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“Long live King Garren Gray,” the archbishop announces at last.
“Long live the king. Long live the king. Long live the king,” we echo as one, and once again, I hope no one notices how I missed the first couple of beats.
I push down a heavy sigh when Garren sits on his throne, and we have to kneel. Everyone is so eager to do it, even deeply lowering their heads in respect. I bow mine just enough not to be reprimanded for it later.
Lucky bastards, my wolf comments, referring to Gavin and Leia who are king and queen in their own right and, therefore aren’t expected to kneel in front of anyone.
Garren really takes his time before standing, which is also our signal to sit up again. He walks to the microphone to make his first speech as the king. Not knowing where my brother’s head is these days, I brace myself for whatever.
“My fellow brothers and sisters,” Garren says into the microphone, his voice needlessly amplified. We are wolves after all. I guess it’s for the camera’s benefit. “As your new king, chosen both by our gods and the legitimate blood that’s running through my veins, I accept the role to lead our kingdom into prosperity. With my guidance and your help, we will thrive and grow.”
What a bunch of generic bullshit, I complain to my wolf, wishing for this to be over with so I can get out of here and away from my family.
They don’t know what we did, he tries to soothe me, but it doesn’t work. The guilt’s been eating me up. Wolves died in that attack. Their blood is on my hands.
“In the spirit of all that,” Garren continues, “My first order of business as your king will be to address the threat that’s been looming over us for far too long.”
My eyes widen in disbelief. He is using his first speech as a king to talk about the witches. This is even more serious than I thought.
“Yes, people, I am talking about the witches,” Garren confirms after several people gasp.
I don’t dare to glance around as the crowd begins to murmur. I’m too afraid I’ll look guilty if I show too much of a reaction.
Keep your cool, my wolf says gently.
I take his advice, letting his strength fuel me. I nonchalantly straighten my bow tie, then brush a non-existent speck of dust from my shoulder. While I don’t have any medals to display, I’m still wearing a pretty neat outfit that’s appropriate for a prince. Mainly black material with red edges to frame the suit.
“With the help of my brother, King Gavin, and his lovely wife, Queen Leia, we have managed to combine the forces of two kingdoms. Therefore, we were able to strike the witches twice as hard,” Garren announces with a triumphant smile that I can’t see as anything else but arrogance.
She’s okay, my wolf reminds me. Helia’s safe and sound.
I swallow hard, my throat bobbing. If I had paid more attention to the kingdom’s matters, I wouldn’t have been caught off guard by my brother’s cry to rally.
We have to make sure it stays that way, I tell him, unable to stand the thought of Helia getting hurt.
“Right now, the witches have a new young leader who’s both ambitious and ruthless,” Garren says.
I clench my hands into fists at the direct mention of Hekate. I can only hope that he won’t drag Helia into this. Mentioning her by name would paint a target on her back.
My brother continues with his speech. “It’s the worst kind of combination, and let me tell you one thing, that witch really doesn’t like us. She’s uniting covens and inviting other witches to come to New York where the first stage of extermination will take place.”
This is even worse than I’ve thought, I say to my wolf.
What? Did you think it was all just a fairytale? He scoffs. The witches are dangerous and shouldn’t be underestimated.
But Helia isn’t like them, I insist.
Perhaps, my wolf allows. But maybe that’s not enough. You both grew up with hatred in your heart toward the other. Can that hateful flame be suppressed to the point of extinguishing?
I don’t know, I admit. But we should at least try.
“We have to start laying down plans and take the battle to them,” Garren continues, his voice growing as he gets angrier and more passionate. “I’m afraid that I have to begin my reign with a declaration of war. As of this moment, the wolves are at war with the witches!”
The first claps come from my right. I shouldn’t be surprised to see Gavin being the first one to give Garren a standing ovation. He is the one who fought on the front lines, earning himself more medals than any other wolf in our kingdom’s history.
The Pack of Shadows also killed Hekate and Helia’s parents, my wolf reminds me.
And he was the one leading it, I finish, remembering Helia’s story.
