All Chapters of The Kingdom of Light: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

The days started passing quickly; before I even realized it, two weeks had gone by. My skin had taken on a more beautiful glow, turning a lovely light brown. My hair was almost completely bleached by the sun, and my figure had changed, too. For some strange reason, I’d gotten slimmer, my curves standing out more clearly, as if the food here automatically placed itself in all the right places. And I’d grown used to life here in the palace.My days went like this: I’d get up, then have breakfast. After breakfast, I usually took a walk in the gardens to move my body a little extra. Then I’d sit down and read—I’d read The Collected Works, all five volumes—and after that, I’d started embroidering. Then we had dinner. Where Sicca and I continued debating whether ice cream was better in the summer or in the winter—a discussion that had now lasted no less than four dinners. After that, I’d sit by the piano, where Nicolais would appear after a little while. Once I’d played and sung for him, he

Clynthia was calm, her breathing pleasantly quiet while I brushed her down. She could do the same thing music did—she could soothe me. Her brown eyes were attentive, but not in a way that made me think she was scared or startled. It felt more like she could sense what I was feeling.“Sorry,” I mumbled against her, “I’m not supposed to dump all my problems on you,” I told her as the brush moved through her fine mane. “You’re just so easy to talk to.”She was probably the most beautiful horse I had ever laid eyes on. Her white base made her look almost like something out of a fairytale—like she was my prince on a white horse—but the gray spots made her real, made her a living creature standing right in front of m

Chapter 18“Quite the cozy position I found you in with the king,” Lily beamed at me, practically buzzing after catching us wrapped up in each other on a library chair. “Does that mean you’ve made a decision?”“Let’s… focus on trying those dresses on,” I muttered, heat crawling up my cheeks.I regretted that sentence immediately. Of course I did. It sounded flustered, ridiculous, unconvincing even to me, and I could feel my heart hammering as though it had a voice of its own, screaming, Why didn’t you just stay quiet?Up in my room, four women had taken over the place, carrying every fabric color imaginable. Silk, chiffon, satin, velvet—each swath of cloth seemed to shine and shimmer under the sunlight streaming through my window, as though they were alive. Sketches were made, more sketches were made, somehow even more sketches were made—each one showing my figure crammed into a new dress design. I could feel my pulse in my throat, my stomach twisting in a mixture of excitement and pa

When we got back to the palace, I probably looked like a complete idiot with the biggest smile on my face.Our little outing had ended with Nicolais and me growing closer. Our physical bond had also started to develop now, which only made me an even happier woman.It made me more at ease, knowing I could feel safe with him—that even though he wanted to throw every inhibition aside, he still thought about me and what I wanted.Sicca was standing in the hall, looking strangely at us when we walked in hand in hand. I couldn’t help but giggle about it—giggle about our kiss back in the lake. Giggle about how my body had reacted to Nicolais’ touch. How he had smiled at me afterwards, almost triumphantly.“Did y

The birds’ songs woke me, as if even they were trying to sing me a birthday song. Twenty-three years old—nothing compared to Nicolais. Maybe this year would be my year? Maybe I would be happy, content, and able to live my life the way I wanted.I sat in my bed, wondering why Lily hadn’t shown up. Normally, she would have woken me by now, my bath would be running, and I would be sipping my rose tea. With a small groan, I got up from the bed and stretched my body, now a year older.Quickly, I wrapped the white silk robe around me and went downstairs. After all the activity yesterday, it was alarmingly quiet today. Down the stairs, through the hall, and just before the dining room, I finally heard some movement. So there were still people around.The doors opened, and quickly, almost like lightning, I