AllFreeNovel
Share Us
So instead of saying anything, Graeson stood silent in the far corner of the room while the other advisors shifted in their seats uncomfortably.
At last, Menides brushed a light hand over his daughter’s shoulder.
Dani shrugged off his unwelcome hand and continued to press her fist into the wood. Assessing the others at the table, she slowly pulled her fist back and sat down.
Wary glances were passed around the advisors, and Graeson instinctively looked toward the inheritor’s seat. Only to remember that Fynn wasn’t there. Fynn who would normally be reading everyone’s thoughts and putting their concerns to rest. Instead, Terin looked to his mother.
In time, the prince would get used to his new role.
Or at least Graeson hoped Terin would.
Menides raised a disappointed brow at his daughter.
Dani ignored him. “We’ve been holding back for years,” she said, pressing onward. “We’ve been standing by for years, hiding on this godsforsaken island, waiting. And for what? When will we stop waiting?” Dani stood again, her words fueling her. “Domitius has come to our kingdom, burned our land, and killed our peopletwice.”
“And kidnapped one of our own twice,” Graeson mumbled.
Not having heard him, Dani continued, “And we are not going to retaliate? What does that say about our kingdom? About our people?”
Menides sighed as he rubbed a hand across his forehead. “Danisinia, this is more complicated than you think.”
Dani snarled at her father. “Do not belittle me, Father. I may be young, but that does not mean I am ignorant. I have earned my spot at this table just as you have.”
“I never said your youth was the cause of your ignorance. Youryouth, Daughter, is why you are here. Why the three of you are here.” Menides looked at Dani, Terin, and Graeson.
Foreigners would have thought it strange how many of the royal advisors were a part of the younger generation—like Terin, Dani, and Graeson—but it was Pontian tradition. A way to make transitions smoother. It ensured the new advisors for the new leaders would have experience sitting at the table and have a chance to learn from their predecessors.
Menides continued, “While we are old and are more experienced than you, we are often blinded by the past, by tradition. Your youth is a gift. An advantage.”
Dani laughed, but the laughter didn’t reach her green eyes. “If that is the case, if you truly value my opinion, listen to it rather than blindly dismiss it, Father.”
Menides sighed again. Quieter, he said, “While it may not be your youth that I am weary of, Dani, your grief, on the other hand, is a cause for my concern.”
Dani stepped back as if she had been slapped in the face. The pearl beads wrapped around her braids smacked against each other, clattering. “What isthatsupposed to mean?”
“You have never been a fool; do not play one now. You are grieving. You are in pain. Your husband, our prince, has passed. And we are all grieving and upset. Fynn—” Menides pursed his lips, fixing his gaze upon the ceiling for a moment before returning his attention to his daughter. “Fynn was one of the good ones.” Straightening, Menides looked at the rest of the advisors sitting at the table. “If we let our anger blind us and our desire for revenge guide our path, then we will fail in whatever we do.”
Dani huffed a soft, icy laugh. “Then what, Father, do you suggest we do? Because from where I stand, we are doing nothing.” She stepped toward her father, but Menides held his ground as the two stood head-to-head. “How is that any better?”
The two warriors were mirror images of each other. Their dark brown braids hung down their backs, their arms crossed over their chests, and their innate stubbornness painted their countenances. Dani’s mother was a petite woman, only an inch or two over five feet tall. Meanwhile, Menides was all muscle and height. Dani was just barely shorter, and from a short distance, they were nearly eye-to-eye.
Menides had only himself to blame for his daughter’s brazenness. She, like her father, was a born strategist.
When Dani, Graeson, and the twins were growing up, they all shared a tutor. Although younger than the three boys, Dani had surpassed all of them in their academic studies. She took additional lessons with her father outside their regular study hours as a child. And she took to those lessons like a moth to a flame. Dani learned from her father with eager eyes and an open mind.
Later on, those extra lessons paid off. Dani had climbed the ranks in the Pontian military quickly—faster than anyone had before her. Despite this, when she was first named general, some soldiers gave her wary gazes. It was neither her gender nor her age that had made them question her position. Unlike kingdoms like Ardentol and Kadia, Pontia had never restricted their ranks to men. The soldiers also understood that there was strength in youth. The future generation would carry the burdens they left behind. Therefore, Dani’s age was a sign of hope. It indicated to the kingdom that the future would be strong, sturdy, and lethal.
Instead, the soldiers’ hesitation and suspicions resulted from her lineage. The soldiers had thought that Dani had been handed her title of general with neither merit nor experience but rather because ofwhoshe was: a Ferrios. Not only was her father the Head of Strategy and the Commander of Pontia’s military, but her brothers were also prominent figures. Her older brother, Sawyer, was a master of any weapon he touched. Xander, her younger brother, had become Pontia’s lead blacksmith at nineteen, his gift in metallurgy and craftsmanship aiding him in his career. Strategy and swordplay were in Dani’s blood.
However, the Pontians prided themselves in being able to choose their leaders. Unlike other kingdoms, anyone could rise in the ranks. Only the royal titles were passed down by blood, and even that title sometimes floated to another family depending on the history, reputation, and the gift the ruler bore. When Menides announced Dani’s promotion to general, Esmeray simultaneously announced the decision to pass down Menides’ role as Head of Strategy to his daughter when the time arose. To some, this was a shock. What the people did not realize, however, was that the advisors and small council of lords and ladies all unanimously supported both decisions weeks before the announcement. Some soldiers remained suspicious.
Then, they saw Dani fight.
They saw her command.
They saw her lead and put her soldiers first, herpeoplefirst.
They watched Dani fight alongside the experienced soldiers and train the new ones. They witnessed her acquire improved housing for the soldiers, increased pay, and better benefits for their families. Respect was earned in Pontia, and Dani had earned it without question.
