Page 13 of Calling of the Crown

My stomach dropped ever so slightly, and the air in the room suddenly felt thicker, making it hard to swallow. Jesiah’s words were a blunt reminder of everything that was about to come my way, and I prayed that I could handle it. I didn’t want to crumble under the weight of it all, yet fear was starting to eat away at my confidence like embers creeping along the edges of paper.

“And while the knowledge that will come from those studies is vital, so is practice,” Angus pointed out. “A babe does not simply stand and walk. It must first learn to crawl, learn to fall and get back up again. I fear that it will be Bria’s lack of experience that could hinder her goals.”

I held my head higher. “I may not know everything about this Kingdom or Fae, but I’m determined to be what it needs. I’m not naive, Angus. I know I have much to learn and numerous errors waiting for me, too. But I also know I have power and intentions that will lead Water Fae exactly where we need to go. I’m not alone. There are many who will aid me in the areas you’re worried about, and once I’m able to stand on my own, I’ll do so proudly and with every bit of confidence befitting a Queen.”

“And a wonderful Queen you’ll be,” Dallas affirmed, her eyes shining with admiration and trust.

I was determined to not disappoint her nor anyone else who believed in me.

“I do not doubt that,” Angus said, his tone clipped. “However, time is not on our side, Your Highness. You’ve returned to Ambrolia. Water Fae are soon to return to Morardia. Rumors of your intentions will spread and reach Land Fae. They will plan their own course of action, and I suspect it will be the opposite of what you seek. You may be a great Queen. One day. But how long until then? Months? Years? We do not have time to wait on you to become the Queen we know you can be.”

“It sounds like you’re alluding to the idea that someone else should lead Water Fae, General Blackwood,” Rune pointed out calmly. He smirked. “I’m assuming you’d like that position for yourself, yes?”

Angus matched Rune’s cold grin. “Not at all. I know my place, just as I know Bria’s. I’m merely pointing out the possible issues with what we’re trying to do.”

“Ah.” Rune nodded. “And what is it we’re trying to do from where you’re sitting? Better yet, let me ask, what is it you’d like to do, General? You sound so sure that Land Fae will wage war, and Water Fae will be in danger with Bria as Queen. So what would you suggest?”

Angus tapped his fingers on the tabletop, suspending the room in silence for countless moments. Finally, he leaned back in his seat and said, “I’d strike first. Wipe out Land Fae before they can do so to us.”

I sucked in a sharp breath, fighting against the anger now coursing through my bloodstream. I knew there would be feelings like this on both sides, but hearing it first-hand from one of my own was … nauseating. He really believed that all Land Fae should be killed? Needed wiping out? The mere suggestion leaving his lips burned against my ears and sizzled like acid within my gut.

Rune chuckled darkly. “And this is why a babe, as you put it, is the perfect person to have as Queen. Her judgment and lack of experience lets her see things in a way you can’t anymore. Perhaps you’ve tripped and fallen one too many times, General Blackwood. It seems you’re still down, struggling to get back up, and the helping hand you need is Bria’s. We all do. It will be her strength, her mercy, her power that pulls us all up and shows us not only how to walk but how to fly.”

Emotion flooded my chest in a burst of warmth. Rune held Angus’ glower from across the table, and despite the tension in the room, Rune was a picture of ease. He leaned back in his chair, his shoulders and posture relaxed, his hands resting along the chair’s arms. Only his eyes, which were hardened at the edges, hinted at any sort of hostility between he and Angus. Even so, they also blazed with sincere confidence. He believed every word of what he’d said, and despite his calm state, his golden eyes held a promise to destroy anyone who so much as doubted me.

Angus’s cheeks puffed red while he stared at Rune, and his nostrils flared as he took a deep breath. “You are Land Fae. You are a Fox. You truly believe your kind will willingly agree to become civil? To cease killing one another? It’s not in your nature. You are killers by instinct.”

“I’m sitting here, aren’t I? Me, a Fox, as you so kindly pointed out. I believe in Bria and would gladly pledge my loyalty to her a thousand times over, just as I trust others will. Do you not?”

“I do not believe in Land Fae,” Angus quipped. “Do you know how many Water Fae they’ve killed? Let me ask, Rune. How many Water Fae have you killed?”

“Angus,” Imani snapped.

Rune’s eyes never left Angus. “Too many to count. How many Land Fae have you killed?”

Angus returned Rune’s question with a near smug smile. “Too many to count.”

“Yet here we are,” Rune noted, opening his arms wide. “Land Fae and Water Fae, sharing the same room, the same table, and we aren’t slaughtering one another. We’re talking. We’re learning. We’re working toward something better than the hate and hostility we’ve all harbored for so long. And you can thank your Queen for that. I know I do.”

“Except she’s not Queen,” Angus retorted. “Not yet.”

“That will be rectified soon, as you well know,” Imani said, pinning Angus in place with her firm tone. “As soon as Water Fae have returned, we’ll hold her coronation and crown her as Queen.”

Angus’s eyes flicked back to Rune, yet his question was directed at Imani. “And what of the Joining Ceremony?”

“The Joining Ceremony?” I asked, glancing at Jesiah for an answer. For some reason, the words struck a chord of unease within me, like I was about to be given another major hurdle to jump.

Jesiah glanced between Rune and me. “It’s a ceremony that the current Prince or Princess performs with their intended partner for the entire Kingdom to witness. It’s the official union of the two, and it’s typically done as the Prince or Princess is crowned, announcing the partner as King or Queen with them.”

“Basically, it’s a marriage ceremony, only instead of vows and rings, it’s a dance and display of power,” Dallas said.

I swallowed hard. “M-Marriage?”

I glanced at Rune, who slowly turned his head to meet my gaze. For the first time in a while, I couldn’t read what Rune was thinking. It was like his brain had stalled, and now he just stared blankly at me as he tried to wrap his head around what was being said. Even if he was struggling with what to think, I already knew where he stood on this.

Rune didn’t want to get married.

The whole reason Rune and I were sitting here together, the very essence of why we became friends in the first place, was because Rune needed me to pose as his partner so that he didn’t have to settle down and marry. Sure, we were lovers now, but marriage was a tie, a vow, a bond that wasn’t to be broken, and Rune was adamant that he didn’t want that. Marriage and kids weren’t in his future plans.

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