Free Web NovelChapter 54: Chapter 54
Nheera pushed through the doors of the king’s chambers, her footsteps clipped and purposeful. An air of agitation clung to her like thick smoke. It rolled off her in waves, making everyone she passed instinctively retreat from her path. Nheera was notorious for her temper. It was sharp and cold rather than loud and fiery and it made those around her constantly on edge. Her anger wasn’t the kind that exploded like an inferno. No, hers was the fury of a blizzard: quiet, blistering, and capable of freezing someone from the inside out.
She stepped over the threshold with her chin held high and her spine ramrod straight. Nheera had always carried herself with the composure and dignity of a queen, long before she was ever crowned one. As a child, she had idolized the former queen who was elegant, untouchable, and always in command. It wasn’t merely admiration. It had been a dream, an obsession. So much so that Nheera wanted to become exactly like her.
As children, when Nheera and her sister played their games of make-believe, Nheera would strip the sheets from her bed and drape them around her shoulders like a royal mantle, declaring herself queen. Her sister would dutifully curtsy, pressing a kiss to Nheera’s fingers before they both dissolved into hysterical giggles at their games and antics.
But it had always meant more to Nheera than just childish play. It had been the seed of ambition, the birth of her hunger for power, for control, for sovereignty. While her sister laughed and played, Nheera had been rehearsing for a future she intended to claim.
Now that future stood before her, sullied by disappointment.
Another woman was in the king’s chambers. She was thin and dark haired, standing at the foot of the bed as she fumbled with the laces of her bodice. She halted what she was doing when she caught sight of Nheera by the door. Her eyes widened in horror and she immediately dropped to her knees.
" Your majesty," The woman’s words sounded choked. Everyone knew of the king’s infidelity; he made no attempt to hide them. But it was one thing to warm the king’s bed and another entirely to be caught in the act by the queen herself.
Nheera stared at her with eyes like shards of ice, cold, sharp, and utterly devoid of sympathy.
"I’ve seen you before," she said quietly.
The woman swallowed, her gaze dropping to the floor. "Yes, Your Majesty. I—I work in the palace."
"No, you don’t. Not anymore." Nheera’s voice never rose, but it hardened with each word. "You have ten minutes to leave the palace grounds. If you’re seen here after that, I will have you tied to the whipping post and you will be publicly flogged."
The woman’s face went pale. Her lips parted as though to plead, but no sound came out. She turned toward the king, still sprawled lazily across the bed, his bare chest rising and falling with unbothered breaths. Desperation flashed across her face, as though willing him to say something, anything at all in her defense.
But the king didn’t interfere, choosing to remain silent.
Realizing she was truly alone, the woman scrambled to her feet, clutching her unfastened bodice to her chest. She darted past Nheera without another word, disappearing through the door as quickly as her trembling legs could carry her.
"You’re not supposed to be here," the king finally said, once they were alone. His tone was bored, casual, as if they were discussing the weather. He sat up slowly, the sheets pooling around his waist, exposing the rest of his torso.
Nheera’s gaze swept across the room. The scent of sweat and perfume lingered in the air. She took another step forward, her expression unreadable.
"That’s a shame," she said flatly. Her husband’s affairs, as frequent and public as they were, no longer hurt her. If anything, they irritated her. They were a nuisance, one more problem in a palace filled with problems, most of which traced back to the king and his inability to control his baser urges.
"I heard you granted Ragnar permission to leave with his wife," Nheera said, displeasure lacing through each word. "You didn’t even have the decency to inform me. I had to find out from someone else."
Zeriel didn’t even blink. "I don’t answer to you, Nheera. You tend to forget which of us is the king."
She whirled around to face him, her eyes narrowing. The emerald ring on her finger shimmered in the light. But its power was useless against him. It only worked on those oblivious to its influence, subtly bending thoughts to match the wearer’s will, all without the victim ever suspecting a thing.
"Oh, I never forget. How could I? You remind me every chance you get." Her voice was sharp, her words honed like a blade. "But for once, try not to undermine me at every turn. It’s difficult to respect a man who goes behind my back solely out of spite." ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
That was all it ever was. Spite. Zeriel didn’t care whether Ragnar stayed or left. The decision held no weight to him. But he knew it would upset her, and that was enough.
She hated the fact that he had the power to revoke all her edicts with just a snap of his finger and he did it often to spite her. freewebnoveℓ.com
She gritted her teeth at the thought. There was so much more she wished to say at that very moment, thoughts a lady of her station shouldn’t even entertain. She hated him, hated that she willingly allowed herself to be tied to him in marriage.
The marriages between aristocrats were usually more of business transactions than unions forged from love and devotion. Nheera had known what her marriage to the king was from the very start. It had been a means to an end. An agreement struck in the dark between a man who envied his cousin’s title and a very ambitious woman who still clung onto her childish fantasies of becoming queen.
There was no love between them. There was hardly respect. And some days, she wondered if there was even civility left.
The king shrugged on a robe as he stood from the bed and walked towards the writing desk at the other side of the room. He didn’t bother sparing her a glance.
" Close the door when you leave." Was all he said, his way of dismissing her.
