Chapter Twelve: Vows and Vultures
They came in waves.
Lords with forked tongues. Ladies dressed in veils of praise. Councilmen carrying ledgers instead of swords.
Now that Kael had fallen, they wanted something else to circle—me.
"My lady," said Chancellor Veres during a meeting of the High Council, "you have many admirers."
"Let them admire me from a distance."
A few chuckled, but Veres did not.
"They speak of alliances. Of securing the realm's future through marriage."
"Funny," I said coolly, "none of them spoke so urgently when Kael was their chosen heir."
He blinked. "That was different."
"Yes," I agreed. "He had blood on his hands. I only have a spine."
Outside the chamber, Caden was waiting, leaning against the marble column.
"Council giving you trouble?"
"They're trying to wrap ribbons around a sword and call it safe."
He grinned. "You are a bit sharp."
"That's why I'm still standing."
I hesitated, then asked the question I hadn't dared voice aloud.
"If I... If I did marry—"
He tensed.
"—would it be surrender?"
His jaw flexed. "Depends on who you marry."
I met his gaze.
The air between us tightened.
Before I could speak again, Marella rounded the corridor.
"Your Highness," she whispered, breathless. "You're needed. Urgently."
The throne room was quiet when I arrived.
Too quiet.
And then I saw him.
The King.
My father.
Gone cold in his sleep.
I didn't cry.
Not yet.
There was no time.
The council gathered within the hour.
The bells rang over the city.
"By blood and by decree," said Chancellor Veres, "you are the rightful heir to the throne."
I stood in the circle of firelight, circlet still on my head.
"And do you accept?" he asked.
My voice did not shake.
"I do."
Later that night, after the court had dispersed and the city mourned, I found Caden waiting in the shadows of the chapel.
"I'm sorry," he said.
"So am I."
He stepped closer.
"You don't have to carry it alone."
I turned toward him.
"But I will."
And then, softer: "Will you stay?"
His answer was a breath against my hair.
"Always."
The world had changed.
The crown was mine.
But war was coming.
And my enemies had only just begun to rise.
To be Continued...