The next few weeks passed by in a blur for Es. Between dealing with her grief about her father’s passing and coordinating a state funeral to rival anything Europe had ever seen, she’d had her hands full. Not to mention the pregnancy. She’d long outgrown her early maternity clothes and was now sporting full-on tent-like tops and dresses. Not exactly regal wear, but they were comfy and warm—and since they were heading into a long Prylean winter, that was all that mattered.

At least she had Z by her side through it all. He’d been her rock and her protector, and she was more and more grateful each day to have him as her husband. Even if it was only part of their deal and he’d be gone shortly after their son was born. She did her best to remind herself that their marriage wasn’t real, but it didn’t stop her heart from falling a bit more in love with him each day. She’d be devastated when he left, but she’d let him go because that’s what she’d promised him she would do. And Es always kept her promises.

Unfortunately, he was busier than ever, dealing with a rise in threats since the king’s death. Es would not have been surprised to find that most of the threats came from backers of her cousin. In addition to the Christmas Market bomb threat, there’d also been two attempts at scaling the palace gates, trying to get inside to harm her and her unborn baby. One had had a knife and the other a small handgun. Neither had made it past the driveway, but both attacks had left Es shaken.

Then there’d been the day she’d been in town, after her father’s funeral, shopping for things for the nursery. Looking back, she should’ve noticed the strange way the clerk in the shop kept tracking her every movement as if waiting for the right time to strike. At the time, however, she’d been too engrossed in her shopping to pay much attention and had thought herself well-hidden in the disguise she’d worn, thinking it would make her more incognito.

Her wig and baseball hat, however, hadn’t deterred the female clerk who’d come at her like a Mack truck in the store, yelling about Silvester reigning forever, and brandishing a wickedly sharp letter opener with which she’d tried to stab Es and her baby.

Luckily, her security guards had been prepared and had managed to pull the woman off and cart her away before any harm was done, but still. Es rarely ventured outside the palace walls anymore. Internet shopping had become her best friend, but it wasn’t the same as getting out and exploring. Most days, the confinement left her restless and bored and on-edge.

Of course, not spending any time with her husband lately didn’t help either. He was so busy trying to keep her safe and keep her cousin’s coup attempts under control that they rarely saw each other during the day. At night, he fell into bed exhausted and was asleep within minutes, barely taking the time to kiss her goodnight first.

Z had assured her that things would get better after their son was officially recognized as the new king, but so far she hadn’t seen any signs that things were getting better. Today, there’d even been an active shooter scare at one of the local schools, with the suspected gunman claiming to be trying to bring awareness to her cousin’s rightful claim to the throne by holding innocent children hostage. The world had gone insane and Es was scared to bring her son into it, frankly.

She looked over in bed, through the shadows, and stared at the muscled planes of Z’s back. Needing connection, she reached over and placed her hand against his warm skin. He stirred in his sleep and rolled over to face her, eyes still closed as he pulled her into his arms and sleepily kissed her forehead. Not exactly the passionate response she’d been hoping for, but it was enough to comfort her.

Es snuggled into him and closed her eyes, praying that Z was right and that once the parliamentary session next week acknowledged their son as the legitimate heir to the throne of Prylea, things would calm down. Still, a niggle of doubt lingered inside her, a worry that with her father gone, she might lose this new little family she’d built just as easily and it terrified her.