The walls were draped in luxurious evergreen tapestries, woven with threads of champagne and silver, depicting the new Valderre crest. A series of tall pillars lined the sides of the room, holding Avery’s chosen florals, while torches bathed the shadow-draped parts of the room in their flickering light.
The atmosphere crackled with excitement as Avery, Veli and Zaela appeared, walking along the sides of the room, to their place on the opposite side of the dais from where us men stood.
“Are you ready to see your queen, brother?” Gage whispered from behind me.
I couldn’t help my smile. “Always.”
Music sounded from the small orchestras set off in the throne room’s corner, and as if on cue, the great doors swung open. The opened, arched entrance revealed the most beautiful sight I had ever witnessed—my Lia standing before us all, Nyra at her side as a guardian. The crowd collectively held its breath as we watched her take the first steps toward her throne.
She moved at an elegant pace, at such odds with her usual swaggering facade, while her gown flowed behind her like a river of ivory silk.
The fabric of her gown cascaded around her in layers of pearl, and when it caught the light with each step, it showed a hidden luster of green—a testament to her house and kingdom. My warrior queen had never been accustomed to dresses and was sure to have that reflected in her coronation gown, as its shoulders bore silver embellishments that resembled both wyvern scales and armor atop her shoulders.
Her long, dark hair was unbound in curls as beautifully wild as she was, while those stunning green eyes were locked on me, threatening to bring me to my knees before the masses.
As Lia advanced with Nyra at her side, the crowd gazed at her, eyes wide with admiration. Lords bowed as she passed, their wives curtsying beside them. The air buzzed with murmured praises and gasps as they took in the sight of her.
Nearing the dais, her eyes remained on me, and mine on hers, and then the corner of her lips tilted in a menacing lilt. Her steps halted as she stood directly before us all, the wolf taking her place at her sister’s feet. Avery quickly wiped tears as they slid down her cheeks, and Zae’s lower lip trembled at the sight of the soon-to-be crowned queen. Then Veli stepped forward.
The sorceress was not in her usual attire of onyx, flowing robes, but now instead was adorned in an ethereal gown of violet that would have once matched her eyes. Her scarlet gaze looked over my mate and then drifted over her shoulder to the crowd at her back.
“You may all be seated,” she announced, and the sound of groaning chairs echoed through the room as the orchestra softened their music.
She exchanged a glance with Lia, and then my wife gave her a subtle nod to continue.
“Elianna Valderre has lived a life of secret, riddled with hidden torment, torture, and betrayal. Her throne and crown stolen from her the moment her soul entered the realm. Both of her parents, our late king, and his love, murdered in cold blood, all because of a tyrant. She bore the last name Solus, disguised as an orphan of the realm, all while living a lie within the castle walls.”
My heart cracked at the witch’s words as she retold Lia’s story to all in the room.
“It’s old news,” she whispered in my mind.
“That will never make it any more bearable to hear, my Lia,” I answered, and she sent a loving caress through our tethered souls.
Veli continued her speech. “She fought her usurper's war blindly and found the means to end it, uniting enemy races that had been at odds for over a century. Elianna now fights for that of her people, and all creatures of the realm, who call Velyra their home. Her skin bears her earned scars and will for the remainder of her life. Let the markings upon your queen’s skin be a reminder to you all of everything she has done for the realm, and what she has sacrificed to get you here.”
The queen’s aide lifted her taloned hands from her sides, hovering them palm open before her. Then, a crown manifested within her grasp, but not just any crown. The one she wore on our wedding day—and all she wore that night.
“Do you, Elianna Valderre, swear to justly govern and defend the Kingdom of Velyra as its rightful queen, protecting the sacredness of all the gods’ creatures who call it home?”
Lia’s lips curved subtly, as if in mockery of what her aide had asked—for everything that she had asked of her, the realm’s rightful queen had always done just that.
Veli lifted a brow in her direction, and a breathy chuckle slipped from my mate, earning a grin from me as I remained at the side of the dais.
“From now until my dying breath,” Lia answered.
“Then bow,” she demanded, and our queen carefully lowered her head.
Veli took the silver tiara of twisted, leafy vines and placed it atop my mate’s hair. The emerald sparkled in its center, mimicking Lia’s eyes.
“Then I now pronounce you, Elianna Valderre, first of her name, Heir of the Mother Goddess and Realm, as Queen of Velyra.”
With a dignified poise, Lia turned to the masses, bearing the weight of the realm’s crown, representing the blend of both tradition and the promise of a new era.
The thunderous cheers of the crowd filled the grand throne room, their echoes bouncing off the walls. “Long live Queen Elianna Valderre!” they chanted in unison, bringing tears to all of our eyes.
I watched Lia as she clasped her hands in front of her, her stare remaining on the masses as they celebrated her ascension. After a few moments of allowing it to continue, she wordlessly raised one of her hands, halting their cheers, and placing the throne room into near silence.
“I am honored to be here before you all today, and even more so that you are proud to call me your queen, but there is one other to be crowned before you today,” she started, and my heart nearly stopped in my chest.
