Page 46 of Enchanted Shadows (The Enchanted Kingdom #6)

“Now that we all know there is another ship, would you like for us to sleep on this one or the other?”

He turned to look at me, not getting my point.

“We are newlyweds,” I reminded him. “It’s hard to keep our hands off one another.”

He took a deep breath and moved his fingers as if they itched for the shadows. “So, use your little trick,” he bit out.

He had me there, but I’d just been wanting to get under his skin a little.

“We will stay on this one,” Kessara told him as he finished retreating inside the ship. To me she added, “I want to keep an eye on what he’s up to. Not sure it was wise to intentionally make him mad like that.”

I whispered back, “He can be mad at me. I was just trying to get his attention off you.”

She didn’t elaborate on what he said to her, and I gave her the space to process it. She was quiet the rest of the afternoon, through our meager dinner, and as we watched the sunset paint the sky.

Not even the sunset could bring her joy.

As the stars began to dot the night sky, I continued to stand with her. Never leaving her side.

“Kess, what can I do?” I asked, not for the first time.

“Nothing. I’m okay.”

“No, you’re not.”

She wiped at her eye, and I moved in to wrap an arm around her, just in case she fell apart .

“He—well, he offered me becoming queen. To rid myself of you.”

I wasn’t surprised. I’d suspected from the first time she told me about him that he was after crowns and power.

“Always knowing that I was never going to be queen because of my real father, there was a point in time where that would have been tempting. To be treated as equal to my half-brothers. To finally be fully accepted by Agria.” She inhaled shakily.

“Calix told me that we could lead together. The Cyncrest name is enough to overcome the question of my lineage. That if we took over quickly, before Damek could get any crazier, we could deal with him together. Could save Artem.”

In only a few minutes, he’d spun quite the tale to her, it seemed.

She turned toward me and whispered, “He framed everything so perfectly. Such a pretty picture. Becoming queen with him. Saving Artem. And four months ago, I might have accepted just to save my little brother, but now....”

“Now?”

“Now rather than be tempted to accept his offer, I am left repulsed by how well I have been played the fool.”

“Kess,” I scolded.

“I am a fool,” she repeated. “Did he ever love me at all? Or only what I could do for him? He will keep offering until he finds the right manipulation. He thought it would be queen. But when it is your safety dangled in front of me instead?—”

“You tell him hell no.”

“Give me something real,” she whispered as she swallowed hard. “I don’t wish to talk about Calix anymore.”

I stepped in closer. “Something real? How about the fact that your brother is safe. Already. Right now, he is safe. Because of you .” I brushed a kiss to her temple as she moved to hug me.

She was the perfect height to tuck into my neck as she did.

I enjoyed far too much how my wife fit into me.

“You already did it, Kess. And it had nothing to do with Calix Cyncrest. It was all you, honey.”

The night was so quiet we could hear the women laughing from the deck of the other ship, a lantern seen in the distance next to where they were all sitting.

I couldn’t wait to step foot in Agria, handle business, and get the hell out.

“Do you want to head over and join them?” I asked as I pulled back slightly.

She shook her head. “No. I don’t trust Calix with your men without me.”

“They can handle themselves,” I promised her. I was fairly certain about half of them were begging for something to happen. Calix wanted me gone, so by default, if they had a valid excuse to remove that threat before we arrived ashore, they’d not hesitate to do it.

“True, but I also know he won’t try anything, won’t risk making me angry. It’s something small I can do to maintain the mirage of peace. If only for a little while longer.” She tugged my hand. “Let’s head in.”

I never slept well on a ship, but I wasn’t about to admit that to her. No matter the rooms, they were never as comfortable of beds as the one I had at the castle. Also, the constant moving made it hard to get a deep sleep.

“Owen,” she whispered.

“Yeah?”

She looked around. “Can you put up a barrier?”

“You can.” Seeing the defeated look on her face, I decided to just humor her.

I wasn’t prepared for the next string of words to come out of her mouth. “I need you to kiss me disrespectfully again.”

I laughed. “What?”

“We need to practice. You said we could. ”

“Kessara,” I warned.

“Look. I’m afraid I’m going to mess this all up. I’ll fall for one of his many games and ruin us. I just need a reminder?—”

So I kissed her, interrupting her vicious thoughts.

Taking her breath and then some. I didn’t stop until neither of us could breathe.

Until she had that disheveled glow, until I had to pull on every bit of my restraint to keep from taking things into the territory that homed my bliss and her regret.

I trailed a kiss up her neck and whispered, “We are not so easily ruined, Princess.”

She smiled up at me. “I hope so. Also, you should get used to this. Having to kiss me. There are shadows everywhere in the castle. Therefore, spies everywhere in the castle.”

“It will truly be a hardship.”

She snickered, and before she could move away, I pulled her right back and kissed her once more. “Wouldn’t want you to forget.”

She finally looked less tense. “Let’s go to bed. We have a war to avoid tomorrow.”

I wasn’t certain we’d be avoiding one at all. I had a trick up my sleeve which might make things entirely worse, but only for this woman would I start a war.