Felix closed the door behind them and watched as Shae collapsed on the bed. They'd ridden most of the night until finally coming upon a small village as the first rays of the sun hinted at the horizon. He had secured them a room at the local inn and left their horses to be tended by a stable boy. Since the horses were as exhausted from the long journey as they were, he'd decided they would stay through the day and the next night, to avoid wearing the animals—or themselves—out.

"Don't wake me unless the inn is on fire," Shae instructed drowsily as she kicked off her leather boots, letting them fall to the floor.

He chuckled. "At this point, I'd be lucky to wake up myself."

"If we die in a fire, at least we got some sleep first." She burrowed her head into the pillow, her long auburn hair fanning out behind her.

Unhooking his leather belt, he watched her long shapely legs, shown off so well in the tight buckskin trousers he'd purchased. An image of them wrapped around his waist made him look away. Apparently, exhaustion wasn't enough to dull the desire for his wife.

"Are you going to sleep with your clothes on?" he asked. She'd kept her tunic on every night, but tonight had not bothered taking anything but her boots off.

She pried an eye open to look at him. "Too tired to move," she mumbled but didn't close her eyes again as he continued undressing.

"Always hated sleeping with clothes on." He pulled the simple tunic over his head and threw it on a chair. "It's why being on the road is so tedious. I very much prefer to sleep at an inn with a proper bed. Or, even better, at home."

Pulling his boots off, he put them by the side of the bed. It didn't escape his notice that his wife was watching his bare chest silently. He reached down to unbutton his breeches, but after a glance at Shae, he left them on. It seemed like the prudent thing to do. She had probably seen a lot more of his naked body than she had ever wanted to.

"When at home I sleep naked."

Her admission made his head snap back to stare at her. The tips of his ears heated and his gaze spontaneously followed the curves of her body, as he couldn't help but imagine her naked between the sheets of her bed at home.

"I... Ah..." He ran a hand through his hair. "That's... nice?" Understatement of the year. The very thought of her naked only two doors away from him in the castle was more than he could handle. He'd always assumed she slept in the unshapely, thick cotton nightgowns she favoured when he'd visited her bedchamber in the past. To think she was there without a shred of clothing...

He cleared his throat. Looking at her, he caught a satisfied grin before she turned her back to him. So she was playing with him. He grinned, pleased that she felt comfortable enough to do so. His newfound good mood sank when he lay down on the bed, and she immediately scooted further away.

"You need not worry," he said wryly. "I'm so tired I suspect I will sleep like the dead. You should be safe from me pawing at you in my sleep."

Pawing at her in his sleep wasn't exactly something he wanted, either. If he was ever allowed to touch her, he wanted her fully awake and participating. The opposite of their impersonal couplings when they were trying for an heir. It had been the most awkward sex of his life as Shae absolutely refused to undress more than she absolutely had to and wanted no intimacy beyond what was strictly necessary.

It had reduced him to feeling like a lecher. Having to bunch her nightgown around her waist as he took her body in the quickest, most impersonal way possible. She had not even allowed him to kiss her or try to make it enjoyable for her. And he so very badly wanted to. He wanted to show her it didn't have to be the way it had been for them. That it could be so much more.

Shae groaned next to him. He peered over at her. "Are you in pain after the long ride?"

"No. I'm fine. It's just hot."

"I'd suggest shedding some clothes, but..." His voice trailed off as she got out of bed and shimmied out of her trousers, then pulled the tunic over her head. "But you're already doing that," he finished weakly.

He swallowed. She was beautiful. Tall and lithe, her skin the colour of rich cream. The thin waist-length shift and simple underwear left little to the imagination. As she got back into bed, it was his turn to move away from her. To remove himself from temptation. She looked rather pleased with herself, obviously enjoying torturing him, as she closed her eyes and settled in for the night. He watched her face as her breathing slowed, unable to stop thinking about what she'd said.

"So... You sleep naked," he said thoughtfully. "But every time I have visited your chambers when we—" He cleared his throat. "Well, you were always wearing a nightgown."

"Because I knew you were coming." She didn't even bother opening her eyes as she answered.

He frowned. "And it would be that awful if I saw you naked?"

Sighing, she turned to her side to look at him. "It felt safer that way," she admitted. "Like a shield."

"Safer?" He hated the idea that she felt the need to protect herself from him. Did he truly appear to be such a terrible man?

"Yes. With the type of marriage we have, a certain level of detachment is the best approach."

