Page 34 of Royal Resistance

“Do I want to know what you think?”

“It’s definitely not my kind of music,” I tell him. “But you were…” I search for the right word, the one that might best describe Magnus on stage. “Magnetic.”

“That almost sounds like a compliment.”

“Almost,” I say lightly. “You handled today very well. I wasn’t sure how it would go, but I’ve seen weddings where they didn’t have real feelings for each other, and it’s very uncomfortable. You—it wasn’t like that with you.”

“It’s not that I don’t have feelings for you…”

“We don’t know each other well enough to have feelings for each other,” I finish.

“Yeah,” he says in a heavy voice.

“We will get to know each other,” I tell him, surprised when it feels like I’m reassuring him.

That I’m telling my husband, the king, that there might be a day when I might feel comfortable enough to reach out and touch him while we’re lying in bed.

“I’d like that.”

“I would too.”

There’s a pause, and Magnus rolls onto his back again. He smells… surprisingly nice. Even in bed.

Maybe it’s the bed that smells like him. A mix of cedar and citrus, with a masculine hint of musk. It wraps around me like a hug.

It takes away a little more of the tension of being in Magnus’s bed.

“You were beautiful today,” he says into the darkness. “I mean, you’re beautiful every day, but today it was… The crown suits you,” he finishes.

It will be a while until I realize Magnus rambles when he’s nervous.

“Thank you,” I say.

I feel the brush of his finger against my arm. “Goodnight, Selene.”

“Goodnight, Magnus.”

13

Magnus

The next day is a blur of logistics. Apparently, there’s a lot to do when you make your wife the queen. There are congratulatory phone calls from world leaders, a private lunch with the mayor of Battle Harbour, and a meet-and-greet at the elementary school.

There is so much paperwork and no time for a honeymoon. I tell Selene we’ll take a trip soon, but I have a feeling it will be a work trip.

Luckily for all of us, and especially for Duncan, the Head House Manager, otherwise known as Mistress of the Castle, has all the steps we need to follow documented in a red leather-bound notebook that is kept in the safe room with the jewels. Mrs. McCutcheon has been with the family for as long as I remember, but she’s already told me this will be her last coronation.

She’ll be retiring in the new year, and Duncan has already sent out feelers to find someone to replace her.

How can you replace the unreplaceable?

I guess that’s my problem too.

There is a lot going on during the day, and I don’t have time for a private moment with Selene to check on how she’s handling things.

It’s obvious she’s handling everything that is put in front of her, and she’s doing it better than I am.

But we do manage to have dinner together that night. Just the two of us.