“It is done, your Majesty.” Sonje bowed her head. “Your sister Svana is in the Citadel dungeon.”
“And the bounty hunters?” I asked.
“All have returned unscathed and supremely full of themselves.” Sonje’s mouth narrowed into a thin line.
“I must go to her.” The queen rose on unsteady feet.
“No, Mother.” Sylvi and I objected together.
“It’s too dangerous,” I added. “I know she is your sister, but right now, she is the enemy and we must be cautious.”
“Svana is my sister. I may be able to talk some sense into her. I will take your bounty hunter with me. The pretty one. Druan, isn’t it?”
“He’s not my bounty hunter.” I bristled. “And he’s not … pretty. I will go with you myself.”
“Thea, the council must discuss the next steps,” Sonje said. “Now that we have leverage over Neela, we need to decide what to do with it before she has a chance to react. We can be sure she is already plotting.”
“Let’s meet in the indigo room in an hour. I will help Mother to the dungeon.”
“I’m fine, darling. I’ve asked for a litter to carry me down. I know I don’t have the strength to get there and back on my own. Go find a quiet corner to gather your thoughts before your meeting.”
“Just … be careful, Mother.” It killed me to let her out of my sight. A primal need to protect the woman who gave birth to me rose up within me. The Mother help me, I would kill anyone who dared lay hands on her.
Back in my room, I changed from my princess attire into my own street clothes. Dark leggings, a white linen tunic, boots, and my leather jacket from the human realm. I was ready to meet with Mother’s council.
“Don’t look at me like that?” I returned Pasha’s snort of disapproval. “This is the best I can do with the clothes I’ve got. Now come on, we don’t want to be late.”
Thoughts of who I might appoint to my own council in the near future filled my mind as I approached the indigo room. It was tradition for a newly ascended queen to keep her mother’s council for the first few months, but she would be expected to build her council from her own generation, keeping at least one of her mother’s advisors among them. That was a tradition I could get on board with. I would undoubtedly keep Leda as the senior elder, but I wasn’t certain who I could rely on to fill the other positions. I didn’t know enough of my own generation to make those choices yet.
“Ah, Thea, there you are.” Sonje frowned at my clothes as I entered the room. “We must decide how to approach Neela with our demands.”
“We wait.” I took Mother’s seat—the unofficial throne. Pasha sat back on her haunches beside me where she busied herself with licking her paws.
“Wait?” Vanya pursed her lips. “We will act now while we still have the upper hand.”
“We will wait,” I repeated, propping my ankle against my knee.
“Nonsense.” Sonje crossed the room to the queen’s desk. “We’ve drafted a notice to deliver to Neela. It just needs your signature.”
“I believe my niece said we will be waiting to further engage with the usurper.” Astrid spoke for the first time.
“You support this indecision?” Sonje turned on Astrid.
“I don’t believe I indicated I was indecisive on the matter,” I interjected. “I am very decisive. We will wait. I’ve sent Neela a message already. She will come to us.”
“If it matters, I support the Queen Heir in this.” Astrid sat gracefully in her chair beside mine. We were a pair of queens on our thrones, making sure everyone in this room knew it.
“She is not Queen Heir. She has never completed the First Ascension rites.”
“Meaningless waffle,” Leda said. “We are under siege, Sonje. Tradition and rites be damned. Princess Thea is our Queen Heir and Queen Astrid is our protector, while Brenna is recovering, Thea is the highest authority in this room . We will support her.”
“Thank you, Leda.” I appreciated the gesture of support, although I couldn’t help but wonder if she was posturing for the senior elder position within my future council.
“Waiting will only make us look weak.” Sonje huffed, reluctantly lowering herself onto the settee. “We are just giving her time to plan.”
“This is a military matter,” Astrid reminded her. “That is my wheelhouse, not yours. Thea is right. We’ve taken Svana right out from under Neela’s nose. We don’t need to send out the heralds to announce it. She will come to us.”
“With an army of mercenaries at her back,” Vanya muttered.
“I will speak with her when she arrives,” I said. “Alone.”
“I’m afraid we cannot allow that, Princess,” Sonje protested. “You are not ready for such confrontation.”
“You misunderstand, Sonje. I’m not asking for permission. You forget, I’ve been on my own these last three years. I am no longer the child you remember.”
