Page 38

“Now, who would like to represent you all in voicing your concerns?” Byn asked.

I stole a look at my husband. His spine was as straight as a sword, shoulders rolled back, and chin held high.

He reflected my own body language almost perfectly.

If it weren’t for the tension I could see in the set of his shoulders, I would almost think he was comfortable leading meetings like this.

I admired him, really. I knew he had been trained for all of this since he was a small child, but he truly did make it look easy. He was practically a natural.

The only thing giving him away was the anxiety I felt in my chest that I recognized as his.

“Well?” Byn asked again.

This time, a handful of people turned their heads to look at one male sitting directly across the table from me.

He had a shaved head, but the small hairs you could see were distinctly gray.

His skin was a few shades darker than Byn’s, as though he worked outside his entire life and was permanently colored by the sun.

He wore an outfit of teal and black, and I could tell by the way he held himself that he saw himself in high regards.

Acknowledging the looks tossed his way, he cleared his throat and slowly stood.

“Your Majesty, I mean no disrespect, but a lot of us, including myself, are not fond of this… union between yourself and the Heartshire family. We understand it has brought peace—but at what cost?” the male said.

“Do go on, Farrowtide,” Byn said, leaning forward in his chair.

I saw the male’s throat bob before he seemed to double down.

“King Thorntier, do you really expect us to be alright with you willingly tainting the bloodline of your family? The name your parents died to uphold?”

Byn seemed to seethe at the mention of his parents. His anger was palpable as he said, “Do not dare to speak about my parents in such a manner, Thomas.”

For some reason, Thomas Farrowtide continued on, despite the clear warning.

“All I’m saying is, you can’t expect all of us to simply accept the fact that for the first time in Southern history, we have a full blooded Northerner as our queen.

Not only a Northerner, but a non-wielder at that!

All the signs to reject her were there, as clear as signs from the Stars come.

I mean, she’s a crid for crying out loud! ”

At that, I felt Byn’s anger ignite in my chest, as though there was so much of it, it overflowed into my own body.

A crid, or cridual, was a common slur for Northerners, meaning worthless, dirty, talentless, or useless. I only knew this from books—I never thought I’d actually be called one to my face.

Before Byn could set the male on fire, I stood swiftly. Thinking only of our plan, I slammed my palm face down on the top of the table, making direct eye contact with Farrowtide and focusing all of my energy.

My hands, which were adorned with my gloves that nobody noticed before now, were presently on full display as the ground began to shake.

The stone and crystal table beneath my hand began to crack, the sound ear-splitting.

The crack went from directly under my hand, toward Farrowtide and reaching him in the span of just a couple heartbeats.

Then, the table broke in half completely before us.

The people screamed and scrambled, moving out of the way as the pieces of the table landed on the ground with a heavy thud . Byn was unphased, still seated, but even Teagan was now standing a few paces away.

I didn’t look away from Farrowtide, though. Not even as I walked between the pieces of broken stone and crystal, heading straight for him.

I focused my energy again, conjuring a fireball to the palm of my left hand.

Farrowtide’s eyes widened so far I thought they might pop out of his head.

He started trying to retreat, so with my other hand, I forced plants up through the marble floor.

Focusing through my sun stones, I called to the plants, making them wrap around the male’s ankles and up his legs until he was rooted in place.

I stood before him now, ball of blue fire in hand, calmly seething.

“I may be Northern, but make no mistake, I am no crid. I belong here just as much as you do,” I said firmly, loud enough so the whole room heard.

With that, I yanked the eyepatch from my face and stuffed it in the pocket of my dress, staring Farrowtide in the eyes.

The male gasped as he noticed my eye, which had been hidden up until now from the people, as well as my gloves and the fireballs I’d made. He tried to free himself, but only stumbled and fell to the ground. He cowered, covering his head with his arms.

“I-I’m so sorry, my queen! I meant no harm!” he said, his body shaking.

I scoffed, and turned on my heel to face the rest of the crowd.

“I may not be a full-blooded Southerner, but make no mistake, I am Southern,” I said, looking around the room at the different expressions on the people’s faces. Fear, shock, worry.

“I am your queen. And while this male,” I pointed behind me to Farrowtide, “claims the Stars warned you all of me, I object. The Stars have blessed me, as I wield all ten zirilium—both Northern and Southern,” I said, my voice loud and steady. “If anything, I’m assisting the Thorntier bloodline.”

I waved a hand toward the broken table, and though I made it look effortless, I was focusing like I’d never focused before.

Thanks to my zirilium, the table slowly pieced itself back together.

I used earth to break it, and I used crystal to fix it.

Mending the gap between the two broken pieces by forcing the crystals to grow and fuse together, I focused until all that showed that the table had once been broken was the shock of clear crystals running down the middle of it, once again a perfect circle.

With that, I took a page out of Byn’s book and raised my hand, snapping towards the ceiling.

With that, I conjured up a small storm of gray clouds inside of the room.

The people retreated, standing along the walls and cowering, but I carried on.

I forced the wind to pick up, ruffling the hair and clothes of everybody in the room.

“Now,” I said loud enough to be heard over the air ripping at me, “can we all carry on with these meetings in peace, or are there more objections to my presence here?” I asked, looking around the room at the different males and females.

When nobody spoke out against me, I flicked a wrist towards the ceiling, and the clouds slowly dispersed before they let loose any rain, taking the violent winds with them.

I smoothed down my dress and hair, and as an afterthought, released Farrowtide of the plants holding him in place. I calmly walked around the table and sat back down in my chair. I maintained a calm, neutral mask, one without much emotion on my face.

The chandelier was still shaking from the winds as Byn said, “If that’s all, I’d like to discuss more important matters now.”