"Anna! Sweetheart! Open the door!"

The man kept his voice down and glanced from side to side as if he was afraid of something. He didn't have to wait long. The door opened, and someone pulled him inside before the lock clicked shut.

"Have you lost your mind?"

The woman who posed the question had passionate, southern features, with dark hair falling in waves over her round shoulders, and a sensual, full figure, with an innocently round face. Her forehead was high, and her hair had been plucked according to the latest fashion so that it formed a triangle above her face. Her thin, arched eyebrows framed large, brown eyes, and she had a small nose and heart-shaped lips above a round chin with a dimple.

"What are you doing here? My father is here today!"

"He won't be singing you to sleep tonight, and I have my rights as your husband!"

The girl's face was tight with fear. "Be quiet! You'll get us both killed!"

"Maybe I'll save us. You're already sixteen, and you've been my wife for a year. Come here and stop stringing me along!" The man caught the girl by a lock of hair and pulled her to him. Anna cried out quietly, but he had no intention of stopping. He knew she liked a little bit of rough play.

♦

A short time later, they continued the conversation where they had left off, only this time they were in bed, and the sheets were crumpled.

"How much longer will we keep hiding?"

"Lons, you know my father is in charge of my fate until I turn eighteen. After that, I'll be free. There won't be any dowry, but at least we can announce our wedding. Just wait a little longer."

"Two years is a little longer? You want me to hide in the corner for two more years? Two more years of catching your every glance like it's a favor. Two more years..."

A soft hand covered his mouth. "My father controls my life. With just a word from him, I'd be sent to a convent for knowing you like this. He could have our marriage annulled. The Holy Throne already looks askance at him. You don't want to have your head on the block for seducing the king's daughter, do you?"

That subdued him.

"And I don't want to lose you. You're my husband. I love you. Everything will be fine. Just have patience."

"I see you're a teacher as well as an aristocrat."

"People will say that you took advantage of my youth and inexperience. Would it be so hard for you to stay away from me when His Majesty and his entourage are here? We can be together again after he leaves. I promise!"

Lons sighed. "Anna, love of my life, I never could refuse you. I promise. I'll wait a tennight. But tonight, you're mine!"

There was a predatory light in his eyes as he pulled the girl to him. Anna moaned and ran her fingers through his dark hair. Now, she knew for certain that he wouldn't be leaving until morning.

And she didn't want him to.

♦

His Majesty, the King of Ativerna, Edward VIII, shuffled papers around on his desk. The life of a king was hard labor from dawn to dusk, dirty work for no gratitude or appreciation after he was gone. Nobody thinks about the king when things are going well, but any problems always end up in the king's lap. He is, after all, the favorite of the gods. His Majesty.

It could take a toll on a king's personality, and in the end, have the historians say, "King Edward was a tyrant and a despot." He wondered how the historians would fare if they had to do his job. Maybe they would behave like Radiant Ones, but he doubted it.

King Edward was no tyrant or a despot either. He was almost unnaturally lucky for a king; he was loved and had friends.

Radiant Ones are similar to angels in the local religion.

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