She grew uncomfortable under his teasing and although he may at chuckled at the way she squirmed, he kept the laughter at bay, his gold-flecked eyes kind as he considered her. “You are young enough,” he said with a roll of his scarred shoulders. “You have time for legacies, Nayl. Right now you are building your own with your blood and the strength of your back.” His voice dropped as he tilted his head to the side.
“Everything in due time. Anything else and you will regret it.”
He, of course, had no idea of knowing just what kept her from the heat of a man or the love of a child; he had no way of knowing why she barricaded herself behind self-imposed walls, the coldness of her eyes enough to ward off any man. He simply knew that to be rushed into something because you felt you had to, because you felt it was your time, was always a mistake. She did not need a child to prove her worth.
He did, however, laugh a little at her confession. “I do not believe you are the first Amazonian Queen to sit with a stolen crown upon your head and not likely to be the last.” They were a fierce tribe and not one that tolerated weakness. “If you were able to steal the crown then it now rests in worthy hands.” Not that he thought ill of whoever wore it before, but it was just the facts. The Amazons needed to be led by someone fierce, someone strong—and if Nayl proved herself that way in battle, then all was well.
At the dip of her head, he follows, his step sure as he walks the twisting path to the shore, the waves in the distance rumbling but then sliding gently up the dunes. “I have many stories, Nayl,” his eyes glinted behind the ink of his forelock, his smile roguish. “You’re going to have to be more specific than that.”
out of the blue out into the loneliest place that you'll ever know
I carried the world just as far as I could but the damage had taken its toll
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