Page 89 of The Rat King
“Let’s get one thing straight. Until that man is walking among us once again, he is your priority.” I pointed an angry finger in the direction of the Chapel where Nighval lay under heavy guard. My voice broke as I yelled, “Do you understand?”
A chorus of “Yes, Your Majesty,” rang out.
“You’re dismissed,” I said, desperately waiting the long seconds it took for the men to shuffle out of the room.
Still a few lingered and Link must have noticed my trembling, my barely contained anguish bubbling to the surface. “Go,” he said, waving off the men who were hoping to get a private audience with me. I looked down at the table, closing my eyes, and when the footsteps retreated and the door clicked shut, I let a sob escape.
I was about to collapse back into my chair in a heap of tears when strong arms wrapped around me and pulled me into a hard chest. “Shhh,” Link said. “I’ve got you.”
“Today sucks,” I said, as I blubbered into his chest. Noticing the darkening fabric, I said, “I’m going to ruin your shirt.”
His chest rumbled beneath me as he laughed. “Anything for my queen.”
“I’ll go get Jetta,” Eshan said, in a hushed tone intended for Link.
I sobbed and sobbed and when I finally calmed, Link pulled me away from his chest, tilting my chin up toward him. “I feel like such a weakling. I’m supposed to be queen, bulletproof, but I can’t even keep it together through a boring meeting.”
He smiled. “Do you know what I thought of you the day you walked into that council meeting and made Leviticus get up and proceeded to take his place and participate as an equal to your husband?” he asked, and I shook my head.
“Outside of the massive pang of jealousy that zapped through me, I thought to myself one day I’m going to have a wife like that. I had never given much thought to settling down, but seeing how you changed my dear friend, and what a love like that can do to a man, I decided I wanted something like that for myself. I promise you, I’m not the only person here you have inspired. You don’t give yourself enough credit.”
A tear, for an entirely different reason, tracked down my cheek and he wiped it away with a finger. “Avery, Samara intended this punishment to be particularly cruel. I don’t believe she will let this go on forever. We are just going to have to bear it a little while longer, okay?”
“But Samara put him in this state, and she won’t even respond to us.” I could feel another wave of tears coming on, but I held them back as the hopelessness I felt settled around me.
Link ran a hand through his icy blonde strands. “I don’t think she wants him dead, Avery. She’ll come around. We’ll get Nighval back. I promise.”
I nodded. “Okay,” I said.
“Good. Now if I know anything about Jetta, she is about ready to force feed you. So, shall I carry you and then tie you down, or will you be walking yourself?” He gave me a smirk, and I huffed, but walked through the door.
Out in the hallway, we ran into Jetta and Eshan. Link nudged me toward them as if I were some sort of ball to juggle, and said, “I never had a chance to give you your wedding gift. I feel like now is as good a time as any and you need cheering up because I know you’re going to love it.”
Before I could protest, the tall man was dashing down the hall.
I glanced at Jetta, and she shrugged as if she had no idea what he was talking about. Lunch was already served whenever we got to the dining room. It seemed Jetta had the cooks make us a selection of my favorites and they sat in little piles in the middle of the table for the three of us to pick through at our leisure.
Observing my wary gaze, Jetta jabbed in the direction of the wrap sandwiches and said, “Eat at least one.”
“I second that. Link seems like a nice guy now, but you haven’t seen him when he’s on a mission. Have no doubt that he will tie you down and force feed you,” Eshan said, humor at the edge of his voice.
“Fine,” I said and put a few items on my plate. The first five bites tasted like sawdust, but eventually my taste buds awoke. I had eaten about all I thought I could when Link sauntered back into the room full of his usual swagger. He shoved the place setting which had been waiting for him beside me to the side and plopped down a huge, wrapped present.
“Open it,” he demanded, then leaned against the table, crossing his arms. A self-satisfied grin lit his face, as if he knew I would love what was inside. As if he knew this little moment of sunshine was so desperately needed to clear the clouds away, if only for a moment.
“Oh my God.” I was actually going to cry again. This was getting a little out of hand. “You guys have been too good to me,” I said, standing to get a better angle to unwrap the gift.
Jetta leaned back in her chair with a curious expression on her face.
Eshan said, “You’re our queen, and more than that, you’re our friend.”
Jetta made a puking sound. “I know, right? Big sap,” I teased.
I made quick work of the gift wrap, and Link handed me a switchblade, and I cut open the seam of the box. I eyed him as I reached inside, feeling around. My hand was met with cool leather that felt worn and familiar. There was a loop of the stiff material with mesh on the interior at the top and on the sides… my hand ran down further, and I gasped.
“Oh my God,” I said with even more emphasis than before. “How did you find it?”
“What is it?” Jetta said, getting to her feet, coming to stand near me.
