Page 104 of Under the Lion Star

“What?” I looked at Leor wide-eyed as he scooped me into his arms.

Orin and Liras both offered small smiles and tips of their heads as Leor carried me out of the mausoleum.

“Don’t you ever,” he said in a dark tone. “Pull some shit like that again.”

“Leor–”

“What were you thinking, Z? You snuck into two lords’ homes without telling me about your plan.”

“You would have stopped me.”

“Of course, I would have fucking stopped you,” he seethed.

He set me down on a stone bench underneath a willow tree that overlooked a small pond.

“You’re hurt,” he frowned.

His rough hands held my face, moving it from side to side as he studied my injuries. My mind was transported back to our early days, sitting outside my grandmother’s house as he fretted over me. His hands slid down my arms, gently running his thumbs over my wrists again.

“I’m fine.”

“I’ll tell you when you’re fine,” he grunted.

“You’re not a little proud of me?”

“Of course, I’m fucking proud of you,” he sighed, dropping his head between his shoulders. “You not only figured out who was trying to kill me but who had played a part in my parents’ deaths. I’m so fucking proud of you. That doesn’t excuse you putting yourself in danger.”

I rolled my eyes as Leor ripped a scrap of his tunic off, licking it before dabbing at the dried blood on my chin.

“I could have lost you,” he whispered, his voice brittle.

“It’s over now,” I stroked his cheek. “We’re both okay.”

He stood before moving to the bench and sitting next to me. I leaned into his side, resting my head on his shoulder as I looked at the various corpses that surrounded us. Clearly, Atlas and the boys had been busy.

“I’m sorry,” I turned to peer up at him. “But after you tried to send me away, I knew we needed to deal with this problem swiftly.”

“And I couldn’t be included in that?”

“I was working off a hunch,” I shrugged. “I knew you didn’t want me involved. I thought if I found something conclusive, I could bring it to you, and we’d work together from there, but I didn’t want to waste your time if I was following the wrong trail.”

“Nothing that involves you is ever a waste, Zialda. You’re my wife. Whether we’re enacting legislation that will change the face of Fjorn or breaking into some dipshit’s house, we do it together.”

“I think my days of thievery are over,” I tried my best to hide the smile but failed spectacularly when I realized Leor was also trying to hide his.

“I love you, Z. Do you understand what that means? I want to hear all your thoughts, all your ideas, and if we explore them and it turns out they were wrong or misguided, then we adjust our plans together.”

“I didn’t want to let you down,” I admitted past the swell of tension in my throat.

“You will,” Leor tucked his finger under my chin and lifted my face to his. “And there will be times that I let you down. No one expects you to be infallible. You’re an incredible woman. The only thing I need from you is for you to share yourself. With me, with our people, that is the only expectation.”

I nodded, forcing myself for a moment to see myself as Leor did. I might appear stunted in some ways. I was twenty-eight, a bastard daughter, and until I became queen, I had no professional direction. I had lived at home. My friends had consisted of only my sisters. Yet I was strong and good at thinking on my feet. I was loyal and caring.

Through Leor’s eyes, I could see it all.

I was Queen of Fjorn, and I was ready to show the realm what I was made of.

Chapter 36

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