Page 227 of Settle Down, Princess

Trumpets blared the moment I stepped onto the thick red carpet, and the entire congregation stood up and turned to see me approach.

“You’re fine,” Arik said, stepping in closer and taking my other arm, tucking it in his. “Everything is fine.”

“Except I thought we agreed I’d take Jessalyn’s arm and you’d walk out front, symbolising the passing of power from the Bastard Prince to his queen,” Silas muttered.

“Change of plan,” Arik hissed as we stepped forward. I was focused on staying straight-back and regal while they bickered. “You bring up the rear, see who’s talking behind their hands about this.”

“People are talking about me?” I whispered fiercely.

“If they are, they won’t be for long.” Creed’s growl had my steps faltering and that meant everyone fell out of step slightly. There was a little twitter of consternation from my ladies-in-waiting before I realised I need to lead in earnest here. Arik’s decision to make me queen turned out to be a good one and a legal one, so all of the dissenters were forced to shut up, but that only gave me the opportunity to take power, not wield it.

That’s when everything I’d learned at my mother and grandmother’s knee came back to me. If you appeared calm and in control, people rarely looked beyond that for the truth. I’d been doing that in the weeks since Arik announced my status as Queen Regent to the war council and court, so that’s what I needed to do now.

But not alone.

I gripped Arik and Roan’s arms way too tightly, but there was a comfort in that. No matter what happened, they would buoy me up. I caught that in their sidelong looks, right before I focused on holding my head high and proceeding down the aisle. I sailed past lords who thought the idea of a queen ruling through war was ridiculous: nobles that had escaped Silas’ wrath and were now obsequiously trying to curry favour with me; wolf shifters who were glad someone was finally listening to them during the treaty process; soldiers who just wanted to keep the country safe; and women, so many women. Wives and daughters, grand ladies and women from Cheapside, I’d insisted on a complete representation of our community in the cathedral.

Somehow that had included the envoys from Matteau and Lanzene.

They were seated with the other visiting diplomats, but I noted the space around each man, as if the other envoys were reluctant to let them come too close.

I couldn’t focus on other people now because we had reached the steps. I turned and shot my ladies a grateful look as they pulled away, my train spread out across the floor. As they took their seats, I ascended the steps, my mates taking up position on the bottom one.

To me it looked like they were readying themselves for battle, because Creed shook his head and allowed his wolf form to come forth, straining the seams of his uniform. Roan drew his sword with a silvery sound, planting the point of the blade into the carpet. Silas crossed his arms, scanning every single person here, looking for signs of threats before they tried anything and Arik? He pulled the antlered crown from his jacket and then handed it to the high priest. There were murmurs at that, because this was not the usual crown, because we’d melted Magnus’ down and used the gold to start to fill the war coffers, because Arik’s crown had been polished and gilt, looking like new. But most of all because he was handing his symbol of power to me.

I just had to prove myself worthy.

The high priest shot me a kindly look. He was the one who’d been forced to marry me and I knew he felt somewhat guilty about the process as it was difficult for him to meet my gaze, but he did now. Then his mouth opened as he recited the formal words to make me queen.

I didn’t hear them.

I couldn’t, not with so many thoughts in my mind. We’d been working hard every moment of the day since Arik had come up with his solution.

The morning after my sprint into the forest, we’d awoken sore, dirty, but grinning from ear to ear before making a mad dash back to the palace. The swiftest of cold baths and then we were all bundled into travelling clothes and hoisting ourselves into the saddle as the Duke of Fallspire and his men joined us. We’d ridden hard, my body starting to ache terribly in the first hour, agony setting in by the second, so that I nearly fell from my saddle when we came upon the contingent of elders. Wren had stepped forward and smiled at the sight of me, then held out her hands, her grip strong, as she pulled me down from the saddle.

“We must talk, Elder Wren,” I said in a great rush.

“Yes, we must.” She nodded slowly. “Come and have some refreshments with us.”

“But the war—” I started to say.

“What humans call the packlands is simply a small part of the whole,” she replied, scanning the fields beyond. “Before every part of Khean was considered our land. We would never allow anyone to invade it, but…” Her eyes met mine. “Changes must be made. What happened under that bastard, Magnus’ rule, must never happen again. We elders can sign no treaty that would allow other sovereigns to treat us so.”

I’d nodded and then allowed myself to be drawn closer, sitting down in the wildflowers that grew by the side of the road.

“Tell me what you need, Elders, and let’s see what we can do about forging a new treaty.”

I came back to the nave suddenly, in time to watch the high priest raise the antlered crown above my head.

“The queen is the servant of the people. She must protect Khean’s borders as fiercely as a wolf but care for her citizens with the gentleness of a mother with her cubs. The country is her pack, and she must strive every day to ensure it is whole, that tensions within it are resolved satisfactorily, that everyone has what they need. This is your duty, Queen Jessalyn of Khean, first of her name.”

Had the crown felt this heavy to Arik? I shot him a desperate look as I felt it land on my head. My back wanted to buckle, my neck to bend, but I didn’t. I’d been trained to stand perfectly still and straight all my life, so I did so now.

Documents were signed after this, officially recognising me as queen. The Duke of Fallspire was the first to affix his signature to the grand document then swear his fealty. Silas had already ascertained which lords might be a problem, but the work we’d done before, talking to them, trying to determine the coin that would buy their loyalty ensured every member of the aristocracy signed. They’d made a show of loyalty, now I had to earn it.

I wasn’t Magnus. I didn’t have years and years of relationships to draw upon. I didn’t have the endorsement of my father, the previous king. I wasn’t raised to be king here, but that hadn’t gone so well for him. Instead, I needed to forge a place for myself and that started today.

“I present to you the Queen of all Khean,” Arik said, holding out a hand for me to take.

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