Crown of One Hundred Kings (Nine Kingdoms Trilogy #1) - Rachel Higginson Page 0,57

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“Give up, m’lady,” Haeman groaned. “You have lost. Do not be a sore sport. I’m sure that once the prince is—”

But I was not listening. Once I had decided on my actions, my limbs had begun to tremble and I quaked with fear, but also with purpose.

Arrick’s voice rang out above the others, but I paid no attention when he shouted, “Tessana, don’t!”

I shut out the doubts that screamed through my head and pulled the Crown of One Hundred Kings from my satchel, holding it high for all to see.

There was an audible gasp as the men around me shrank back from the sight of the lost diadem. Whispers rippled through the clearing.

With unsteady hands, I set the crown on top of my head and blinked away tears that had an origin I could not define. “I am Tessana Allisand of the house of Exentia, the rightful heir to the Elysian throne and the Seat of Power over these Nine Kingdoms. You will do as I say, or I will strike each and every one of you down.” My voice only wavered once, but my hands continued to quake as I dropped them back to my sides.

I hadn’t realized my eyes had shut until the crown settled low on my forehead and the weight of it rocked through me like a powerful storm.

There was power in this gold, in these gems. It buzzed through me, bringing my blood to life. I opened my eyes and found the guards around me agape. Even Oliver’s mouth hung open.

“But you are dead,” Haemon whispered.

I met his wide eyes. “I assure you, I am not.”

Another guard demanded, falling to his knee in front of me. “H-h-how is this possible?”

This was not the time to explain all the intricate details of my past. “It does not matter how it is possible, only that it is. Now let my companions go so that we can be on our way.”

Even on his knee in reverence, Haemon remained difficult. “I cannot, Your Highness. His father has demanded his return to court. It is by royal edict I have been charged to bring the crown prince home.”

His words bounced around my head as if they were a different language. Father? Court? Crown prince?

My frantic gaze sought Arrick’s, even while another guard nudged him with his foot. “No wonder you were so desperate to flee, huh, Your Majesty? I’d want time with my own lost bride as well.”

Whatever sense of purpose and power I’d felt from the crown drained out of me as quickly as it had filled me. My mind spun as realization dawned, as all those floating puzzle pieces I’d been wrestling with for weeks pieced together. “No,” I whispered. “It cannot be.”

I glared at Arrick as his features transformed before me. The dark hair. That jaw. That nose. Those eyes. Those stupid, bright blue eyes.

I was a fool for not figuring it out before now.

I had relied too heavily on my knowledge of the past, of the boy I thought I knew. I hadn’t considered the years that had refined him into a man, this man. I had leaned on experience, but I had none. I had clung to logic when this defied all rationale. I had seen it all along, but I hadn’t understood.

“Taelon,” Haemon urged. “We must be on our way. This crown, this princess, we must take her directly to your father.”

“Taelon.” I had to pry the name I hadn’t said aloud in eight year’s time from my lips.

His eyes fixed on mine. “Tessana, please understand. I did what I thought was best—”

My voice rose with my fury, “Tessana! You knew! You knew the entire time!”

He jumped to his feet. The guards surrounding him backed away. Of course they did. He was their crown prince after all. They wouldn’t actually hurt him.

The crown pressed against my temples and I realized all of this, all of my theatrics and secrecy and hidden identity, all of it was for nothing.

He had known me since the very beginning. My necklace. My bloody necklace! The one that he had given to me as a child.

I took a step forward. If the guards weren’t going to kill him, I was.

“You are holding secrets, Tess.” he had said. “Share them with me so that I can help you.”

My hands balled into fists at my side.

He answered, “Not the entire time.” When my face heated with mottled rage, his voice became pacifying. “Tessana, please understand. I couldn’t tell you who I