Page 284 of A King's Oath

“I’ll need more than a kiss to warm up.”

“Who said I was against more?”

“You said…”

“More doesn’t mean all the way. Or did you forget?”

“Oh, I think you have forgotten the drill. You might need a refresher. Should I send you some sites?”

“I’ll look at you and jog my memory.”

Her face felt heated. He chuckled.

“Mama, look at the moon! So red!”

Avantika didn’t even glance up, knowing her own redness was showing all over — “Yes, baby.”

“Mama, look at you. So red,” Samarth joked quietly.

“Stop it, Samarth. Hira ben is with us.”

He glanced up ahead and pushed his hands behind his back. Like his father. Like Brahmi. Even in the simple shirt and tailored pants he often wore in France, he looked like a king here. His stance, his glance, his voice, his command — they had all changed in Nawanagar. And she wondered if his kingdom would lose an opportunity of a lifetime when they would lose him.

“Did you talk to your father about our plans?” Avantika asked. He shook his head.

“That’s why he is hellbent on this DNA test…?”

“Listen, Ava, forget he said that, alright? We have had arguments over this for the last three days.”

“He is not wrong.”

“He is thinking like a king.”

“He is thinking like a father.”

Samarth slowed, his hard profile suddenly softening.

“Didn’t you hear his reasoning? It is for Brahmi’s security in the future.”

“We are not going to stay here, or return in that way. It doesn’t matter one way or another.”

“Then tell him that.”

“Not yet. He is a dangerous and a very shrewd player. I’ll inform him after our wedding, and we will leave immediately. It might cause fights and resentment for a while but he won’t have time to fix it.”

“Samarth?”

“Hmm?”

“Are we making a mistake? Am I being selfish in taking you from your kingdom? Your family?”

“I told you once before also, if you were called selfish then the world would have to change the definition of selfish. And you are my first family — you and Brahmi. You are the family I made and my first responsibility is to you both.”

She stared at him.

“Mama, did you bring my Snow White pyjamas?” Brahmi’s loud holler startled her. She turned and they were at the bungalow, Hira ben standing on the verandah steps while Brahmi was already half inside the threshold.

“Yes, I am coming.”

---