Queen of this Realm, Tessa. As the first Queen to rule the Seat of Power.”
I closed my eyes and leaned into him, overwhelmed and overjoyed. Hot tears pricked at my eyes and I could hardly breathe.
“You did it, Tessa.”
I shook my head. “No, not on my own. Your testimony. Taelon, you risked so much. I don’t know how to say thank you.”
“Don’t, then. I did what needed to be done, that is all.”
I opened my eyes and pulled back. Staring at that handsome face, I let myself get lost in this boy that had once saved my life, that had grown into a man that continued to save my life, and continued to do what was best for the nine kingdoms. “I am glad to know the man you’ve become,” I whispered to him, emotion clogging my throat. “I’m glad to know that you are as great and respectable and handsome as I’d always known you would be.”
“You think I’m handsome?”
I laughed, emotion bouncing through me after everything that had happened over the last few months and this announcement and almost dying at the hands of a crazed guard. “Honestly?” He nodded eagerly. “In my heart of hearts, I think you’re obnoxious.”
His smile died and he glanced at the doorway. Our private moment was about to be interrupted.
“There is one more thing,” he insisted.
“What is it?” Fear pelted my nerves.
“Your uncle,” Taelon whispered. “The council has continued his regency until your twenty-first birthday. They’re giving the realm to you, but not until you’re ready for it.”
My mind spun. “King Regent? But he’ll still be in charge!”
“He is to guide you, Tessa. He is to show you the ways of being a monarch and how to rule the realm. He is still King. But one day…” His hands gently cupped my face. “One day you shall be Queen.” The corner of his lips lifted softly. “And in the meantime, maybe you could guide him as well. In the ways of kindness and goodness. In the way of fearlessness.”
No matter what had happened up until today, no matter how many brushes with death I’d faced or people that refused to acknowledge my bloodline, this man believed me.
And I knew him to be the greatest man in the realm.
A whimpering at my feet drew my attention. “Shiksa!” Pushing away from Taelon I scooped my foxling up and cradled her against my chest. “Oh, you brave thing. Are you okay?” Fresh tears wet my lashes as her head rolled from one side to the other.
“What happened?” Taelon demanded.
“She saved my life.” I looked up at him. “Twice.”
He grinned at me. “So, the little fox and I do have a few things in common.”
I ignored him. “Will she be all right?”
He felt her body, moving his hands gently over her. After a minute he said, “She’ll recover. She’s beat up. But not broken.”
I breathed a sigh of relief just in time for Tyrn and a host of other sovereigns to appear in the doorway. The royals cried out as they absorbed the aftermath of Crenshaw’s attack, astonished by the mess and rain still flooding my room.
“What happened here?” Tyrn demanded.
Taelon stepped away from me and faced the council. “Your guard,” he explained. “Your master guard tried to kill the future queen.”
“Crenshaw would never,” Tyrn said. “You’re mistaken.”
“Look around, Your Majesty,” Taelon dared. “She barely escaped.”
“And what happened to Crenshaw?”
I gestured toward the thunderstorm. “He jumped out the window.”
As questions started flying at me, I realized that Conandra was my life now—I would always be on trial. Maybe not literally, but with these people I would always have questions to answer and an identity to prove. I wasn’t just a future Queen of Elysia, but Queen of the Realm. My quest had finally ended.
But the journey to becoming queen was just beginning.
31
“You summoned me?” I asked as I swept into a mediocre curtsy. Apparently, I was more out of practice with court decorum than I had originally believed.
My uncle raised his head from where a footman held papers for his inspection. His expression was one of undisguised disdain, but whether it was for my ugly curtsy or my overall wellbeing, I could not say. The Crown of Nine sat upon his head.
But it would be mine soon enough.
“Tessana,” he murmured. “I’ve been waiting.”
“I was exploring the castle grounds. I understand that your guards had trouble finding me.”
He frowned. “You are meant to be queen. You cannot go traipsing off where no one can find you. You