“Yes, serving men drinks while eking out a living is the same as fighting a strategic battle.”
“And you forget how many bounty hunters I evaded during my time in the human realm. How long I survived with nothing more than my instincts and my Valkyrie guiding me. Three years without the power of the gods, and without my own magic. Could you survive even a day cut off from the magic your queens provide you?”
“That is enough, child.”
“There is a reason tradition dictates a newly ascended queen chooses her own council from among her generation. I am starting to see the sense in that.”
“You dare threaten my position?” The elder’s eyes flashed with fury.
“I am ascending right before your eyes, Sonje. Wake up. I grow stronger every day. My mother will never sit on her throne again. Your days on this council are numbered.”
“Of all the disrespectful—”
“Sit down, Sonje,” Astrid said quietly. “Our Queen Heir has made her choice and we will support her. She knows best.”
“She knows best? She is a child.”
“She is a woman blessed by the gods and with the ancient lineage of a powerful dynasty flowing through her veins and the kind of magic you cannot hope to achieve in your wildest dreams. You’ve served two generations of Ahlstrom queens. You know the law will not allow you to serve a third.”
Sonje fussed with her hands in her lap, clearly wanting to say more, but even she realized she’d overstepped. “My apologies, Queen Astrid. I was out of line. I’m sure we will all find that Thea is more than capable of leading us.”
“Thank you,” I interceded before Astrid could voice her disapproval of Sonje’s half-hearted apology.
A knock sounded at the door and Leda rose to answer it. Sylvi stepped through the doorway, with the very large Sloane carrying the Queen.
“Mother?” I leapt from my seat. “You do not have to knock. You are the queen of this council.”
“In name only.” She let out a shaky breath.
“Please, sit, your Majesty. You don’t look well.” Sonje and Vanya moved from the settee to make her comfortable.
“I’m fine. Just a little tired.”
“Here you are your Majesty,” Sloane said in his deep voice, placing her gently on the settee.
“Thank you for your help, young man.” Mother grasped his hand, twice the size of hers and offered him a weak smile.
The giant of a man blushed and backed out of the room as fast as he could.
Mother let Sylvi drape a blanket over her lap and prop her feet on the footstool, but that was all the fussing she could tolerate.
Insecurity bloomed inside my chest as I returned to my seat. The seat that belonged to the queen. I suddenly felt like a little girl playing dress up.
“Darling, you are leading us right now,” the queen said, as if reading my mind. “I pass that seat of authority on to you.”
Warring emotions welled up inside me and my throat tightened. I would give anything to see my mother strong and seated on her throne once again, but I also felt proud. Honored that she would trust me to carry on in her stead.
“How did it go with Svana?” Astrid asked.
“Not well. I believe we’ve seriously underestimated the horrors our sister and her daughter have experienced. Once our elder sister was wed, we wrote her off as queen of another realm, but it seems she’s been little more than a prisoner since she failed to produce a Warder heir—a male, Warder heir.”
“Neela is his most legitimate heir,” Leda interjected. “She is strong and powerful with the blood of kings and queens in her ancestry.”
“But she is female. And more Valkyrie than Warder,” I said. I knew enough about the Warder culture to know they would never respect a queen who was so obviously Valkyrie—whether she could wield their magic or not.
“Svana and Neela have given everything they have to this coup of theirs,” Brenna continued. “They are prepared to die before they will ever return to Vöstland. What awaits them there is far worse than death.”
“Which means she will resort to every underhanded ploy to thwart Thea.” Sonje shook her head as if they’d already lost.
“True, but we have something to use against them.” I sat back against my throne, feeling a surge of confidence.
“And what is that? Pray tell.” Sonje scoffed.
“I’ve suspected it before, but now we know their deepest fear. The very last thing they want is to return to the Warder realm. I say it’s time we send them back where they came from.“
Another knock sounded at the door. Louder this time.
“Enter,” I called.
Vendela stepped inside, giving a quick nod to the queen and to me. “She is here.”
“Is she alone?” I stood.
“It appears that way.”
“Take me to her.” I crossed the room. The women of my mother’s council rose to follow.
“Be seated.” Astrid’s formal command sent them all back to their seats without a second thought.
“Be careful, daughter,” Mother called as Pasha and I followed Vendela from the room.
