4

Scarlett’s POV

“Are you ready?” He asked, his eyes peering into mine solidly as we stood a bit away from the kingdom. 

“I am.” 

He healed really fast within the next three days and this morning, I led him out of the woods as I was the one who had mastered it well. It was a bit hard to maneuver, but we found it. 

We barely even spoke to each other but his eyes strayed over to me more often than not, and the heat that came with his stares almost made me sweat all through. 

He proceeded towards the gates with me right by his side. It was then that the realization of the situation dawned on me. 

We were about to walk into his kingdom, pretending like we were a couple, and it also marked the beginning of my own revenge plan. 

Let’s get the game started. 

The moment we stepped foot into the kingdom, scouts found us immediately. And with what I went through in the forest alone, a turbulent wave of discomfort settled in my stomach. Seeing the guards alone was enough to awaken the part of me that I thought wasn’t scared anymore. 

And like an anchor in the middle of chaos, Jordan’s hand found mine. 

I reminded myself that he was only doing it for show, but I couldn’t say the same for my body. My body relaxed almost immediately. 

“Your Majesty…” One of them finally said, every bit of colour on his face dried up completely, “You’re not dead?” 

“Inform my brother that I’m alive.” And if I thought his voice was authoritative back in the forest, then it was ten times higher. “Tell him the king has returned.” 

The men all dropped to their knees, shaking uncontrollably. Whether it was out of fear or just a way of greeting the king, I had no idea. 

“And I’m back with my Queen. Organize a council meeting immediately, I have a lot of scores to settle.” 

The scouts nodded and immediately dispersed in different directions. 

“Just stand tall beside me. You don’t have to say anything for now.” Jordan said the moment we were left alone. 

I nodded, doing just as he said. Good thing I didn’t need to pretend to fit in, I was once Luna and had always known how to maintain composure. 

He led me to one of the most beautiful castles I’ve ever seen. I tried as much as possible to hide my shock as the further we walked, the more people we ran into and they all stared at both me and Jordan like they just saw a ghost.

While some were shocked, others ran off, shouting words of the King being back and alive. 

“This is my chamber,” Jordan said, stopping at a door that I almost didn’t notice was one with the wall, how melded it was into the wall. It had a passcode that I looked away from when he was putting it in. 

When we got into the chambers, I didn’t even bother to hide the shock that spasmed through me. 

“Freshen up, we have a meeting to catch up with.” He said as he showed me to a room. He made his way towards another door and I immediately did as he had said, immediately understanding that work had started already. 

We got ready and in no time, we were on our way. I put on the only fitting dress I could find in the closet of the room he showed me to. And the moment we got out of his chambers, his hand gripped mine again. 

His gaze remained unguarded, leaving out no emotion and I copied that too. 

The council room was different from what I expected. It looked more like a throne room and Jordan stepped into it like a man who had owned it for centuries and wasn’t ready to let it go yet. 

People whom I presumed to be the council members were there already. They watched us with each step that we took towards the throne. Jordan helped me into the one beside the tall one that I assumed was his.

I smiled gracefully at him, “Thank you.” 

He nodded curtly but his expression softened a bit. I told myself that was for show too. 

It’s not real. 

And just as he sat on his throne, the door got yanked open, and a man who looked like a very old version of him ran inside with his eyes wide in shock. 

He pinched himself hard then shook his head. “That’s not… a ghost is on the throne!” He yelled. 

A sound that was a chuckle but didn’t seem to be elicited from Jordan. It sent shivers down my spine and I just wondered what it’d feel like to everyone else in the room as he was already glaring hard at them all. 

“Perhaps your assassins were incompetent.” He said. 

The man — Jordan’s brother — had knees that went weak and he collapsed onto the floor. 

“You were lying dead… the poison.” He trailed off, “There’s no way you could have survived that.”

Jordan didn’t respond to him, he just signaled to the two warriors beside him. “Seize him. To the dungeons now. This man is nowhere near my brother, nor does he deserve to be in this room.” 

The warriors got into action and grabbed the man. 

“You can’t do this, Jordan! You don’t even have proof that I sent assassins to you. And you ate that poison by yourself, what are—” his yells died off as the warriors didn’t stop dragging him. 

The room fell into silence after that, till one of the women in the court gasped while pointing at me. Or rather, at my stomach. 

“Your Majesty, is the Queen…” she trailed off, staring more intently at my stomach. And for the first time, the stare didn’t make me want to hide my body. Instead, her stare felt like… power? 

“My mate. She carries my child, my heir.” He declared, “Spread the word far and wide — our coronation ceremony will take place in a week.” 

“And henceforth, anyone who touches her touches me too. She’s mine to protect, and the Queen y’all have been clamoring for. So you better treat her with respect and care.” 

And for fuck’s sake, I knew he only said all that because it was needed. It was part of the arrangement. 

But why did my heart do that stupid flip as he meant them?