Noise carried through the room, and I blinked against the cacophony of the advisors and lords arguing about what must be done moving forward. It infuriated me that none of them were talking about the incredible woman we just lost.
I tried to shut it all out, but the incessant arguing was driving me to my breaking point. I had just promised to contain my emotions and conduct myself in a better manner, but these people were making it incredibly hard in my fragile state.
“Please stop,” I muttered, glancing around at the red faces of the men yelling loudly at one another, spit flying from some of their mouths as they gestured around wildly.
Dakath shot me an empathetic gaze as he rested his hand on my lower back.
I tried again, infusing a little more strength into my voice. “Stop, please. All of you.”
Again, no one listened, and my parchment-thin patience was wearing down to the edge of being nonexistent.
Taking a deep breath, I used a commanding tone that came from deep within my core as I bellowed, “Stop!”
This time, silence fell as the advisors and lords turned to take in our arrival for the first time.
The blessed silence didn’t last long, though.
“And who are you to tell us Lords what to do, woman?” A portly, balding man asked in a tone that dripped condescension, breaking the shocked silence that had fallen over the room.
His tone and blatant sexism had my blood boiling, reminding me of the manner in which Freyen spoke. These were the men who forced Myrin to hide who she was so that she might lead this empire in peace, without someone trying to usurp her simply because she lacked a penis.
Dakath let out a threatening rumble and stepped forward. Holding my hand out, I stopped him. “I’ve got this.”
The Lord chortled and smacked his belly with his hand. “Oh, do you hear that lads? She’s got this.”
A few chuckles accompanied his mirth, and my eyes were quick to tally every single person who found his statement funny. I wouldn’t forget them.
To my utter shock, Myrin’s elderly human advisor stepped forward with a scroll. Without preamble, he bellowed, “You are speaking to the new Empress in a disgraceful manner, and I will not stand for it. Cease this drivel at once!”
Gasps of shock and chuffs of indignation sounded throughout the room, and I was certain my own intake of breath accompanied the noise.
Some part of me had wondered if she expected me to take the throne, but I hadn’t thought it would actually be set in stone.
“Bollocks!” The rotund, offensive man roared. “Who agreed to that? We all saw how well it worked with a female on the throne already.”
Kolvar flashed out of the corner of my eye, speeding to grab the man by the neck and shoving him harshly into a wall. “I’m giving you one warning to shut your mouth,” he seethed down at him. My core clenched with desire at seeing him stand up for what was right.
Elijah’s voice filled the room with a confident, regal tone that commanded attention. “These lands prospered under a woman’s rule. We’ve known peace and abundance for so long that no generation even remembers the last war between the empires that graced the world. I would consider that a spectacular reign. Who here thinks they can take up the mantle and be equally as successful?”
Over ten hands instantly raised, and I noted that eight of them were men who had laughed at the sexist comments moments ago. Of course they thought they could do what Myrin had, as if it was an easy task.
“That is exactly why you will not rule,” Elijah snapped, taking a second to look each man in the eye who had puffed up his chest in return. “You are arrogant and ignorant in ways that would make each of you a poor leader—I do not think any one of you has what it would take to be successful. Do you know who I wish to follow?”
He didn’t wait for an answer. Instead, he turned to look at me with such deep admiration that my knees trembled. “I wish to follow someone who knows how heavy the crown will feel. A person who will understand the burden of having so many lives to care for. Someone who doesn’t think they are good enough but will try every day to be better for their people.”
Once more, the human advisor stepped forward, clearing his throat as he opened the scroll in his hands. “Notallof you know me—I am Isaiah, and I was one of the Empress’s advisors. My speciality lay in documenting her rule and recording the laws she passed. I have her formal decree here, that she drafted when she declared war on the Thaician Empire. They are her final wishes.”
My breath caught in my throat, and I found myself leaning against Dakath for support. There was something haunting about hearing the final wishes of someone who had passed, knowing they wrote the words with the knowledge they might meet their final fate.
My hands trembled as I forced myself to clasp them in front of me as the room fell into silence and her words read aloud.
“This is my formal decree as Empress of the Tridian Empire,” Isaiah began, meeting my eyes for the briefest moment before he continued. “If I am to die, I have no heir to take the throne in my stead. I was never allowed the luxury and comfort of having a partner, nor a family. My duty was interwoven with every part of my life in order to ensure the best for my people. However, I do not believe that is the best way to rule. I ruminated on my reign after meeting the person I believe holds all of the qualities that signifies a great ruler. I realized that my hidden identity did not allow me to rule with an open love. Not for my people and not for those around me. It is my wish for Kyella to take the throne in my stead and teach to all in our lands.”
My lips pinched together, and my eyes burned with tears that I couldn’t prevent from falling down my face. I swallowed around the hard lump forming in my throat, sniffling as my mind reeled at the revelation. I had taught her that?
“No one else has a claim to my throne, and Kyella’s reign is to remain uncontested. She may change her table of advisors, as it is her prerogative to choose who is best to help her move forward and prosper in the way she sees fit. All ruling Lords and Ladies must bend the knee to her rule, or they will be stripped of their titles, lands, and money.”
Horror washed over the faces of the men I’d noted.
