Page 115 of Path of the Dark
Nathan turned and carefully picked up the crown that Mysandra held out to him. Then he lowered it onto Ninia’s head.
“Receive this crown. Be merciful, but not remiss. Execute justice but do not forget compassion. Punish the wicked, but protect and cherish the just. Lead your people in the direction they should go.”
Nathan stepped back, eyes gleaming.
“All hail, Ninia, Queen of Thûn!”
Another roar went up, and this time the very air seemed to tremble. The tightness in Ryana’s throat spread to her chest. Biting down on her cheek, she blinked back tears. The atmosphere in the throne room was so charged it was difficult not to weep.
Eyes shining, Ninia rose to her feet. Her gaze swept around the hall, and to Ryana’s surprise the queen met her eye. The two women stared at each other for a long moment, and then Ninia smiled.
Servants flowed into the throne room, bearing goblets of wine and trays of Thûn delicacies: boar pâté on slivers of walnut bread, quails eggs encased in sausage, and skewered fowl hearts.
Helping herself to a goblet of wine, Ryana took a large gulp. It was a sparkling apple wine that tickled her nose and reminded her of summers on the Isle of Orin, where the locals excelled in such wine. Suddenly, she wished she was back there, sitting by a riverbank with nothing more arduous to plan than which inn to stop at for the night.
Elias had moved across to congratulate Ninia, and so Ryana took the opportunity to lose herself in the throng. The press of bodies was so thick that her path toward the exit seemed to take an age.
She was halfway across when someone called her name.
Turning, Ryana spied Lilia and Dain making their way over. Despite her bleak mood, Ryana found herself smiling. She’d never seen the pair of them dressed so finely. Dain wore a velvet green shirt and a beautifully tailored black leather vest. An emerald cloak hung from his shoulders. Likewise, Lilia was also dressed in green: a shimmering gown that, like Ryana’s, showed off her full cleavage. Lilia’s russet hair was piled high on her head, leaving her shoulders bare.
“You two look like royalty yourselves,” Ryana greeted them.
“Ninia insisted I wear one of her gowns,” Lilia answered, smoothing her hands over the silken material of her skirts. “I adore it.”
Dain put an arm around Lilia’s shoulders. “She’s invited us to stay a while.”
“And will you?”
Lilia and Dain shared soft smiles. Watching them, Ryana’s throat constricted. She didn’t resent them their happiness, yet seeing it only highlighted the emptiness in the pit of her belly.
“I think so,” Lilia replied.
“Not leaving with us then?” Asher asked, stepping up next to Ryana. Mira was at Asher’s side, one arm looped through his. She was dressed in a slinky silver gown that hugged her form. However, Mira still had a bandage on one arm and walked with a slight limp.
Dain shook his head, before he grinned. “No one refuses a queen.”
“So you’re making a new start?” Elias raised his goblet to Ninia with a smile. “Rebuilding the Order of Light and Darkness in Veldoras is going to be quite a job.”
“Aye, but I’ve got years ahead of me,” Ninia replied, lifting her goblet to her lips and taking a dainty sip. “Plus, Mysandra has agreed to remain here … she will help me.”
Elias glanced over at where the High Enchanter was now deep in conversation with Asher and Mira a few yards away. The roar of exuberant conversation thundered through the throne room, as dozens of servants threaded their way through the crowd with more food and drink. “You’ve made a good choice there,” he murmured. “Mysandra was the only enchanter in the city who didn’t fall under Gael’s spell.”
Turning back to Ninia, he found her watching him intently.
“I’m not the only one making a new start,” she observed. “How do you feel about returning to Mirrar Rock, to your own coronation?”
Elias considered the question. The future had been on his mind a lot over the past few days. He’d wanted to discuss it with Ryana, yet he’d hardly seen her of late. “I’m not sure,” he admitted after a pause. “There’s a part of me that welcomes it … I always knew as the eldest I’d take the throne one day … and there’s much I want to change.” He pulled a face then. “But there’s another side that just wants a quiet life, away from all the ceremony and back-stabbing of court.”
Ninia laughed, her hazel eyes twinkling. “You and I were born into this world,” she reminded him. “We know how to handle ourselves.”
“Aye, but isn’t there a part of you that wishes differently?”
Ninia’s smile faded. “There was,” she admitted. “But Nathan was right … those of us born of Royal blood can’t turn our back on it as easily as we might think. Our people need us … Anthor needs a king like you.”
Elias’s mouth quirked. “The people of all The Four Kingdoms of Serran have much to thank you for. I hear too that all the Altars of Umbra have fallen.”
It was true. Just a day after the liberation of Veldoras, word had started to filter into the city from other nearby towns and villages thatallthe altars had fallen. Elias had received this news with relief. Mirrar Rock’s Altar of Umbra had sat on the great terrace below the palace, a constant reminder of the shadow king’s reign.
