Page 90 of Blood Bearon
The various seats of power and those of their mates were filled. A quartet sat empty. Both the Queen and Kvoss, the Assassin of the House, sat alone. Their mates were no longer around. Yet Khove caught more than one glance between the two, and he stifled a grin, remembering that Kincaid had sworn him to secrecy about what he saw.
The other empty seats would soon be filled as he and Rachel ascended the stairs and took their places. First, there would be speeches of course. The Queen was already rising to make hers.
Khove came to a halt at the foot of the stairs, Rachel at his side. With a wave of her hands, the Queen silenced the music and the muted whispers of the members of the House. The room was filled beyond capacity. Members of House Ursa from around the world had travelled for the ceremony, and many more had come to fill the vacancies left by those who had fallen in the fight against Korred.
There were all too many unfamiliar faces present.
“House Ursa.” The Queen’s voice carried easily over the assembled crowd. “Today is a day of celebration. For months now, we have been in mourning. For years before that, we were unhappy.”
At that, many of the members of the crowd stirred uneasily.
“I see your faces,” the Queen continued. “You wonder why I bring attention to this, and wonder if it is fact, or folly. I tell you it is fact! Our House has long been fractured, though we are loath to admit it to ourselves. The golden years of our ancestors, in the wake of the signing of the Peace of Novarupta to mark the end of our war with the human mages, they are gone! Our power rose like a star in the days following the peace. But we grew lazy. Arrogant. Stuck in our ways.”
If the crowd had gone silent before, now they went still. Even Khove, who had known much of what the Queen had planned to say, was brought under her spell.This,he thought to himself.This is power.
“Do I believe that we deserved such a harsh awakening call? That so many of us had to die for House Ursa to right itself and set us on a path back to being the symbol for all the other Houses to follow? No, of course not. The death of so many is a horrid thing. We have all suffered,” she said, looking away, and Khove saw the emotion on her face as she talked about losing her mate. “Our House has suffered. We have been through the crucible of battle. Broken down, melted for parts and left to rot.”
The crowd was entranced now as the Queen’s voice built to a rising crescendo. “But we have not given up. New members have stepped forward to fill our ranks.”
Khove’s eyes glanced over the newest members of the Ursa Council.
The Captain, Kirell and his mate Natalia.
Kincaid the Hunter, and Haley.
The Champion Klaue, sitting next to Rachel.
The Magi Kasperi and his second—and love—the human mage, Amber.
His attention returned to his Queen, the glue that had held the House together during this trying time, whether she liked to acknowledge it or not. Her eyes blazed with jade fire as she looked out across the assembled members of her House.
“We have been reforged. We have been hurt, true, but together we have picked one another up. Our mettle has been tested in the forges of the fiercest battles seen in over a century, and yet we have come out victorious!”
An answering growl awoke in the crowd at the Queen’s words.
“Some say the time of the Ursidae is waning. Some say we have fallen into disrepute and worse. They are not wrong, my friends. But where we have fallen, we have risen from the ashes like the phoenix, and have been reborn anew. Stronger. Smarter. UNITED!” she finished, thrusting a fist into the air.
The Throne Room erupted in triumphant bellows as the amassed shifters shouted their own defiance to those who would see them fall.
“I give you the final piece,” the Queen called over the roars. “Knight Khove and his mate Rachel!”
The roars increased yet again as he ascended the steps, Rachel resplendent at his side, and Khove wondered if they truly approved of him, or were just caught up in the Queen’s speech.
Be a good ruler, and they will come to approve. The onus rests on me. Not them.
He and Rachel turned as they reached the top, facing out over the crowd. The roars had begun to die down, but Khove looked over at his Queen and thrust his own fist into the air, and the noise built once more.
Then he brought his hand down, and they quieted.
“Well,” he said casually. “I’m not sure how I’m supposed to top that.”
Laughter filled the Throne Room.
“But I’m not going to try. Our Queen is right. We have been found wanting, but we have gone through the crucible and come out the other side stronger. Harder. Many still doubt us. They expect us to fail. To fall apart.” He bared his teeth while looking out over the crowd. “I say bring it on.”
The answering roar shook the entire room.
Epilogue
