Page 67 of Bearing Secrets
He almost asked her how she was doing. Almost. The last thing Kirell wanted to do, however, was to put even more pressure upon hismate. To make her overthink things, to possibly question her decision. Not when they were so close to pulling it off.
He needed her to be rock-steady right now, because he couldn’t be. Deep down somewhere, he recognized he was leaning upon her, drawing strength from her, but he didn’t dwell on those thoughts. He couldn’t, because the doors to the Throne Room had opened and the Herald had emerged.
“Kirell Ursa. Natalia Kristoff. Approach,” he commanded in his strong, powerful speaking voice.
Kirell stepped forward, Natalia little more than a fraction of a step behind. The Herald watched them come. He was the messenger of the House, the communicator, speech writer, and general diplomat whenever one was needed. Not the most prominent of positions, but necessary nonetheless.
The Throne Room was packed. The sitting Title Holders occupied their seats. It pained Kirell to see the empty holes. Knight. Champion. Captain. Hunter. All empty. True, the seat of Captain would soon be occupied, but the three others were prestigious seats, the most powerful of the House after the King or Queen. Yet all of them were bare.
Today marked the start of the rebuilding of House Ursa, and he longed for the day when all the stone chairs would be filled once more. His House would return to glory, of that, Kirell had no doubt. It was simply a matter of time.
They walked forward hand in hand, stopping just short of the Queen’s throne. She was flanked by four of her guards. Normally, two guards stood behind her chair, but in these turbulent times nobody was taking any chances. They formed a square around the ruler of House Ursa and their weapons were no longer ceremonial. This time, they were functional. The sheathed blades over their shoulders would be lined with depleted uranium, the pistols on either hip filled with radiated bullets, same as the lethal-looking assault rifles held smartly against their shoulders.
Kirell felt no fear. Either this would work, or it wouldn’t. There was no middle ground, and thus, no reason to fear. He’d done his part. Now to see if they had done a good enough job.
“Kirell Ursa,” the Queen said, speaking strongly, her voice reaching to the upper floors, carrying to all corners. “You have been nominated to the position of Captain of High House Ursa. Do you still wish to fulfill this nomination?”
“I do,” he replied, letting everyone know that there was no weakness in him, no quaver in his voice. It rang out through the Throne Room with calm strength.
“You are aware your nomination has been challenged asUnfit?”
“I am,” he said, again his voice clear.
“Would the challenger please step forward.”
There was a rustle of noise to his eight o’clock, but Kirell didn’t dignify Klebra by twisting his head.
“Challenger, please state why you believe the nominee to be Unfit for his position?”
“He is unmated, my Queen. This woman is here but as a lie, a fiction to help this pretender achieve his seat in an ill-gotten attempt to gain power in the House. He acts no better than a gutter r—”
“That will beenough,” the Queen said sharply, her voice cracking like a whip.
Even Klebra had the common sense not to continue, at least not in front of so many.
“Kirell. You have been challenged. Is this your mate?”
“It is,” he said, speaking loudly over the whispers that had erupted when the Queen cut Klebra off.
“Please show the rest of the House the truth of your claim.”
He turned to Natalia. “Come here,” he growled, snaking a hand around her head and pulling her in tight.
She melted into him as they put a show on for the assembled members of his House. Kirell wasn’t a fan of having to go this far to prove it, but it was better than the alternative that had been phased out a couple of centuries before.
Earlier in the history of the Houses, when someone was challenged to display their mate, the pair had been expected to have sex with each other right there in front of the rest of the House. Compared to that, kissing her deeply for several long seconds was nothing.
A few moments later, they broke apart. To his surprise he was breathing hard with excitement.
Behind him, he could hear Klebra growling, getting ready to protest some more, but there was nothing he could do. Without a Hunter, there was no way to tell for certain if this was his mate or not. It was why the Queen had chosen to appoint him first. This way, they could ensure that the Hunter, whoever it ended up being, would be loyal to the Queen, and not to whomever was manipulating Klebra.
“Challenger,” the Queen spoke again. “Do you have any evidence to counter the nominee’s claims?”
Klebra went to speak, but to Kirell’s surprise, the Queen spoke again—out of turn.
“Hardevidence,” she hissed in a nasty voice. “I will not tolerate name-calling or suspicion. You must have proof.”
To his credit, Klebra didn’t speak up. He must have shaken his head because the Queen lifted her chin and spoke to the crowd as a whole.
