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Then it hits me. The king wants the kingdom to know I’m not fit to be queen. What sort of monster queen can’t defend herself?
Monsters are chanting for a fight now, some even braying, and Orlena turns and holds Orcus’ gaze. An entire conversation happens with that simple glance. Orlena is the only monster in this room that wants to fight and who Orcus trusts. She makes more sense than any of the other sisters as she’s been trained to fight, and despite the fact that she might hold back, she won’t throw the fight for fear of hurting me.
This fight is going to hurt.
“No,” Orcus whispers for only our table to hear. “She can’t fight.”
“It’s our way, Brother. Your intervention would make her weak, and we’d have more to worry about than people demanding a fight. They’d never accept her as your queen.”
“I won’t let you hurt her.”
“I’ll be careful,” Orlena hisses.
“No,” Orcus says again.
“They’re watching everything you do right now,” Orshana whispers. “The kingdom expects you to be like your father.”
“Only because they’ve never known anything different,” Orlena mutters. “It’s up to you, Brother. I’ll spar with her and make sure there’s no permanent damage.”
Even the thought of being flicked by an ogre sends a pang of agony through my system. The fight, if you could even call it that, wouldn’t last long. Orlena will wipe the floor with me in a matter of seconds.
“I’ll even go to third blood.”
Shit. Okay. Third blood sounds like it’ll take more than a matter of seconds.
“Fight, fight, fight, fight,” the crowd has joined together now, demanding what the king promised.
“It’s not happening,” Orcus whispers to his sister.
“She’ll be seen as weak.” Orshana isn’t trying to convince him. She’s only warning him of the consequences. “They’ll use her against you.”
“They can fucking well try,” Orcus growls.
My heart jumps into my throat as he shoves away from the table so hard the chair tips over. The room falls quiet, leaving only the screeching of his chair across the stone floor.
He pauses, scowling at each and every one of them with murderous intent. The bond is equally as pissed. A few brave monsters heckle him.
Is she scared?
Afraid she’ll die?
Our queen needs to know how to fight!
As much as I hate it, they’re right. They’re monsters. They deserve a queen who isn’t afraid to step into a fight. They deserve a queen who will honor their traditions, no matter how deadly and stupid it is for me to agree to them. If I can’t show these monsters why I deserve the crown, it won’t matter that I’m wearing it.
A deep growl emits from Orcus. “My future queen will—”
“I’ll do it,” I whisper.
Orcus glances at me and shakes his head. “Daisy—”
“It’ll be okay.” I set my napkin aside.
“You don’t have to do this.”
“I know, grumpy. I want to.” I push away from the table and stare at the crowd. They’re all watching me with open judgment. The ogre who offered to fight me scoffs and mutters something about my size. A few monsters laugh at that. “I’ll fight.”
“To third blood!” Orlena shouts.