“We will go with you,” Druan said the moment I closed the door behind me. Sloane stood tall and silent beside him.
“If Neela is alone, I will not approach with a horde at my back.” I accepted my golden axes gratefully from Vendela, strapping them onto my back with the harness she’d brought for me.
“Majesty, we will remain inside the gates if you need us,” Sloane said in his gravelly voice, ignoring Druan’s protests.
“At least don’t go beyond the Citadel’s protection,” Druan insisted. “And take Pasha with you.”
“I have to face her as an equal. As a queen.” I crossed the grand hall to the front doors of the Citadel. I waved away the guards who leapt to open the heavy, tall doors for me. Today wasn’t about posturing or making a grand entrance. This time I needed to be myself. I turned to Pasha, ever my shadow. “I’m sorry, girl, you can’t come with me this time.”
I swear the cat sneered at me, before she turned tail and retreated to Vendela’s side.
“Promise me you’ll be careful, Thea.” Druan pulled me back, searching my face for some clue to what I had planned.
“Yes, Mother.” I patted his handsome face as I stepped through the doors.
For the first time, I felt truly alone without even Pasha at my side. Maybe it was a mistake to leave her behind, but I had to do it this way. Holding my head high, I took the wide stone steps down to the bridge that led right to the palace on the other side of the Queen’s Bay.
As I walked, Neela rode toward me on her chestnut warhorse. A strategic move to put me off-guard so she could tower over me.
“You have something that belongs to me,” Neela called from her intimidating perch on top of her mount.
“And you have taken someone who is under my protection.”
“Your council must be in irons if you’re still in charge after bringing that filth into my realm.”
“This realm belongs to its people and the queen who serves them.” I made my way to the center of the bridge, stopping at its highest point when I was level with Neela. I refused to look up at my opponent.
“I suppose you want to negotiate a trade?” Neela’s face twisted in disgust.
“Perhaps we can reach an agreement.” I planted my feet wide and rested a hand on my axe handle.
“What did you have in mind?” She slid from the back of her horse to face me, her sword at her hip and her ever present golden armor in place to cover her childhood scars.
“You could release Esben and I could release your mother, but that doesn’t solve our larger issues.” I could feel Neela’s anger pouring out of her, but I remained calm, controlling my emotions as I siphoned from her. Just a hint to judge her reaction. She still didn’t seem to notice. I wanted nothing more than to rage at my cousin and demand news of my brother, but I knew I’d make more progress keeping my temper in check.
“I’m not here to back down to a coward who lets others make her decisions, sneaking like a thief in the night into my palace to take a poor defenseless woman prisoner.”
“I sent my bounty hunters to seize Svana because I needed leverage. And she’s neither poor nor defenseless.” I continued to speak calmly, but all the while, I pulled at the power Neela guarded like a treasure clutched in her fist. She was strong, but she was also distracted and easily angered. I siphoned slowly as I spoke. “She will not be harmed so long as the same can be said for Esben.”
“I’ve left orders to have him tortured daily.” Neela’s grimace twisted into a gleeful smile. “What have you done with my mother? Sent her to her childhood bedroom without dessert?”
“You know very well she’s in the dungeon.” I pulled ever so slightly at the power, taking a little more each time Neela’s voice rose in anger. Soon the power flooded me and I wondered what it would take for her to realize what I was up to. This meeting was about more than offering our terms. The more I could place myself in proximity to my cousin, the faster I could fill the well within me.
“That’s the difference between you and me,” Neela said. “I won’t hesitate to torture and maim the boy, but I know you won’t retaliate against my mother. You don’t have it in you to cross that line. Your fancy breeding won’t allow it.”
“You seriously underestimate my dedication to my ‘breeding,’” I muttered. “And you underestimate me.”
“You come here expecting to use all the negotiating tactics you’ve learned in princess school, but I won’t play that strategic game with you. You’ve never suffered a day in your life and you’re so far out of touch with reality, you have no idea what the people want.”
“Wow, you don’t know me at all, cousin,” I laughed. “The first lesson in diplomacy is never to make assumptions about your opponent. Surely Aunt Svana taught you that much.”
Neela shrugged. “Keep her. She’s useless to me now.”
“If that’s the case, why bother to come here at all?”
“I wanted to hear your offer. Now that I have, I see I’ve wasted my time.”
