The palace gates had long since disappeared behind him, swallowed by distance and the slow rise of the outer roads, but Ragnar did not slow his pace. His horse cut steadily through the winding path that led away from the heart of the capital. The further he rode, the more his interaction with the queen played in his mind.
The tension he had left behind within those walls did not fade with distance. It lingered, following him even now.
He should not have come. Whatever he had hoped to gain on his visit had been denied to him before he could even set foot inside the king's chambers. And yet, something about the encounter sat wrong with him.
Nheera felt nothing but contempt for him and she was never shied away from showing him how much she despised his existence but earlier she had shown a level of rage he wasn't used to seeing from her. He wondered what could have provoked such an intense reaction from her.
His grip on the reins tightened slightly.
