Page 44 of The Queen

Edeth blinked and Indra shuffled, holding a pile of forest green velvet close to her chest.

“We will see about that,” she huffed. “For now, what matters is preparing for the coronation. Come. You need to try on your dress. We’re running out of time. Tell them to leave. Your modesty still means something to me, even if you don’t care for propriety.” Her eyes narrowed, staring daggers at all of us.

My resolve wavered under her glare.

The corner of Shadow’s lips turned up in a half-smirk, revitalizing my confidence before he bowed and stepped outside the door with Grey, who was giving Edeth the most unkind look I’d ever seen him turn on a person.

“Good. Now that that’s over, let’s get on with it.” Edeth grumbled as she tugged free the laces of the light gown Violet had brought me earlier.

As she brushed past, a thick, cloying scent assailed my nose. A wilted, herbal aroma that was unpleasant to my senses. It smelled like stale omega pheromones.

Indra helped strip me, yanking at the soft fabric so hard it abraded my skin, distracting me from my thoughts.

“Ouch. You don’t have to be so rough. I can do it myself.” I took over divesting myself of the silky, sage-colored dress as quickly as possible to avoid further damage. For a seamstress, she didn’t seem to know a lot about clothes. How had she even managed to get this position when she seemed so bad at it?

The green velvet that Indra had been clutching earlier resolved into the heavy, gold-embroidered gown I’d tried on what felt like so long ago. Once on, it fit better this time, but still very snug.

“Have you been snacking? It doesn’t look like you’ve dropped any weight at all. Unless,” Edeth said with far too much hope in her voice. “Unless you’re pregnant. I suppose if you’re going to flout our culture’s rules, the least you could do is get pregnant.”

“No, I’m not pregnant.” I tugged at the neckline where it dug into my skin. At least as far as I could tell. I didn’t think I was pregnant. That seemed like something I should feel, maybe. Maybe not, but surely Grey would have noticed during the blood testing last night and told me if I was.

“No matter. It’ll be better if you’re mated before we know. That way, we’ll be sure of who the father is. We wouldn’t want your heir to be a bastard.”

As far as I was concerned, if I had children, all my mates would be the father regardless of biology. But that was an argument for another time. Being around these two was exhausting enough without picking fights.

Indra flitted around me, stabbing with pins and tugging me to and fro, while Edeth retrieved a black datapad from the nearby desk.

“It’s past time for you to select your household staff. I’ve compiled a list of positions and added in my recommendations for your convenience. As you don’t know anyone, I’m sure my choices will be more than sufficient.” Edeth flashed a screen in my direction too fast for me to read.

This was important. I wasn’t going to sit back and let her dictate to me like I would have a few months ago. Not anymore. I reached out and plucked the datapad from her hands and scanned it, ignoring her outraged gasp.

Head of personal security, Mik Blakely. Was that the poor, scrawny beta that at the Regent’s quarters when we dined there? That wouldn’t do. I backspaced that name out and almost typed Ghost, but caught myself, instead tapping in Axion. He was head of security. Who better than him?

“You can’t do that. Axion already has a very important job,” Edeth wailed. “Mik is from an esteemed family. He deserves the position. His family name alone is more than enough qualification.”

“He couldn’t even keep you out of a crime scene. I don’t think that speaks very highly of his skill. Make him the head of your security if he’s so qualified.”

Edeth’s cheeks were so red they started to turn purple. That couldn’t be healthy. I wanted to care, but was finding it difficult. She’d done this to herself.

As I read through the rest of the list, it was more of the same. Her daughters were listed as ladies-in-waiting. Absolutely not. More strangers and people I didn’t trust filled the rest of the lines. I had to wonder if anyone had paid to be put on this list, or if she really believed these people belonged here.

I deleted everyone on her list, and put in my mates, Violet, and Albion. More could be added as they proved themselves.

Edeth was beside herself, wringing her hands. “You can’t just do that. Those people are of noble blood. They deserve to be on that list. Their family name alone qualifies them.”

I tugged away from Indra, who was almost certainly poking me with pins for fun at this point, having finished the fitting long ago. This game was getting old, and I was done with it. I was finished going along with whatever she said and letting her walk all over me. “I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but I value integrity over fancy names. This is my list for now. I’ll get back to you with the rest.”

My heart was racing in my throat. I could feel the throbbing like the engine of a starfighter. My head spun, giddy with the sensation.

Edeth narrowed her eyes, but immediately schooled her features back to the pleasant mask I was familiar with. “As you wish, Your Majesty.”

“Yes, I do wish,” I said as I squirmed, trying to get out of the heavy, overly tight coronation gown. Indra was notably too busy tapping away on her datapad to help me now when I actually needed it.

From the way the dress fit, I was even more convinced she must be the worst seamstress on the planet.

I was struggling back into the soft, sage-colored dress I’d had on earlier when a knock came to the door. Edeth and Indra had their heads together in discussion, so I opened the door myself.

Grey was there, looking uncomfortable. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but there’s been a development. It seems the new baby is wheezing and has a cough. The mother is asking for me.”

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