“I haven’t made my offer yet, Neela. If you didn’t give into your anger so easily, you might have noticed I said I could exchange your mother for Esben. But I won’t.”
“Then what is your offer, Princess? What do you possibly think you can give me that I will accept? Please, enlighten me with your entitlement.”
“You’re right, you know.” I took a few steps forward, no longer fearful of this meeting. “I left. I turned my back on my heritage and my position. I had my reasons, but you couldn’t possibly understand how difficult leaving was for me. And in my absence, you received the blessing of the gods, which I never anticipated. But nothing in life ever works out the way we expect, does it?” I dropped my hold on my weapon, relaxing my stance.
“You might have made a great queen, Neela. Of your own realm. But this is not your home. I’m afraid you’re too much of a Warder for the Valkyries, and too much Valkyrie for the Warders. That’s a tough place to be. I feel for you, I do. But not enough to let you continue hurting my people. I might not be the perfect Queen Heir, but I’m all they have and I will fight for them. I’d just rather it be a fight between the two of us than an all-out war. They’ve suffered enough. I won’t ask them to lay down their lives.”
“What are you saying, you want to fight me?” Neela laughed. “You wouldn’t last five minutes against me. I wouldn’t even need my power. I could just kill you and be done with it.”
“Here is my offer. Listen carefully, Neela, I’m only going to say this once.” I closed the distance between us to show I was unafraid. “End Esben’s torture. Today. Your mother will be treated as a prisoner of war. She will not be harmed but she will continue to stay in her cell. I promise, I will treat your mother far better than you treated mine.”
“The boy’s execution has been set for the night of the next full moon,” Neela taunted. “The people—your people—call for his blood to run through the streets.”
“Then we will meet on the day of the full moon,” I continued. “Esben will be unharmed, well-fed, and clean, as will your mother. This will be a fight between you and me. No stand-ins or seconds.”
“You want a fight to the death? Fine.” Neela reached for her sword. “Why wait for the trial? Let’s be done with this now.”
“No,” I countered. “It will be a fight for the power. The winner drains her opponent, takes the throne and leaves the other to live out her days—however long they might be.”
“Why wait?” Neela snarled. “We don't need to turn it into a ceremonial killing with all the fussy Valkyrie fanfare. Unless you crave a public death.”
“Because you don’t want to fight me right now, cousin. Not for the power of the gods.” I folded my arms across my chest.
Neela snorted in disgust. “You’re full of yourself if you think you can beat me.”
“Full of the power,” I said flatly. “I’ve been siphoning from you this whole time, or didn’t you notice? If it’s to be a fight for the power right this moment, I will win.”
Neela’s expression gave nothing away, but the flow of power between us trickled to a stop.
“Very well, what do I get when I win?”
“If you win, you get the throne and your mother back. I will return to the human realm with my family.”
“And the boy will bleed.”
It pained me to say it, but I had to agree, even if I would never allow it. “If he must.”
“You’re making this too easy.” Neela let out an evil laugh, worthy of those kids’ fairytale movies I was secretly obsessed with back in the human realm.
“I’ll warn you again not to underestimate me.” I let a hint of the power into my voice to give weight to my words.
“Your deal is naive and you will pay dearly for that mistake.”
“You haven’t asked what happens when you lose.”
“If I lose.” She jutted her chin at me as if the possibility were out of the question.
“If you lose, I take my mother’s throne back. Esben will be released to my care and your mother will live out her days in exile.”
“And what happens to me? Execution?” Neela rolled her eyes.
“No. The deal is we both walk away from this. One with the power of the gods and one forever powerless.”
“Finish your terms, cousin.”
“I take something you value—to be decided on the day of our battle—and send you back to your father.”
“Leave it to you to come up with a plan where no one dies.” Neela shook her head, but there was fear in her eyes. Just a momentary flash before it was gone. It seemed I was right. Neela feared returning to her father more than her own death.
“There are some things far worse than death, Neela. Do we have a deal?”
“I could just kill you right now and never think of you again.”
“You need my power first.”
Neela shrugged. “I could take that easily enough.”
“Could you?” I arched a brow at her as I turned to leave.
“Fine! We have a deal.” Neela snarled at my back.
“See you at the full moon, cousin.” I crossed the bridge and ascended the stairs like a queen.