Fuck! She might be the heir to both thrones. A spell of dizziness overcomes me.
I swallow hard as I take everything in. “So if you take the thrones, you are set to inherit the courts from two of the biggest kingdoms in Wandering Realm. You will be the queen of both.”
“That's what I just said.”
“It only just sank in.” I lean against the wall to hold me up. This changes so many things.
“I want you to know I don't want the throne," she admits. "But I can't cope with Ahren being with someone else.”
“To be honest,” I tell her, “I doubt anyone truly wants that kind of responsibility. Being the king or queen comes with expectations, and it changes you.”
She blinks up at me, and I can tell she's trying to understand, but she won't until she takes the position. And as I picture her as queen—my queen—my breath catches in my throat. She will become the most powerful person in this realm when she claims the two thrones.
Fuck!
She doesn’t seem to notice my shock and keeps talking. “Also, stupid Jasion sees me as a threat. I heard him conspiring down in the dungeon with an older fae I've never seen before, about how they killed King Tibout and planned to target Ahren to do their bidding.”
“Wait! Back up! Jasion killed the king?” I snarl a bit too loud, my heart colliding into my rib cage. A primal growl rips through me—when I see him next, I'm tearing his head from his body with my bare hands. “That sonofabitch. That insignificant rodent has been playing Ahren all along.”
“There's more. When I was in the dungeon, I used a portal to escape but ended up in Ash Court. In the Queen's chamber. And that's how I found out she's my mother." She digs her hand down the front of her dress and pulls out a ribbon. She stretches it out, and on it is embroidered her name, Guen. "She gave me this—it's similar to the one that had been on my ankle as a child back on Earth.”
I rub my eyes as the truth settles in my mind. I’m still struggling with this news, and the implication is massive. “We need more evidence than just a ribbon.” Sure, she’s always had a bit of an otherworldly feel about her, and her power with the fairies is very uncommon, but the court will need more to prove she is the rightful heir.
“I know,” she whispers, as if it’s all too much for her too.
I draw her into my arms, a protective surge rising through me. I need to keep my little wolf safe from all the monsters who'd harm her.
“Will you help me?” she murmurs, staring up at me. “I need to claim the throne so I don't lose Ahren or any of you. I know how to get evidence to prove who I am… Well, sort of.”
“Of course I’ll help.” There is no other answer.
“Good, then we need to use one of the mages—not Jasion, obviously—to test my blood. My mother said they have a magic test they can perform that can reveal my true heritage.”
“I think that’s true.”
She holds onto my arm. "I have no other choice. We have to do this; it’s a risk I have to take.”
“I befriended one of the other mages years ago; he can help us. But I need to go stall the wedding or this is all in vain, so Deimos can take you to the mage,” I murmur, then turn to Michae. He’s my most loyal guard and has done everything in his power to protect my little wolf. “I saw Deimos riding his horse madly near the perimeter of the walls surrounding the castle. Go fetch him urgently.”
He taps his chest over his heart twice, bows his head forward, then rushes down the corridor and vanishes around a corner.
“How long before the wedding?” Guendolyn’s talking fast, panicking.
“Ahren should be already headed inside, but tradition has it that the new queen must delay her entrance. We don't have much time, but we need Deimos’ fast.” Even as I’m talking, my mind continues to reel with the news she’s dumped on me.
“Will the mages be at the wedding?” she asks, distracting me.
I shake my head. “The old king’s mages aren’t invited to attend.”
“Ouch, that’s harsh.” She’s shaking as she rubs her arms as if cold, and all I want is to wrap her in my arms, for us to talk through what she's just revealed. Her ruling both courts means unity between our kind, the end of war and bloodshed. Mother used to tell me tales about the times when only one kingdom ruled the whole realm, a time when the world lived in the greatest peace in history.
Guendolyn paces in the tight space.
Today's going to go down in history. What my little wolf intends to do will cause an uproar. I can’t help but be a little worried, though, because if she’s wrong, she will be seen as a traitor, which means a sentence of death I’m not sure even we can stop. But she believes this wholeheartedly, so I have no choice but to believe the same.
I keep glancing at her as she chews on her lower lips. Worry washes over her face, and it hurts to see her so distressed.
“We'll find a way to stop the marriage.”
She looks at me like a startled deer, but there's so much more behind those blue eyes. She's gone through such horrific ordeals, and for her to end up in the dungeon must have been terrifying. I tense each time I think about it, and it just drives me harder to destroy everything about Jasion.
“I don't want