He looked into her brown eyes. She had softened to him these last few days, and he was fairly certain she found him at least marginally attractive. Taking a deep breath, he went on the offensive. It had served him well when saving a failing world. Maybe it would help in his failing marriage. "Maybe we should renegotiate the terms of our marriage?"

Her eyes widened. "I... What do you mean?"

"Well..." He reached out to fasten an errant lock of hair behind her ear, his hand lingering to cup her face. "I think we could make this a better marriage than it has been so far. If you are willing."

A line appeared between her arched eyebrows, but she didn't move away from him. "I don't know. We agreed to a marriage of convenience. We created the heir you need. I have done my duty as expected of me."

"You have," he agreed, trying to hold back his frustration and disappointment. "But maybe we could have more."

"More? Do you want another child?"

"What?" He blinked. No, that wasn't what he meant at all. His hand fell from her face. Did she think that was all he wanted from her? More potential heirs? Nearly three years of marriage and she thought no better of him.

"We only ever agreed to one child," she said, her words coming quickly. "But if you want to try for another, I won't stop you. There's a reason they say an heir and a spare."

He shook his head, trying to understand where this conversation had gone wrong. "No. I mean... I wouldn't say no to another child." He frowned. "Do you want one?"

"If you want to try for another child, you need only say so." She sounded so formal it made him feel like they were negotiating a contract. He supposed in a way they were. Their marriage contract. "There is no need to woo me."

The last words hit him in the gut, and he groaned in frustration. "For the love of the Gods, Shae! You have an amazing ability to bring us back to formality as if this was all a market transaction."

"Well, it is. Isn't it?" she muttered angrily, obviously hurt by his outburst.

He looked at her again, trying to discern her true feelings, but failed. "Maybe it doesn't have to be?" he suggested. He smiled wryly. "Maybe I actually want to woo you?"

She frowned. "But why? We're already married. You have everything you could possibly want."

Holding back a humourless laugh, he forced a smile. He didn't have nearly everything he wanted. If he did, she wouldn't shy away from every touch. She would sleep in his bed, not in an entirely different room.

"Why don't we start by getting to know each other better? I have come to realise there is a lot more to you than the proper lady you've presented so far, and as I said before, I'd love to get to know the real you."

Her gaze fell to his chest, and she nodded slowly. "I suppose we can do that."

"I'll take what I can get." He smiled. It was small, but this was definitely a step in the right direction. "Let's get some sleep. You must be as exhausted as I am."

"We should reach Messina soon," Felix said from atop his horse next to Shae.

"I cannot wait to see Mio again," she admitted. "And sleep in my own bed."

It had been nearly a week since he had suggested that they get to know each other better, and as loathe as she was to admit it—she had enjoyed letting her guard down for once. To talk to her husband like another human being instead of avoiding him as much as possible. Travelling together had been a lot easier as well since being on the road was rather awful when you weren't on speaking terms with your sole travelling partner.

They had talked about their pasts. Compared childhoods as the prince and princess of different kingdoms. She found out he had a younger sister who remained in Ler as the next in line to the throne, an unusual setup not seen in many of the kingdoms. A Queen ruler was rare but a step in the right direction. She hoped to meet Princess Amira one day.

Felix had asked her about her life at court in Adreas and had been very interested in the stories of how she had stayed safe when searching for her father after the Dark God's zealots had attacked her home. They had not discussed the night of the actual attack. She struggled to talk about it and appreciated that he did not push when she obviously did not wish to discuss something.

Their fragile truce was important to both of them, and Felix had made sure not to jeopardise it by kissing her again, and keeping his distance as much as possible, giving her all the distance she could possibly want. She wasn't sure whether she was happy or sad about that particular development. On the one hand, she felt safer if he didn't kiss her. There was no risk to her heart if they stayed like this. But on the other hand... She really wanted to feel his lips on hers again.

When talking about their past, Felix had shared stories of how he had gone from being the Prince of Ler to the saviour of their realm. How Goddess Dhim had sought him out as the living heir to the High King's seat and explained that they needed him to take his place to keep them safe. He had the blood of the first High King in his veins, and the magic guarding the Dark God's prison was stronger when a High King sat on the throne in Messina. Felix wasn't clear on the details, having no magical abilities himself, but said it had something to do with how the imprisonment came about when Ondastos was first banished. It was why Deva had killed the previous High King; hoping to weaken the veil between the Nether Realm and theirs.

