AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She surprised me with her take on our relationship, one I haven’t considered because I’m oath and duty bound, so when she passes me and moves toward the party, my boots don’t move after her.
Guards pull out her chair at the head of a long table, and people fall silent as she takes a seat. But she doesn’t sit down. Pretty green eyes lock with mine from across the space as she reaches up into her hair and starts plucking out the pins that hold the crown in place.
Murmurs rise as well as discomfort. The guards exchange glances.
The service stops, and the musicians pause. It feels as if the world pauses, that time stands still before the Spring queen lifts the crown off her head and lays it on the table.
Gasps interrupt the silence, and Claudette starts moving toward her sister, but the queen lifts her hand and flicks two fingers in the universal sign of a royal dismissal. She appears…poised, powerful, and as if she’s ruled over the court for centuries. And yet the crown isn’t on her head. This worries me. I tap my foot.
Chloe folds her hands in front of her and smiles with a small smile, “The crown is heavy.”
Some people snicker at her attempt to break the tension with humor.
“Too heavy to bear on my own.”
No. No, no.
“You all want me to mate with one male or another, and I am happy to announce, I have found my mate.”
“Liar,” I say into the empty garden. “You cannot marry him.” I look around, seeking Kostya so I can shove a spoon down his throat. Fuck it. I’m done for.
“But my mate is serving his term in the military and is leaving for his post this evening.”
She’s talking about me. I’m the mate. Fuck. Where is she going with this?
“When will he return?” someone asks.
“Whenever he is ready. Until then”—she taps the crown—“the crown rests.”
People rise in protest at her decision, and I struggle to stop myself from marching over there and gluing the crown to her hair. The queen has relinquished her power to the council until she takes it back. Her decision seems final. With her shoulders pulled back, her chin tipped up, she stares down her nose at me in defiance.
As we lock into a staring contest across the space, her green eyes narrow and a rather evil smirk appears on her innocent face.
If I didn’t know better, I’d say the queen is playing a dangerous game. One where she gives up all the power I arranged for her when I brought her back here. She is taking a risk that I will want to put the power back in her hands. Or, as is the case with the queen, place the crown back on her pretty head.
Not just her hands, but mine as well. It is a bold move, one only a royal would dare confront me with. It is a choice. A choice between her and the Summer king.
In addition, I acknowledge her sacrifice. She’s suffered as much as I have by denying ourselves the pleasures of our bodies this entire season. I would never ask her to also be chaste, and yet she decided she will do it anyway. Pain tests one’s character, and her endurance tells me the Spring queen, though young, will make a strong ruler.
And so, from a distance, I bow and return to the Summer Court.
33
CHLOE
“Have you gone mad?” My sister slams the chamber door.
“Claudette, please, it’s been a long night.”
“Most certainly! I spent the night counting grains of sand until we could return here and were alone so I could ask if you’re crazy.” She stomps her foot. My poor sister might go crazy herself.
I divert her attention by pressing my palm to my cheek. “The heat is getting rougher and rougher to bear.”
“Serves you right.”
When she doesn’t call the healer, who could eliminate at least some discomfort, I ask, “Can you bring me a cold towel?”
“It’s near dawn. All the staff have retired for the night.”
