Vicious King

“I suppose I can go find a knight in shining armor who obeys his queen’s wishes over his own, if you prefer,” I chide.

Mads tickles my sides and I cry out in surprise. “They’ll have to get through me first! No man will be taking my lady! Not today, never.”

I laugh and push him back down to the ground to straddle him. Dipping down for a kiss, my hair cascades around him to frame his face and I follow the soft stubble and age lines that have changed over the years—shaping my handsome, but self-proclaimed vicious, knight.

“My mad, vicious knight in shining armor of a king. You are my heart forever and always. Love of my life,” I whisper and kiss him deeply. Our date can wait a little longer…

Epilogue—Mads

I adjust my tie one last time and check myself in the mirror. The lodge was overly thrilled to host a royal anniversary and it was a chore in itself to hire enough security to keep the whole of Denmark off the premises—tabloids especially. Smiling, I wipe negative thoughts of the media and outside world from my mind and breathe in the present. Today, I celebrate my best friend of the last three decades. I stop to count and chuckle that it’s true. Three decades of love, laughter, and joy with that woman. I nearly messed it all up with my incarceration, but we are now back on track and I do not plan to ever let her slip through my fingers again.

Rejoining my family around the dining hall table, I catch Mykaella’s questioning sky blues and give her a nod and a wink.

“Ancestors shine down their love upon us as we celebrate our family as one cohesive unit once more,” Granny says to the room. It’s silent, save for Rome and Pixie’s little ones scraping their spoons across dessert bowls in hopes for one more taste of fresh cream. My grandchildren have grown so much in my absence that it’s crazy to think I nearly missed all of their firsts. Granny fans her arms out to encompass us all and smiles at each one in turn before picking up a pot of tea from her end of the table and offering each one of us a mug.

“We drink in honor of our ancestors before us and to honor our paths we walk yesterday, today, and tomorrow.”

We all tilt our mugs up and sip in unison. Placing them back on the table we all whisper—”with honor and duty.”

“I love each and every one of you,” Granny said, then narrowed her eyes at Larz and Petra. “Another baby boy for the Madsen line. Hmm. And Caleb and Fara are still not promised yet.” She scratches her chin in thought.

Fara growns from across the table, blowing some of her dark hair back over her shoulders. “Haven’t you done enough, Granny,” she pleads.

“Yeah, it’s like you fancy yourself cupid of the north or something,” chimes in Svea.

“Oh, pish posh,” Granny says. She points to the heavens. “The gods have had their will is all. Now,” Granny continues, clapping her hands together, “who fancies a few goes of cards and dice?”

The children, my grown ones included, clap excitedly. I don’t blame them. I’ve played cards with my mother-in-law many times and while fun, I also never expect to win against her. The woman has more luck than a child’s wishing coin at the bottom of a well. Betting money was always out of the question.

I take Mykaella’s hand in mine and turn it over to brush a kiss across her knuckles. “I came from the wrong side of the tracks and you picked me up, brushed me off, and gave me a real chance at a good life. How did I get so lucky?”

“I don’t know, but we’re going to need all that luck we can get.”

“How so,” I ask.

Mykaella grins wickedly, her eyes catching the candlelight, and her rosy cheeks give me pause. Her radiant beauty is brighter than ever.

“Well, Mr. Mad King, our family is about to get bigger,” she says, patting her flat stomach. It was there in front of me. The glow and rosy cheeks.

“Really,” I nearly shout and all eyes and ears are on us.

“Really,” she says.

I turn to the rest of the family, Granny has that all-knowing smug grin about her, and my oldest children share a look of confusion.

“We’re going to have a baby!” I shout.

I take Mykaella’s face in my hands and plant kisses across her cheeks, nose, and lips.

“You always know how to make me the damned luckiest man alive, you know that, my heart?”

I tilt my tattooed arm and look for any blank space to work with.

“What are you looking for, Mads?” asked Mykaella.

“I need a new piece for the baby. Oh, and looks like you will need a new diamond ring.”