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Wine. I definitely needed wine.

I picked up the cup in front of me and took a long gulp. “The Paragon has their eye on us. However, they aren’t our only enemy. It’s possible it could have come from elsewhere, but odds are, the Paragon sent those beasts our way to try and shake us up.”

“Why would they do that? Why would they want that?”

I looked over to Jade, who was already staring at me, jaw set.

“Because Jade has the power that they want. They’ll come after her. Sooner or later, they’ll come.”

“And what is she to us?” one of the strangers at the end of the table asked. “Why should we protect her?”

I had to remind myself that we were in public. Everyone at this table had their eyes glued on me.

But didn’t that make this a perfect time to put everyone in their place?

Jade wasn’t only my wife. She was now theQueen of Rewyth. It was time they treated her–and spoke about her–as such.

“Jade is the peacemaker, spoken of in hundreds of old prophecies. My mother recently told me that–”

“Your mother?” one of the men chimed in. “She’s alive?”

I silently cursed to myself for not bringing this up earlier. A handful of people knew that my mother—the true Queen of Rewyth—still lived. Even fewer people knew that she had betrayed me.

And she was hiding away in the dungeons of our castle. That was something only Serefin, my brothers, and I knew.

“My mother is not the topic of this dinner,” I yelled. My voice was strong enough that the delicate plates on the table rattled. “We’re here to discuss my reign moving forward, and the challenges we’ll be facing in the coming weeks. If anyone has a problem with that, you can leave now.”

Nobody moved.

“And if anybody has a problem with our stance on protecting our queen—my wife, then speak up now.”

Again, nobody moved.

But I doubted that would be the last I heard of it.

“Good. Now we can move on to discussing—” my attention stalled on a familiar fae at the end of the table.

Kara.

I nearly forgot about the vindictive fae that had been in love with Malachi before I married him.

“What are you doing in here? This is for court members only,” I stated. I felt Jade stiffen next to me.

She looked genuinely shocked. “Oh,” she placed a dramatic hand on her chest. “You haven’t heard? My father has chosen me to stand in his place in court.”

“No,” I barked. “That’s not happening.”

“But you can’t–”

I slammed my hands on the wooden table and let my black wings flare out either side of me. “Please, Kara,” I said, “continue arguing with your king.”

My brothers choked on their laughter.

“She has a right to be here, King Malachi,” one of the other court members chimed in. He was older, but I couldn’t quite remember his name.

“Nobody has a right to be here,” I half-yelled to the table. I reached over and clasped Jade’s hand. “This is my kingdom now. I understand that things were run a certain way when my father sat in this chair, but he’s gone. He was corrupt and vile and greedy. He was lost. And his reign willnotcontinue. So when I say that a court member goes, he or she goes. Understand, Kara?”

I turned my attention back to her.