Page 32 of Calling of the Crown

“Imagine it all lit up with candles in the sconces and the moonlight coming from the dome above,” Dallas gushed, her eyes glittering with excitement. “That’s how it will look the night of the coronation.”

“Decor can be settled later,” Angus said as he came up to me. “Princess, for now, let’s focus on how the coronation will work, as well as the details of the Joining Ceremony. I assume you’re planning to announce your engagement to Rune at the welcome home gathering next week, yes?”

“Uh—” I glanced at Rune and shifted nervously. “No, I wasn’t planning on that since there isn’t an engagement to announce.”

“You intend to lead with Rune, though,” Jesiah stated matter-of-factly.

“I mean, yes, but—”

“Then you are engaged,” Angus said. His features tightened with the annoyance he was trying to contain. “For Rune to lead with you, he has to be King, and for him to become King, he has to get crowned with you through the Joining Ceremony.”

“So,” Rune started, scratching nervously at his chin. “Would the Joining Ceremony be an announcement of Bria’s intention to be with me or an actual, you know, marriage?”

“A marriage,” Angus and Jesiah answered in unison.

A pit opened up in my stomach, swallowing up every bit of warmth and strength within me until I was left with nothing but a ball of anxiety. The way Rune said the word marriage as if it had tried to bite him was reconfirmation that he didn’t want it.

Being lovers was fine, because it wasn’t a binding deal per say, not like marriage. Certainly not like this kind of marriage. This marriage would come with a thousand rules and requirements, because it would make him a King—something I hadn’t even asked him if he wanted to be.

Sure, marriage hadn’t necessarily been on the forefront of my mind, but there were far worse things that could happen than a marriage between us. I wouldn’t have minded calling Rune my husband and seeing him as King. In fact, the thought made me giddy, like a schoolgirl who had just found her first crush. But it wasn’t fair to him.

Being lovers was something he and I chose together, because we wanted it, but this marriage was something being decided for Rune. Just like what his mom had tried doing to him. His choice in so many matters was slipping through his fingers like grains of sand, and I refused to be a part of that. I refused to take away Rune’s ability to choose.

Ducking my head, I balled the skirt of my dress in my shaking hands. “We’re not doing it.”

“Princess, we’ve been over this,” Angus huffed.

“No, we haven’t,” I thundered, snapping my head up to glare at Angus and releasing my dress from my tight fists. “You’ve talked. I’ve listened. That’s it. So now I’m telling you. I’m not doing the Joining Ceremony.”

“Bria—” Rune started softly, placing a hand on my arm.

I shook it off, too afraid that if he touched me right now, I’d break down. I swallowed hard and forced the words out. “No Joining Ceremony. No wedding. None of that. I’m not marrying Rune.”

Silence descended over the room. Dallas and Rance stared wide-eyed, and I watched my best friend turn her shocked eyes from me to the space on my left where I knew Rune stood. I was too much of a coward to look at him myself, though. I was too afraid to see what expression he most likely wore—relief. The idea of looking at him now and seeing his relief that I cut off any talk of marriage would be like suddenly plunging into a pool of ice.

Clearing my throat, I grabbed my silk dress skirt and spun on my heel. “I’m going to change before we get started. This dress is heavy.”

It was a lie, and I was pretty sure at least Dallas and Rune knew that. Still, they let me go, for which I was glad. I needed time to process what I’d just done and to grieve the potential future I’d envisioned.

Not only that, but the fear that I’d have to lead alone was starting to weigh on me. Without Rune, there would just be me, the Water Fae Queen. I’d be the sole face of the Kingdom, delegating and ruling with an empty seat beside me. I didn’t know what can of worms that would open or if it would allow others to try to claim that seat beside mine. But even if people thought they could take the spot, it would forever be reserved for Rune. Even if we weren’t officially “joined”—or whatever the hell they called it here—he would always be my partner.

My King would always be my Fox.

UP IN MY BEDROOM, THE ocean glittered and danced under the sun. The waves rolled in before bleeding back into the depths below. I wanted to follow those waves plunging into the calm waters where all worries and problems were momentarily forgotten. Because while I stood here with my tiara staring at me from where I’d set it on the bedside table, worries were all I had.

A knock came at the door.

I didn’t turn around from where I leaned against the windowpane, staring out at the distant waters. “Come in,” I called, and I inwardly cringed at how deflated I sounded. Calling off any talk of a potential marriage was making me feel worse than I had anticipated.

The door clicked as it opened and shut. Muted footsteps came closer across the carpeted floor then stopped a few feet away from me. Thick, almost tangible silence descended. Without turning, I knew who stood behind me. I could sense it within my very being, almost like a magnet being drawn to a certain source. But I fought that pull. I ignored the urge to turn around and be faced with reality and what calling off the Joining Ceremony meant for us and for me.

Finally, Rune’s deep voice broke the quiet tension in the room. “Can we talk?”

I took a deep breath and turned to face him. Rune leaned against one of the pillars of our bed, and his golden eyes immediately sought out my own.

As soon as I looked at him, the seal containing everything I was feeling cracked wide open, and there was no stopping the slew of words that flooded out. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know that they’d try to pressure you into marrying me. I mean, we’re adults. We should get to choose who and when we marry. Or if. Because some people don’t want marriage. It’s not for everyone. I know that. So don’t worry, I won’t let them force you. I won’t let them tie you down like that, like the way your mom tried. I won’t—”

“Woah, woah, woah,” Rune interjected, throwing his clawed hands up to stop my word vomit. He cocked a confused brow at me and asked, “Is that why you said that downstairs?”

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