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"No, thank you." While yes, I would absolutely love to get a better look at the ocean, I'm absolutely certain I do not want to do it with him as an audience.
"I insist. You came all this way to see the kingdom, after all. May as well start with the reason you're interested in this alliance in the first place." His gray eyes never leave mine, and I feel as if he's challenging me once again.
I'm not going to retaliate.
Maybe just a little bit.
I let my dissatisfaction show through my tone when I say, "Well if I'm going to be here for longer than planned, I'm sure I'll find the time to explore later. For now, we have somewhere to be."
"Of course. After you." He gestures to the black mass of a carriage, an armed guard holding the door open all this time, completely still.
I lift the dress as I descend the stairs, worried I'm going to trip over my feet in these unfamiliar shoes if I can't see them. As I walk by the king, I try to keep my distance without it being clear that I don't want to be too close to him. As long as he doesn't touch me, I'll be fine.
The guard holding the door open extends a hand to help me into the carriage, and I murmur a quiet thank you, taking it to steady myself as I climb in. While the outside is black and daunting, the inside is the opposite, with drapes that match the surrounding scenery, made out of the same sheer material as the bedding and drapery in my room. There are two bench seats opposite each other, covered in soft cushions.
I choose a seat, peeking out the window at the ocean again as I feel the carriage rock slightly at the clamoring of another person entering it. Only now do I realize just how small it is in here. This is enough room for one person to fit comfortably, certainly not two.
I try to wipe the terror from my face at the proximity we are going to be in for the entire day. Especially with how tall he is.
As he settles in across from me, he must sense my unease. I can feel his overwhelming gaze on the side of my face as I focus on nothing in the distance so I don't have to meet his eye.
"Are you alright?" His voice carries concern, but when I look at him, his face shows only humor. "You seem uneasy."
"I don't like small spaces," I lie.
"A tour through the kingdom was your idea, was it not?" He drops the pretense that he's worried about me, choosing instead to taunt me again. "Did you plan to walk the whole way? I'm sure we could arrange that."
With a quick breath through my nose, I try to respond, "No, Your Majesty, I just-"
"Kairon."
Fuck. "Kairon," I repeat, unable to keep the frustration from my tone. At his pleased grin, I snap, "I simply did not consider that I might be stuck in this carriage with a man notorious for killing people just for looking at him wrong."
He laughs. "You're giving me too much credit. Sometimes, I kill people for even less."
Fear and anger war for dominance inside me. Everything wants to lash out, do something to lessen the bubble building in my chest, but he could drain me of life before I could even blink. So, instead, I adjust my seated position, folding my ankles together and placing my hands on my lap. My teeth grind together, fighting to keep any more anger from spilling out.
With no warning, the carriage begins rolling, and I focus on the rhythmic clopping of horses and the steady roll of the wheels to ground me.
"I thought we'd start with the stadium," he tells me a few minutes later. "We host tournaments, dole out justice, host galas, everything there. It's the heart of the city. They even set up a festival of sorts a few times a year. It's a sprawling market when it's not being used for anything else."
I reply, "When I made these arrangements with Shan, we planned to go see the orphanages, the homeless shelters, and healing centers."
His face goes nearly white, but his expression doesn't change, "Why would you want to see that?"
"Because we are deciding on terms of a treaty, not becoming best friends."
His taunting grin returns. "Oh, make no mistake. You and I are going to be great friends, Elva."
My cheeks flame, whether from fury or some other emotion, I can't say. Won't say, even to myself. "We're not friends."
"Not yet, no. But-"
Before he can make my blush any worse, I cut him off, "As I said, we are looking to see if we can come to an agreement, and Rhyma doesn't want to be associated with a country that doesn't take care of its people."
Now his teeth grind. "My people are well taken care of. As I said, I'd like to show you the heart of the city, see them frolicking and living well."
"I do not care how the best treated live here." I gesture around us with my hands, unable to sit still while talking about this. "I care how you treat those on the outskirts, those without resources of their own, those in need. You cannot judge a kingdom by how their richest live, only by how they take care of the poor and sick."
