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“Who said that?!” Uncle Adelid calls out in outrage, after hearing the same thing I did.
The room grows instantly quiet, no one daring to come forth to out themselves or the culprit behind the slur. Their refusal to condemn the man who said such a thing only serves to show that I have yet to win their loyalty. Deep down, I know that half the room is silently rejoicing in my embarrassment, while the other half wishes they had been brave enough to say those words aloud themselves.
Not wanting to prolong this meeting a minute longer and suffer such humiliation, I stand up from my throne and pretend that the curse didn’t reach its target—my pride.
“You have given me much to ponder on, my lords. I shall retreat to my quarters and think long and hard on the matter. Rest assured that your queen will give you all a resolution before the week’s end and put a stop to these pesky trials and tribulations, once and for all. You have my word.”
I don’t wait for them to bow and pay their respects, preferring to leave the wretched hall before I do something that I’ll end up regretting. Images of cutting out the tongue of the villain who accused me of being an unfit ruler and force-feeding it to him swarm through my head as I speed through my castle’s halls. Even at this unladylike pace, my hurried steps never falter, needing to put some distance between me and all the lords who believe they can do the job of ruling my kingdom better than I can.
My handmaiden, Inessa, rushes silently behind me, trying her best to keep up with me as I dash outside, needing fresh air to clear my head. It’s only when I step foot into my winter garden, filled with my kingdom’s traditional blue roses, that I’m finally able to take a fortifying breath. Inessa stands guard, leaving me to roam the garden freely on my own, giving me the space and solitude I need to simmer my rotten temper.
I should have stayed.
I should have stayed in that hall and gave Monad carte blanche to find the culprit who had the audacity to insult me.
My father would have stayed.
Even if he had to torture every last man in that hall, he would have stayed behind and made an example of them all.
But what didIdo?
I ran before they made a murderer out of me.
Damn the gods!
Maybe the coward who said such a slur wasn’t that far off. A man wouldn’t have hesitated to splatter the hall’s walls with innocent blood just to expose him for the coward that he is.
But alas, I’m the one who seems to be lacking all the required skills I need to rule the kingdom my father left me. A fact that has been made evidently clear with the way my vassals have all suddenly turned against me.
King Levi to the east marching with his army of thousands, all pillaging my lands and making camp on my borders, is his not-so-subtle way of intimidating me. Everyone knows Levi sleeps in his armor—a true born soldier—and like Monad, it seems he’s foaming at the mouth for a fight, poking at me to see if I’ll give him one.
Then there is Teo.
The king of the south has shown his true colors by sending his pathetic excuse of an envoy to try and convince me that he has no clue as to why we haven’t received the last three food shipments, but that my debt to him must be paid in full before he’ll even consider sending me anything else. He’d rather see my people starve than forgive my debt.
And then there’s King Atlas. The rebellious king in the west. The last I heard, he had been sailing the world with his fleet. But now it seems the prodigal king has decided to return to rule, and his first action is to defy me by claiming that our contracts are now null and void.
These arrogant kings would have never dared to go against my father’s wishes if he were still alive. They’d bend the knee, with their tails tucked in between their asses, begging for mercy before they even thought of defying him.
It was always his way.
The people of Aikyam loved my father just as much as they feared him.
He ruled our lands with an iron fist and an open heart for over forty years and no one dared go against him in all that time. It’s only been six months since he fell ill and died, and already my reign is showing cracks.
All because I’m a woman.
And a woman has never reigned over the kingdom since its existence.
How will I ever be able to fill the role of being my father’s successor when my own kingdom is in cahoots to dethrone me?
I may be a young queen, but I’m no fool. That’s exactly what’s happening here.
As much as I dislike the man, Monad was right in his observation. Thisismutiny. The other kings coming at me, from all directions and all at once, is a way of testing my resolve. To see if I’m worthy of my crown. If they find that I’m not, they will do everything in their power to take it from me and make it theirs.
They’ll need to pry it out of my cold dead hands before I ever let them take my birthright.
It’s the sudden sound of crushing snow behind me that pulls me away from my hectic thoughts and urges me to spin around to see who my uninvited visitor is.
