down by changing my mind.”
Sanyu sipped the dregs of his tea and looked into the cup—no leaves to tell him how to proceed.
“I can understand wanting to please your parents,” he said. “But you should have been a bit more discerning. You chose the wrong kingdom for making change.”
She made a sound of annoyance and his head jerked up to meet her gaze. Now she looked like a Pikachu ready to shoot lightning bolts.
“Don’t you want to help your people?” she asked. “Why do you want to be king?”
“I don’t,” he said, rolling his shoulders to loosen the tension. “I was born into the job.”
That wasn’t quite true . . . beneath the layers of not-fear and expectation and frustration was buried the part of him that sometimes thought he could be a good king.
“These are your people, and no one has let them become mine.” Shanti’s fists were balled in her lap. “Njaza could be a mighty kingdom, Husband. If you don’t want to help make it that, the least you can do is not let the council further weaken it.”
By the council, she meant Musoke, and he heard Musoke’s words from years back echo in his head now. “A wife uses your desire to win hers.”
“Don’t mistake my command that you help me for weakness.” He glowered at her. “And don’t try to turn me against my advisors.”
Shanti leaned forward, breasts swelling over the neckline of her camisole, eyes wide and lips luscious. His wife could enchant him, if he let her. Was she seeking to lead him by his . . . nose?
“Sanyu. We need to be very clear about what will happen between us here.” She pushed her hair back over her shoulder, exposing the soft skin of her neck, the dip of her clavicle.
Sanyu’s hands clenched. This was where she would try to trap him, bend him to her wishes. This was why wives were for comfort and not counsel.
She ran her tongue over her lips, then spoke. “You’re going to tell me what you want to do to make your kingdom great and I’ll help you figure out how to do it.”
He stared at her, so shocked that his words tumbled out without him thinking. “I thought you were just going to tell me what you wanted me to do.”
That was what his life had been for so long—people telling him how to act, what to wear, what to think. He’d resented the thought of his wife leading him, but he realized that part of him had wanted her to.
She snorted, a surprisingly indelicate sound. “Oh, I could. I have definite ideas about what this kingdom needs. I’ve run projections that show the probable futures of Njaza, compiled dossiers on organizations that can help and countries that might be allies, summarized reports on better farming practices and environmental conservation, and I really love imagining Njaza with a thriving tourism industry. I take my job as queen very seriously, even if I’m the only one who does. But I’m not going to just hand over my brilliant ideas. This is a group project and you’ll have to put in some work, too, O great and mighty King.”
Sanyu’s whole body went tight with a sudden, sharp hunger sparked by the way there wasn’t one millimeter of give in her voice—he was used to people speaking to him sternly, but this was something else. It wasn’t an attempt at control; it was respect enough to push him to make his own decision. By Omakuumi, he wanted to step over the coffee table that stood between them in one stride.
“We could make an exchange,” he said, his words clipped. “I can give you something in return for your help.”
“What do you think I would ask for?” Amusement danced in her eyes, keeping step with challenge. “Your affection? Your love? I don’t barter for things I find unnecessary, Husband.”
She looked absolutely serious—maybe she was bluffing. After all, wasn’t that what wives wanted? Love, that one thing Sanyu didn’t know how to give and couldn’t let himself even if he did? Her gaze didn’t move from his, and the heat in her eyes told him that even if she didn’t seek love, she might not be opposed to his beard between her thighs.
“Every relationship is a barter,” he said. That was one thing he was sure of, no matter what Lumu said. He’d worked hard to be the right kind of strong and the right kind of smart so that