Sorceress Isobel featured in many of his stories. It would have been odd if she did not, considering they had spent so much time together travelling across Erya to gather the armies of the twelve kingdoms, and later leading the attack to retake Messina from the Dark Disciple. For her sake, he mentioned nothing about their love story. It was thoughtful of him to consider her feelings, yet it grated on her that he would not simply talk about it. Not saying the words out loud somehow turned it into this big, sore blister between them. If he acknowledged his feelings for the sorceress rather than glossing over it as if it never happened, it might have been easier. Or not. She wasn't sure.

No matter what, she enjoyed his stories. They were a mixture of amusing and interesting, and she felt like she had got to know him better this past week than she had in the last three years. Which was lovely, but also disconcerting. Getting to know Felix more also made her like him better, and she didn't know if that was a good idea.

Looking ahead, she could see the silhouette of Messina against the horizon. It was a large city built on an island in the bay. The ocean served as a large moat around the island, with the open sea stretching out on the north side. Behind the city walls, they would finally be safe. Messina was one of the safest cities in all the kingdoms and heavily guarded. The only access was the harbour to the north and the three long bridges across the saltwater moats from the mainland. Soon she would be home and see Mio again.

Another thought niggled at the back of her mind. "Do you think Castel and any of our soldiers have made it back safely?" she asked.

"I hope so," Felix said. "I hate to think they have not."

"I still cannot imagine who dared to attack us."

"Me neither, but I intend to find out." He sighed. "The options are many. Remnants of the Dark God's followers. People who oppose me as the High King... It could be highwaymen, but they felt too proficient for that."

"I agree." It was a worrying thought. That someone had intentionally set out to attack them. And to what end? She glanced over at Felix. Even in his commoner's clothes, he looked like a fairy-tale prince with his blond hair glowing golden in the sunlight.

"Be careful as we approach Messina," he said, turning towards her. "The area close by the western bridge has a lot of tunnels belonging to burrowing Zharians. Some are difficult to spot, and we don't want to accidentally fall into one."

She nodded. Zharians. Giant spiders the size of large dogs that would not think twice about trying to eat two humans if they tumbled into their tunnels. The very thought made her skin crawl. She wasn't even particularly fond of their tiny cousins.

As they neared Messina, the vegetation slowly disappeared, and the ground turned dark and barren. Nothing had grown on the island of Messina or the land near it since the dawn of the First Age. According to legend, it was the site where the Battle of the Gods had taken place and where the Gods had finally banished their evil brother, Ondastos, to the Nether Realm. In doing so, the ground had been so destroyed that nothing could take root, nothing would grow.

After manoeuvring through the Zharian area, they rode across the western bridge not much later. In their somewhat dishevelled states, no one even reacted to them as they traversed the city. Then again, who would expect the king and queen to ride through the city on horses, wearing commoners' clothing? Work was still being done to reconstruct parts of the city that had been destroyed during the siege, even if they had come quite far in the past three years.

Coming up to the castle gates, a guard approached them. "Halt!" he called. "What business have you in the Royal Castle?"

"Oh, I don't know," Felix responded lazily. "I thought I might put on a crown and make some decrees. I hear it's all the rage these days."

The guard's eyes widened as he recognised his king. "Your Majesty!" he gasped, bowing low. "I beg your pardon! I did not recognise you."

Felix dismounted. "Do not worry. I probably wouldn't recognise me either." He ran his fingers over the short beard that had grown out during their travels. "I can't wait to shave this off."

"Where... Where is your escort?" The guard looked behind them as if expecting the contingent of soldiers to magically appear.

"We were attacked," Felix replied grimly. "I take it they are not back then. That is disappointing."

He turned to Shae and helped her down from her horse. His hands lingered at her waist a moment longer than necessary before he turned back to the guard. "Please, make sure these horses are well taken care of. They've travelled far."

"Yes, Your Majesty. Right away." The guard bowed again, and taking the horses' reins, he walked away towards the stables.

"I should find Tamcred," Felix muttered, glancing at her. "Since he's second in command of the King's Guard, he needs to know what happened. Probably should find Commander Gawain as well. He'll want to know."

"You do that. I will go find Mio."

A smile spread over his face, and his eyes softened at the mention of their son. "I will come to find you as soon as I'm done. I've missed the little tyke."

She made to leave, then stopped and gave him a nervous look. "If... If you want to try for another child..." She tried very hard not to blush. "Then you may visit my bedchamber next week."

With that said, she turned around and rushed inside the castle. Too embarrassed to stay and hear his response. Before she disappeared, she heard him mumble something under his breath she couldn't quite hear. She could have sworn she heard something about 'much more than that', but she was too far away to know for sure.

~~~~~~