Derek hums thoughtfully. “What about the House of Commons?”
“I think they’ll stand behind me, though I can’t say that for sure. Weirdly, Grimstad seems to like me, and as Speaker of the House, he has enough influence that he’ll be able to flip some votes if he needs to.”
“But?”
I groan and swallow the frustration rising in my throat. “But Lords has full veto power over anything the House of Commons votes in.”
“So, you either wait more than half a decade, risk bringing war or political subterfuge to Freya’s reign, or you get cock-blocked by a bunch of old snobs,” Derek sums up, a sympathetic grimace on his face.
Clenching my jaw, I nod and hope he has some magic solution for me. This sort of problem is what I’m supposed to be good at solving, but I don’t know what to do. I hate it.
When Derek sits forward, I’m so sure he found the loophole that what he actually says falls flat on the floor between us: “Freya’s going to be queen.”
I blink. Narrow my eyes. Take a breath. “Yeah, that’s not really new information, Riley.”
He scoffs. “I’m no expert on Candoran government processes, but Freya can propose a constitutional change to better balance the power between the houses.”
“Maybe, but any executive orders she makes are sent to the Houses for vote.”
“But she only needs a sixty percent vote from Lords if she already has Commons behind her. Any Lord with an ounce of interest in his constituents knows it’s a bad idea to go against a queen the people chose. Birthright or not, nobility still has to answer to public opinion or risk losing their seat.”
I stare at him, trying to figure out how a Hollywood heartthrob can refer to the Candoran First Charter like it’s common knowledge. Clearly there’s a lot more to my brother than I realized.
“You think the nobility are going to vote to limit their own power?” I ask, curious to hear what he’ll say.
He shrugs. “I think they’ve never had a monarch willing to challenge them. Like Queen Ingrid said, Candorans are inherently good people—and not many Lords will risk looking corrupt when the crown and Commons are aligned.”
He might be on to something. “Historically, Commons has always sided with the people, and Lords with the crown,” I murmur. “So opposing Freya would actually be breaking tradition.”
Derek grins. “Exactly.”
“But Freya can’t make any executive orders until six months into her term.”
“Six months is way better than seven years, El.” He tilts his head to one side as he studies me. “I’ll feel a lot better about your supposed devotion to one of my best friends once you’ve been together longer than a few days.”
He’s playing the older brother role surprisingly well given the shock we both got from the news about our shared parent. But I’m more interested in his solution than his worry about my relationship. A decent number of people would dislike the idea of a new queen changing the constitution so thoroughly, but I’m going to guess a lot of the common class would see it as a change toward modernity. As I observed during Freya’s campaign tour, that’s what Candora needs.
“Freya was right,” I mutter as I start running through the possibilities of Derek’s suggestion. What a balance of power could do to help not just our situation, but Candora as a whole.
He lifts an eyebrow. “About what?”
“You really do have a solution to everything.”
As he rolls his eyes, I make my way to the door to Freya’s sitting room and knock gently before stepping inside. My eyes scan the room until Ifind Freya on the couch between two dark-haired women, and only after she smiles at me do I pay attention to her friends.
The woman on Freya’s right is Bonnie. I’ve seen her in a few movies, and Freya told me during one of our many recent conversations that Bonnie and Derek used to be an item, but their relationship was strictly for publicity. I don’t know much about her, but Bonnie doesn’t suit a guy like Derek. He needs someone pushy enough to force him to lower his mask now and then.
The woman on Freya’s left is young—probably early twenties—but there’s something in the way she studies me while I study her that makes me think she’s not the sort of person anyone should mess with. Kasey, I think. Freya said that Kasey is an incredibly talented screenwriter and will have a movie coming out soon, so she fits right in with the actors.
Liam, a musician I’m familiar with because my old comrade Bax is a major fan, is sound asleep on the opposite couch, his feet over the arm and his head on the lap of another man who is either annoyed by the situation or amused as he writes something in a notebook. I can’t actually tell because his expression is soft and muted, except when he smiles at Bonnie.
That must be Hank, Bonnie’s fiancé. I owe him one for asking Freya about having kids with Grimstad because that might have been the first time she really thought about whatshewanted instead of what was best for Candora.
Namely, having kids withmeinstead.
“Was there something you needed, Mr. Reid?” Freya asks, a knowing glint in her eyes.
I keep my expression neutral despite some of the things running through my imagination right now. “I’m sorry for the interruption, Your Highness, but you’re needed for a moment in the Perseid Hall.”
