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“Perhaps, but why aren’t you even questioning him?”

Ambrose’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “I mean, where’s the male who was suspicious of every tiny detail while we were in Underneath? Where’s the army general? You cannot tell me that you survived so long marshaling a rebellion without being just the smallest bit paranoid.”

“I survived so long because I always know if someone is about to betray me,” he said pointedly. “I told you, I spoke with him that first night on the ship and he made it very clear that he has no intention of hurting us.”

I scowled. “Something seems off.”

Ambrose looked a bit exasperated, like he was only humoring me. “Perhaps you’re right, but that’s not what I came to talk to you about.”

“Then what is?”

“It occurred to me that you never had a coronation.”

I raised an eyebrow. “It hadn’t occurred to me that I needed one. Anyway, I don’t think the people of Elsewhere would be all that excited to see me, I’m still the human usurper who stole their kingdom, remember?”

“You’re not human,” he corrected. “And I actually don’t think you realize how popular you are among the citizens, especially in the capital. They love you and would be loyal if you asked them to in a way they have never been for us. They see you as a sign of hope, and that things are changing for the better.”

My cheeks felt hot once more and I found myself staring at my shoes. “So, you just want to raise morale in the capital?”

“No,” Ambrose sighed. “If that was all it was I’d suggest we have a parade of some sort, but I think a coronation might serve a greater purpose.”

“Such as?”

He glanced over his shoulder toward the castle for a moment, as if checking that we were well and truly alone before continuing. “I can’t stop thinking about how you already have the crown.”

I furrowed my brow. “So?”

“So, that should have broken the curse,” he said, his tone low and insistent. “Now with what your mother revealed about your connection to Aisling I’m more sure than ever that I was right, and you’re the worthy one that the prophecy spoke of.”

“I’m not sure about that…”I said uncomfortably.

“I am,” he replied.“It’s the only thing that makes sense.”

“What about Scion?” I asked, almost desperately. “You told me while we were on the ship that you spent years trying to mold him into the next ruler from afar.”

“I know, but I think that’s part of it. I nearly succeeded, don’t you see? Everything I did to set up Scion to be the king led him to mating with you and becoming the king consort. I hadn’t even planned to use Bael for anything, but I still managed to lead him to becoming the king of Underneath, which is a powerful ally in its own right and support you’ll need in the future. The way I see it, the curse should have already broken.”

“Maybe it’s because I never finished the hunts,” I thought aloud. “I never defended the crown.”

“That doesn’t make sense either,” Ambrose insisted. “The hunts were invented after the curse was already cast as a means to find a worthy person. The number and order of events had nothing to do with Aisling, and there’s nothing in the history books that implies you have to actually finish them. Only that you must kill the previous monarch, which you did.”

“So, what?” I raised my eyebrows. “You think having an official coronation will wake up the gods and remind them they forgot to lift their generations long curse.”

I meant it to sound absurd–because it was, but Ambrose only nodded. “Maybe.”

I scoffed. “That seems crazy.”

“Maybe so, but I don’t know what else to do. We’ve read nearly every book in Celia’s library, and there’s nothing. No mentions of the curse, not even of Aisling. All I’ve found was more drawings of that crown with three jewels.”

“What jewels?” I asked, distracted.

He ran both hands through his hair, his frustration clearly close to boiling over. “From what I can tell, they’re probably just symbolic, likely representing the three territories that came together with Nightshade to form Elsewhere, which is Inbetwixt, Overcast and Nevermore.”

“What makes you think that?”

“I recognize one of them–or, at least I think I do. It’s the diamond of Nevermore, which has been a prized possession of the province for centuries. The only thing that bothers me is the obsidian crown doesn’t have jewels, and it never did.”