“And do you swear to devote your life to leading your people into the light, to strengthen them, unite them, to know them and their needs?” Tawv continues, instead of demanding someone else.
“I swear to devote my life to leadingallpeople into the light; to strengthen them, unite them, to know them and their needs,” I declare, once again waiting for someone tobooat me or call out the fact that I’m fucking with their vows.
“And do you swear not to allow your people to repeat the mistakes of the past? To be swift in action when called for against threats within or without the barrier, and to strive for peace and prosperity above all else?”
“I do,” I answer, this time not feeling the need to alter any of the wording.
“Then rise, Vinna Aylin, and help to lead us into a new age,” Tawv invites me.
I take a deep breath and get to my feet. He places the crown on my head, and I’m surprised by the weight of it. It looked so delicate but feels far from it. Tawv beams at me, but my smile is still radiatingwhat the fuck.
“Now, Vinna, dip your feet in Dragon’s Tears and make your way to your seat,” he tells me, and my eyes go wide.
“Dragons are real?” I whisper, surprised, as I dip my bare feet in the same large bowl that Suryn and Ory did.
Tawv smiles. “It’s actually sap from a Dragon plant,” he explains. “We do it to clear away the remnants of the steps that have come before yours so that you can stand in your own reign and not someone else’s,” he tells me, and it makes goosebumps spring up on my arms.
I step away from him and make my way up the stairs. Suryn gives me a wide welcoming smile, and I have to stop myself from asking her what the hell she was thinking and flipping her off. My heart hammers against my ribs, tired after its climb from my feet back into my chest. I’m two steps from reaching my throne—that’s fucking weird to say—and I don’t know what’s going to happen when I reach it and turn around to face the people of this city.
Will they glare at me? Shout out their rejection? Politely applaud? Just stare?
I take a deep breath, square my shoulders and turn around.
A wave of deafening sound blasts me. My dress flutters against my legs as cheers and applause reach out and blanket me in their approval. The Sentinels of Tierit don’t hold back at all, letting me know loud and clear I am exactly where they want me to be. I fist my right hand over my bicep, and just when I think it can’t get any louder or rowdier, the people take it to a whole new level. They salute me back, and I will never forget this moment for as long as I live. Just like Suryn and Ory before me, I have to fight back tears as I’m overwhelmed by the love and support of these people. I look over to find my Chosen bellowing their lungs out and saluting me back.
Tok and Marn are hugging, tears dripping down their cheeks and pride shining in their eyes. My smile is massive and genuine as they welcome me. I look at Becket and wonder if we just might get that parade he was hoping for. My cheeks ache by the time the crowd starts to wind down, and I sit on my throne to the right of Suryn.
She rises from her seat, and the room goes silent once more. “Sentinels…” she calls out, her clear voice ringing out into the crowd like a welcome and simultaneous call to action. “Today is the day we embrace the new, and prepare for a better future. We have long been safe within the borders of our barrier, but the time has come to see our seclusion for what it is: a death sentence,” she declares, and a low rumble of agreement and nodding fills the room.
“Generation after generation thrives less and less within our magical walls, and we have to put a stop to the deterioration of our light and the slow depletion of our people. The leaders you see before you will be like none other as we pave the way for Sentinels not only here in Tierit but out there in the world.”
The crowd explodes into cheers, and Suryn smiles and waits for them to settle. “It will take time. It will take your trust and support. But we will find a way to thrive again. We will find our way in the world again. We will lead ourselves into a new age where we can thrive and be better than we have ever been before. Are you with me, Tierit?” she shouts out into the room, and I bellow out my own approval.
She’s good,I muse as she amps her people up and gives it to them straight. My worries about what will happen now fade as I realize that everything Suryn and I discussed before is still going to happen. I watch her saluting her people once again, and I can see it all clearly. She’ll work within the barrier; I’ll work outside of it. Ory will go where needed, and slowly but surely the Sentinels will come out of hiding.
The noise of the crowd dies down as Suryn raises her hands.
“Good,” she proclaims. “Then let us celebrate tonight, because tomorrow we have work to do,” she commands, and the room erupts again.
This time, the large doors in the back open, and people start flooding out of the throne room in the direction of wherever the party is going to get started. We watch them go, seated on thrones, and the realization hits me of what I’m responsible for. I’m humbled by it and slightly sobered by it too. My actions are not just mine and my Chosen’s alone anymore. There’s a whole race of people counting on us to make the world safe for them. I know it’s not going to be easy, but I’m filled with so much hope that it’ll be possible.
Suryn turns to Ory, and he gives her an incredulous look.
“You’re a sneak,” he accuses her playfully. “You said you were calling your dad and Tawv, you little chit.”
Suryn laughs and moves toward him. He stands and wraps her up in a hug.
“You are the best male for the job, Ory. You get more than anyone what we’re up against and just how important it is to get this all right,” she tells him, and Ory nods and hugs her tighter.
A quiet, low, angry growl starts up, and I trace the sound back to Enoch who is glaring daggers at Ory. Ory looks over and sends his own threatening look at Enoch and his coven. An amused smile crawls over my face.
Glad I won’t be here to referee all that shit.
Tawv walks up to us, a proud grin on his face. “We just need to wait for Wekun to give the three of you your joining marks, and then you can head to the festivities,” he announces cheerily.
I raise my hand. “Um, what’s a Wekun and what are joining marks?” I ask.
“Wekun is our official Bond Weaver. The Sovereign and her Quorum are marked with ways to contact one another and protect one another, and that’s what he’ll be here to do. It shouldn’t take long,” Tawv reassures me.
