I woke up with a bitter taste in my mouth.
Not poison. Not anymore. Something sharper than pain, softer than fear. The kind of taste that lives in memory long after the body has healed.
I didn’t open my eyes at first. I needed a moment to remember where I was and who I was supposed to be.
Queen. Wife. Problem.
My throat felt tight. My head ached like I’d been holding my breath for too long.
When I finally opened my eyes, Derek was standing by the window. Not sitting by my bed. Not touching me. Instead he was Watching the outside world like it had personally offended him.
“You’re awake,” he said, without turning.
“Yes,” I replied. My voice sounded thin to my own ears.
A healer had been here. I could smell it—herbs, clean cloth, old magic. The poison was gone, but whatever it had tri
