one she wouldn't allow to fade away. Jovine gnawed on her inner cheek as her mind wandered. She was here to discuss their upcoming host for Visea Royalty, and the timing couldn't be worse.

Years of peace had lasted since her father's time. An unnecessary war ended by a precarious treaty was called for renewal every three years. It was ill fate that it landed on her present, the first year of their reign and one that was filled with such internal turbulence. As she knew it, the customs of Visea were firmly reliant on fidelity and organic authority. It would hurt her cause if Amon's claim was —

Jovine froze as large hands balanced on the railing around her, caging her in his arms without touching her. She held her breath when his lips grazed her ear.

"Was it fun for you," her husband grated out. "Making me wait like that?"

Internally scolding herself for lowering her guard, she clenched her jaw. She hadn't even heard him approach. 

Richard leaned closer until his hard chest skimmed her back. "You are toeing a very dangerous line, Jovine," he whispered into her neck. He brought one hand to her shoulder and fisted the velvet cloth. "Is this his?"

Without giving her a moment to respond, he peeled the coat from her body and threw it off the balcony. Jovine watched in shock as it fluttered through the air and landed in the dirt floor below the terrace.

"I never want to see another man's cloak on you again, do you understand?"

Jovine bit her tongue. Every inch of her wanted to rip into him, but she was unwilling to give the satisfaction of a response. When the heaviness of his own coat fell on her shoulders, she closed her eyes and told herself any barbed words would do nothing for her. It wasn't until she felt his hands settle on her waist that she jolted.

"So, we're opting for silence...That's fine with me," he muttered, though there was a certain hysteria brimming at his voice. A dark chuckle echoed around her as she felt him angling deeper upon her. "Do you know how captivating you are when you're annoyed? Look at you hiding your eyes from me. It only happens when you want to snap." He moved his lips across her cheek, and whispered, "Or when my head is between your thighs."

Her eyes flew open, and this time, she did snap. Throwing the coat off her back with a flick of her wrists, she heard more than saw a buckle hitting him in the face from the sudden movement. It allowed her to move away from his grasp.

From the subtle smell of wine on his lips, it was apparent he was nowhere near coherence for a logical conversation. And she wouldn't put up with his antics for nothing.

"You're drunk," she scowled, dusting her bodice off with a sneer. "We'll talk when you're clearheaded."

Unable to spare him a glance, she swiftly moved for a quiet departure.

Richard snatched her hand and pulled her back to face him. She looked up to fly a scathing remark or two, but she paused when her eyes focused on his face. It had been weeks since they had really seen each other, but it wasn't the unfamiliarity that baffled her. It was the shadow under his eyes, the way his mouth turned down, the unkempt nature of his half buttoned shirt, and a wobbly delirium in his gaze. Jovine didn't understood when Lord Maximus had mentioned him as unsteady. But, now, there was no better word for the state her husband was in now.

Unsteady.

The Emperor tightened his grasp on her fingers with a dark look. "I may have had a sip or two, but trust me, I'm more clearheaded than I've been." He stepped into her. "I've waited for weeks, Jovine. You're not going anywhere."