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The dress Marissa picked out for the press conference fit me like a glove. It was sleek, modern, and covered up the worst of my scars while still looking elegant and sexy. I enjoyed the way the emerald-green played against my olive-brown skin. It highlighted the warm reddish undertones of my black hair, too. She had offered to do my makeup in a way to minimize my facial scars, but I’d elected to leave them natural.

I still didn’t like the look of them, but they were part of who I was. If I was going to accept myself for who I was, it meant accepting even the parts I didn’t like.

It had been three weeks since Luken and I sealed the portal and destroyed the temples. Making our way back to Taimarah had been easier than I’d anticipated. The tribute girls were eager to do as we said, grateful to us for rescuing them. Still, it would have been a nightmare keeping them all safe and cared for if Donelle hadn’t sent an escort of elf warriors to help. They got us as far as the train station, and we rode first class all the way home. Hundreds of people were at every stop along the way, and Luken made the same speech every time—the gods had fallen, and it was time for a new order.

Nobody but he and I knew he was the world's most powerful man now. He didn’t plan to flaunt his power in the hope it would stop people from challenging him out of spite. There had been a couple of assassination attempts, of course, but they were dealt with quickly and quietly. We had even met with the council of Shifter Elders, and returned the girls among the tributes who were shifters.

Thessa, being a shifter and vampire, was not offered a spot among them. It wouldn’t be safe. Even though she was a panther, the distrust of vampires ran deep.

I turned away from the mirror, breathing out slowly as nerves started to jangle in my stomach. It was all well and good to remember everything that had happened and the progress we had already made. But this was going to be my first official press conference as Queen of Taimarah, and I wasn’t sure how it was going to go.

Luken sensed my nerves through the bond and came over to me. He was wearing a deep, navy blue suit with flowers embroidered on the lapel. Darcie and Thessa had worked together on it as thanks for his part in rescuing them. With his golden, sun-kissed skin and his long, dark hair in its customary braids, he looked like a vision from heaven.

“Everything is going to be alright,” he promised me. “I’ll field all the questions at the end.”

“And we’re not announcing the twins yet, right?” I asked anxiously.

Tests had confirmed I was carrying. Miraculously, Draven’s torture hadn’t harmed them in any way. It was still very early in the pregnancy, though, and I wanted time to wrap my head around my impending motherhood before the whole kingdom knew.

Luken tucked his fingers under my chin and ran his thumb over my lip. It made me shiver with pleasure, my eyes sliding half-shut.

“We won’t say anything about the twins yet.” He kissed me, and warmth spread through his touch.

I slid my hand into his jacket, wanting to be closer to him. If I thought my libido was high before, it was now uncontrollable. Pregnancy hormones could do that, but I had my own theory. I’d spent so much time fighting my desire for Luken, that I wanted to make up for lost time. It helped that vampires had amazing stamina. It was tempting to finish off the transformation just so that I would stop getting tired during our marathons.

With so much changing, I couldn’t quite commit to it.

Luken broke our kiss, his reluctance echoing through the bond. “This is the start of something new and wonderful. We still have a lot of work to do. The more zealous followers of the gods will still work against us.”

“It’s a good thing the gods are sealed away, then,” I answered. I smiled at him. “We are going to make this place better. You and me.”

“And the babies,” Luken added, dropping a hand to my stomach.

I laughed and nodded. “And the babies.”

We kissed again, and then it was time. I twined my hand with his, and we left our small, ready room. The press was already assembled, cameras aimed at us. I forced a smile on my face as I lifted my hand in a wave. Luken squeezed my hand and offered reassurance through the bond as he led me toward the podium.

He stepped up to the microphones and began with the official confirmation of everything that had happened. The gods were banished from our world, and now a new world order would begin.

“The first of these changes is this: from this day forward, the Blood Trials are abolished. No more will such violence and bloodshed be condoned.” Luken stood tall and straight. I felt the relief wash through him at these words. The Trials had been a higher price for him to carry than I’d realized. “Representatives of the crown will contact the families of past contestants to negotiate compensation for their losses. Nothing can replace the death of a loved one, but it is my hope that the crown may ease the suffering caused by the Trials.”

“Is it true that the oracle has been arrested?” one bold journalist demanded.

Luken paused and considered his words. “At this point, the oracle has locked themself away in their estate and has refused to speak with the crown on this matter. Unless the oracle responds with a threat to the crown, they will be left alone. They are a victim of the gods as much as any of us.”

There was a murmured response to this. A few of the journalists looked pleased, others unhappy. Traitors throughout the kingdom were being arrested. There had been several riots already; the gods might be defeated, but it wasn’t going to be a simple matter of moving on for some. Their disappearance had left a religious power vacuum. It was going to take work to fill it.

“In the coming months, Taimarah will also be hosting a peace summit. We have sent the official invitations to our neighboring kingdoms and territories with the hope that we can undo the strife caused by the gods pulling our strings,” he continued, leaning against the podium. “But together, we can make this world better. We can have peace and unity.”

Luken turned and gestured to me. I stepped up beside him and announced my new projects; while Luken was the driving force of getting the unrest settled, I was providing a different sort of hope. I’d be overseeing projects to introduce free education at all levels in the kingdom and a renewal of the arts. I’d be working on improving public infrastructure and supporting the most vulnerable members of society.

Briefly, I wondered what my old assassin-mates thought of all this. My mentor hadn’t thought I was suited for life as an assassin. Maybe she was right. Maybe I was born to be queen.

After the conference was done and Luken and I were alone, he pulled me into his arms. “You were amazing. Want to go to our room and get out of these clothes?”

I laughed as heat washed through me. “Oh, I do! But I promised Thessa and Darcie I’d stop by after the conference. I’ll meet you there.”

“Don’t take too long,” Luken said, brushing a kiss to my lips. He sent a promise of pleasure through the bond, making my knees go weak.

It was almost enough to tempt me away from my promise, but I had promised. I slipped out of Luken’s arms and laughed as I skipped away to find them. They were in the library—as I suspected—with books laying open on the sofa around them as they shared soft kisses, oblivious to the world around them. They looked so wrapped up in each other, I first made to sneak away. Thessa saw me.

“Elara,” she yelped, pulling away from Darcie as though she was expecting a scolding.

Darcie pulled her tighter. “Embarrassed?”

Thessa blushed and grinned. “Force of habit.”

They’d explained to me that any sort of intimacy was strictly forbidden in the temples. Even simple kisses would have had them both beaten. It was the reason why they had worked so hard to get Thessa out in the first place. Their plan was for her to come back and get Darcie out, too. Thessa being captured and forced into the Blood Trials had put an end to that plan.

“How are you two settling in?” I asked.

Thessa snuggled closer to Darcie. “It’s wonderful. Marissa took us shopping yesterday, and we got Darcie a whole new wardrobe.”

It was Darcie’s turn to blush. “You spent too much.”

I laughed. “I’m the wife of a rich king. That budget was nothing, believe me.”

Darcie grinned as she twisted a strand of Thessa’s hair around her finger. “Thanks, anyway.”

I nodded. “Well, it looks like you two want your privacy…” I winked. “I’ll see you later.”

“See you,” Thessa murmured, but Darcie was already pressing kisses to her jaw.

I quickly made my escape, laughing to myself. I understood them all too well as I headed to the bedrooms.

Luken was waiting for me.