Sebastian POV
I stood in the center of the fighting ring, waiting. My boots were planted in the dirt and my arms crossed over my chest. My gaze was fixed on the far end of the field where she’d be walking in any second now. Every nerve in my body was taut, ready—not just for the fight, but for the storm she always managed to bring with her.
Around me, a few of the younger trainees had abandoned their drills, blades, and practice weapons, which were hanging and forgotten at their sides. They watched from the edge of the ring with barely restrained curiosity. Of course, they would. No one ever got to see the king spar. And certainly not with his queen.
Queen.
I could tell she was uncomfortable with the weight of that title. Sometimes I felt as if it didn’t sit right, as if she was too pu
