Page 58 of The Queen

Violet tugged my hair into an intricate plait that had me at a loss for how it was even possible. I marveled at the complexity. “It’s perfect. Thank you.”

I slipped into my undergarments with more mastery than I had when I’d first arrived, but still lacked the skill of practice. It felt like I’d been here for so long, but this deficit reminded me it hadn’t even been a full lunar rotation. There was still so much of my new home to see and explore. Still so much I didn’t understand.

Even knowing that, there was not a moment to waste. The planets and stars would align correctly for the ceremony for the first time since my arrival. It was today, or wait until the alignment was favorable again, which would be at least another lunar cycle away. We couldn’t risk that kind of delay.

The next step was my mother’s intimidating gown. Would I ever be worthy of what the heavy, gold embroidered green velvet symbolized? I could only try my best.

When I looked at the beautiful dress, I felt the weight of my mother’s eyes on me. Since she’d been gone, her home hadn’t been cared for as it should’ve been. The muddy caves were no place for our people to live. I was committed to fixing the wrongs and finding a way to make Verden whole again. Somehow.

I raised my hands, and Violet dropped the heavy skirts over my head. I grappled for the sleeves and slid my arms through. When I popped out the top, my mates were lined up against the wall, decked out in finery. Black suits with green and gold accents. I was glad that I wasn’t the only one dressed for the occasion.

Violet laced me into my overly snug bodice and fluffed my skirt out around my slippered feet. It felt as if I was armored and ready for war. I just hoped there wasn’t a battle to come.

We hurried up the clanging stairs and out an airlock. When we stepped onto the moist soil, cool, misty air stirred like a soft embrace. The ambient light was hazy and tinged with green, outlining the canopy in an otherworldly gloom. The far distant horizon glowed faintly through the trees with the impending suns’ rise. It seemed we’d made it in time, but we still had a short walk ahead.

Lex took my hand and guided me down a dirt track with overhanging limbs, obscuring the star-laden sky. Our only light across the shadowed path was from a pale, distant moon and the approaching dawn.

Guards were stationed as lookouts discreetly placed throughout the trees. Even with the soldiers present, my men surrounded me protectively, with Violet trailing close behind.

I wasn’t sure of our destination, but when we left the darkness of the forest, it was to enter the field of wildflowers I’d danced in when we’d first arrived. That felt like a lifetime ago.

The meadow’s carpet was no longer just the first whisper of bountiful bouquets, but was now overflowing, thick and lush with leaves unfurling to drink the pre-dawn dew. The flower heads slumbered, curled in on themselves, waiting to wake under the suns’ warm glow.

Their wait was almost over, and so was mine.

In the center of the field, an archway stood with Titus on the far side, watching me. Edeth was to his left, and arrayed around her were groupings of well-dressed people. Their clothes were clean, fashionable, and nothing like the citizens I’d seen in the lower levels of the city.

Despite the gathered populace being cloaked in shadows, they somehow managed to look down their noses, even when they dropped into polite bows and curtsies.

Warm air shifted on my skin. The suns were nearing the horizon.

I hurried over to Titus, who smiled. “I knew you’d be here in time, my dear. With the suns as our witness, you’ll repeat the vows after me, and it will be done.”

I’d read the oaths I was expected to swear when I’d first arrived and been confined to my room, but there were too many to memorize. So as the first rays of our suns painted the meadow in golden light, I repeated the heartfelt words that Titus read, promising to care for the land and its people for as long as I lived.

When the recitation was done, a pinch-faced Edeth handed Titus a shimmering crown faceted with emeralds set on to golden oak leaves, which he settled on my head. As the weight pressed down, movement caught my eye, and I turned to see a ribbon of rainbow-colored light dance across the brightening sky.

A collective gasp went up from everyone in attendance.

Edeth was staring up at the growing streak of color. Her hands fisted at her sides. “Impossible.”

I walked through the crowd, wildflowers bursting open to greet the suns arrayed in a vast swath around me. “What is that?’ It was the most beautiful thing I’d ever witnessed.

“That’s Verden’s magnetic field catching solar particles as they enter our atmosphere. I haven’t seen it since your mother…” Titus cleared his throat, hesitant to finish that sentence.

I knew what he meant, though. They hadn’t had a display like this since my mother died.

Rainbow light danced across mounds of blooming wildflowers. It was breathtaking. Everyone was immersed watching the dancing ribbons of color, but when I looked away, Edeth was looking at me. Her dark eyes trained on my neck, right where Grey’s bite mark was.

“Impossible,” she said again, just before storming through the field back the way we’d come. Some followed her, confused, but others lingered, turning looks of awe and reverence toward me.

The strength of the suns’ light slowly eclipsed the spectacle in the sky, and before long, most of the onlookers retreated inside.

From beside me, a balding man with tufts of straw-colored hair clinging precariously to his pate followed my gaze into the distance. “The planetary defense shield was once intrinsic to the magnetic field. If it’s healing, maybe there is hope for our planet once again. Maybe it could even be revived after all this time. If only the condenser still worked.” He tugged his green velvet jacket, straightening it over his soft, round frame.

Defense shield? Condenser? I wanted to know what he was talking about, but I’d have to ask my mates later because Titus stepped in front of me, blocking my view, and the man slipped away.

“I couldn’t help but notice, now that there’s more light, you’ve sealed your mate bond. And a bond blessed by the Stars, no less. It’s certainly unorthodox to skip the bonding ceremony, but I suppose there’s no harm in it. You are the queen, after all. I’m so happy for you. And where is the lucky alpha? Let me guess, you decided on Alexi, didn’t you? Yes, he is the most logical choice. Of course you did.” Titus rambled on, and I looked desperately to my mates, hoping they would save me.

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