The Calm Before the Storm by Danielle L. Jensen

Author:Danielle L. Jensen [Jensen, Danielle L]
Language: eng
Format: epub

4

LARA

Lara slept the balance of the day and into the evening, exhausted by unfamiliar exertions, only to wake after the sun had set. Rising from the bed, she bit back a groan, every part of her painfully stiff. She discarded her nightdress on the floor, and knife in one hand, the cane in the other, she made her way across the room and climbed slowly into the bath, the water washing away the stickiness of sweat coating her body.

Aren had wanted to remain with her, but Nana’s words still sat heavily in her mind, so she’d told him to go see to matters requiring his attention. He’d protested, but eventually left, patting the pocket holding her undergarments with a smirk as he’d left the room, making her laugh.

She missed laughter between them. The endless jokes and battles of wit they’d engaged in before the invasion, in the months they’d lived and loved in Eranahl with light hearts. They’d never be able to go back to that time, but laughter made her heart swell with hope that they’d find a new version of happiness.

Climbing out of the bath, she toweled herself dry and donned a silk wrap. The storm had ended in the way they always did in Ithicana, raging in one breath and then eerily calm the next, and she opened one set of balcony doors to allow fresh air into the room. The sky was clear, the moon and stars already bright overhead, and Lara pulled a chair between the open doors and settled herself down in it. Every inhale tasted of moisture and smelled of jungle, the drip drip drip of water falling from the eaves like music.

Why do you want to stay?

Aren’s question circled her thoughts, though she’d yet to come up with an answer. Part of it was that she didn’t want to tear Aren from his home, didn’t want Ithicana to lose its king and be cast into the uncertainty of a succession war. Another part was that she had a hard time imagining either of them living a simple life as common people, the visions of what it would be like living on a farm or working as a merchant refusing to form in her head. She loved Ithicana, and it felt like home in a way that no other place ever had, yet even that was not the reason that demanded she and Aren remain.

You aren’t wanted here.

Lara shivered, remembering all that Ahnna had said. She had no expectations of forgiveness, but…she desperately wanted to prove to the people that she was worthy of living here. Worthy of being their queen, because the life she saw when she closed her eyes was of rebuilding Ithicana, defending it, and making it strong. That was what she wanted, but she didn’t think it would be possible unless she proved every single day that she was more than her prior actions.

Acceptance.

The word resonated with truth, and Lara bit at her bottom lip because she had no idea how she might achieve it.

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