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MIKAIL

QALI PALACE, YUSAN

S ora and I take the stairs up to the palace. She walks with her head held high and not a drop of blood on her. She surprised me. I thought for certain she would torture Seok to death. I would’ve. But she has always been the better person. Far better than this place deserves.

I am, of course, referring to both Idle Prison and Yusan as a whole.

By the time we reach the door, the tower chimes four bells. It’s time for the high priest of the Divine Temple of Kings to formally coronate Sora. Not that she needs it, since she was crowned by the Dragon Lord herself, but traditions hold sway.

“I assume you’ll want to dress before the coronation,” I say. “I’ll tell them that—”

“No, I’m ready now,” she says.

I pause. She’s stunningly beautiful, always, but she’s in the type of dress a commoner would wear with her hair in a simple braid.

“I’ll take the throne as myself,” she says.

My lips turn up in a smile.

Stars, what a queen.

“Very well.” I bow to her.

Royo meets us by the doors to the throne room. He eyes Sora’s rough cotton dress and then shrugs and sways a bit. He might still be drunk, even though he was supposed to dry out for this. I’m concerned about his drinking, but I’m in no position to tell anyone how to live.

Trumpets blare, and gilded doors open. I guess we’re doing this. I offer my arm to Sora, and she takes it.

The crowd stands and turns, but whispers spread as Sora gracefully walks in her simple calf-length shift.

Well, this is one royal event no one will forget.

Ambassadors from Khitan, Wei, and Gaya stand off to the right side of the throne room.

Fallador, the Gayan ambassador to Yusan, smiles, as does Gambria, the Yusanian ambassador to Khitan.

Sora told me of how Gam tried to help her when no one else could.

We’ve both buried old betrayals in favor of a united future.

Sora’s ladies in waiting stand to the left. Sun-ye stares daggers, unamused, and her twin sister, Rayna, seems dismayed as we pass them. All of that work picking a dress and hairstyle for Sora just for her to wear exactly what a girl from a mountain village would pick for a holy day.

Sun-ye and Rayna are free, of course, like all indentures, but chose to remain here to look after Sora. I’m told that they all sleep in the same room to ward off nightmares. It makes sense. It’s easier to face the darkness together.

As a sign of her mercy, Tiyung also stands in a place of honor. Seok’s heir being allowed to survive signals to everyone that old animosities won’t dictate her new rule. She spared his mother, too, sending the countess back to her country house.

Tiyung’s eyes drink her in. He’s also here because they have some kind of love between them. Who knows what that means or what it one day will become? They’ve said they’re taking things moment by moment, but when their eyes meet, there’s the promise of tomorrow.

My chest fills. That’s exactly what Sora is—a hope for a better dawn.

We reach the stairs, and she takes the steps up to the serpent throne alone. She sits, adjusting her hem, and Royo and I stand to either side at the bottom of the stairs.

The high priest begins the ceremony, and he eventually climbs the steps and lifts the ruby crown. All of the palace guards kneel to her, saluting her as one.

Unusually, the entire throne room, the ambassadors included, takes a knee to Sora.

“All hail Sora Daysum Naerium,” the priest says. “The sole rightful ruler of Yusan, uniter of the land, blessed by the gods, beloved of the people—the first Dragon Queen.”

“Long live the queen!” The sound echoes through the room and out into the palace.

I glance at Royo, who’s watching the queen. We will both do what’s necessary for Sora to have a long reign. We all will.

The three of us are family with bonds forged by blood and tears, but also mercy and hope. Together, with the people we loved, we changed the world. Now, we’ll make it worth the ones we lost.