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“Change is never easy,” Gideon agreed. “But if it helps, what you’re doing is right. What Keventin pays his workers is a pittance. It’s practically slavery.”

Raziel nodded. While Methi hadn’t actively enslaved an entire race for work like Scythia, were they any better if theirworkers were paid so poorly that they couldn’t leave the slums they’d lived in for generations?

The answer was no.

He just had to figure out how to do it without turning the entire gentry against him. The tax cuts would go a long way, as would the additional funds from his queen’s dowry. It would help their kingdom adapt and not collapse while he made big changes.

“How will you address the extra tax he’s been levying on his people?” Gideon questioned.

“With care.” And if needed, all the brute force of a hammer.

Raziel stood, his attention wandering to the closed door next to the fireplace. The one that led to his wife’s rooms. “We better get this over with.”

Striding to the door, Raz rapped on the porcelain-inlaid door and waited. Technically, he could walk into any room he desired, but he wasn’t keen on his new queen invading his own personal space, so would give her the same courtesy.

The door swung inward, and Mazie curtsied to him and stepped backward out of the doorway.

Raziel blinked once.

It seemed the queen had found her trousseau.

His queen donned a dress that seemed as if it were part of the sea. A shell-encrusted bodice tightly hugged her torso, pressing her breasts high enough that Raz pointedly looked away from them. Painted ombre silk hugged her curvy hips and fell in waves to her feet.

Bare feet.

He stared at the rings adorning her slender toes. Chains dripped around her delicate ankles, crystals sparkling in the low light.

His mouth watered. Why did he want to plant a kiss on the inside of her ankle?

“What do you think?” Mer asked in her husky voice.

Raziel snapped out of his daze, jerking his gaze away from her distracting feet. Heat filled his cheeks as he met her gaze. She offered him a crooked smile as if his bride could tell what he’d been thinking about.

“You will do,” he replied gruffly.

Mer chuckled. “What praise indeed, my king.”

“You look lovely,” Gideon added. “Like a goddess from the sea.”

Raz glared at his friend over his shoulder, noting how Gideon’s eyes twinkled. The lout was playing games. The king wiped all expression from his face as he turned back to his queen and held his hand out.

“Shall we join our hosts?”

Mer slipped her slightly colder hand into his, and Raz fought a shudder as he closed his fingers over hers. He led them from his room and into the cream-and-gold corridor.

Raz kept his gaze straight ahead, not daring to look down at his queen.

The night had just become more complicated.

Not only did he have to field threats from a power lord who hated him, Raz had to keep from staring at his enchanting wife.

Raziel scowled at himself.

It was just a dress. And she was just a person.

He couldn’t let her distract him.

What about the other men?