Lady Isara nodded. “Very well. Lord Ogumi Ryu, the Council shall grant your request to try your hand at becoming the chosen of the Twilight Throne, but know that the burden of leadership rests heavily upon your shoulders. Before you can seek the crown’s favor, you must prove to us that you are worthy of leading the Darkwalker elves. Worthy of becoming the next Twilight Prince.”
Ryu nodded solemnly, a mixture of relief and determination washing over him. He had taken a significant step toward his ultimate goal, but he knew that the journey ahead would be arduous.
As the council session drew to a close, Ryu’s thoughts swirled with a whirlwind of emotions. He had succeeded in being formally accepted by the Council as the heir presumptive to the throne, but he still had to prove himself to them
Worse, he had yet to prove himself to the Twilight Throne and the crown.
What would happen to the realm if he was unsuccessful? His father had told him about how his parents had met, how his father’s half-brother had tried to usurp the Twilight Throne for himself.
Was it possible that the Twilight Throne would choose someone else?
No. Hehadto become the next Twilight Prince, otherwise his father’s sacrifice was for nothing.
Hehadto find a way to break the bond with Ella and regain the essence of himself that he’d mistakenly given away to her.
And they would both be free of each other. If she wished, he truly would see her taken care of and settled somewhere far away from here.
Or if she truly wanted, she could go home, back to that dumpy seaside village.
But he would get her a better house. He’d listened as she’d described her house to Mizuki and Hiroshi, talking fondly of a little wooden house with two bedrooms and a little garden and a stone oven that her father had built for her mother.
It had sounded horribly provincial, even though Ella had been waxing nostalgic over it.
Well, he would get her a better house, after all, he would be visiting her often, and he could never sleep in a two-bedroom hovel like—
He stopped short, aghast at his own thoughts.
Visit Ella once she was sent away from the Court? Why on earth would he do that?
No, no, he would break the bond and send her away, and that would be the end of that. They would never have to see each other again.
As he walked away from the main hall, a seed of doubt took root in his heart.
Was this truly for the best?
The thought lingered in his mind, refusing to be ignored.
And for the first time, Ryu allowed himself to question the walls he had erected around his feelings.
In the depths of his being, a flicker of longing ignited, threatening to shatter the carefully constructed facade. His heart rebelled at the thought of saying goodbye to Ella—but he ruthlessly quashed the feeling.
This was a necessary sacrifice for the greater good of his people.
And his father’s dream of bringing the Twilight Court out of its isolationist past.
He had to show the Council that he had matured, that he was ready to lead with wisdom, compassion, and the unwavering resolve to protect and uplift the Darkwalker Elves.
But first, he had to break the bond between himself and Ella.
Ryu quickened his pace, his heart pounding. He was almost at his study, soon he would be able to close the door behind him and lock these uncomfortable questions out of his heart.
There was no room for doubt of any kind.
His feet were set on the path before him, and he could not deviate.
~
Ryu smiled when he entered his study to find his Uncle Erlan already there, poring over some long, and very boring-looking documents.
