“It took an event such as this for us to realize that we have been wrong. Every citizen has made a vow to rid ourselves of the hate we held for Fae kind. We wish to create a kingdom where our two races flourish together.”
The Prime Minister turned back to Daemon. "Your Highness, with your father… gone… the succession falls to you. The council has convened an emergency session. Though there are other candidates, you believe you are best fit to take the throne. We are prepared to recognize you as the rightful king, should you accept the responsibility."
Daemon’s hand tightened on mine. I felt his hesitation. All those years of being the shadow prince, the rejected son, the weapon forged in darkness rather than groomed for power, held a place deep in Daemon’s soul. He looked through the crowd, and resolve strengthened his expression.
"I accept," he said quietly. "On the condition that the laws of this kingdom are revised. We have waged war against every neighbor. The laws were designed to make conquest and death convenient. This must change."
"Agreed." The Prime Minister’s expression showed approval. "And your first act as king?"
Daemon looked at me. Something fierce and tender moved through his expression.
"Seris Aeryn." He shifted to face me fully, still holding my hand. "Daughter of the Veil. The woman who saved this realm when no one else could." His thumb brushed across my knuckles. "I’m asking you to stand beside me. Not as a weapon or tool or symbol, but as a partner. As queen."
The courtyard erupted again. Louder this time, joy mixing with approval.
But I barely heard it. I stood staring at Daemon, trying to process what he’d just asked. What accepting would mean. Queen. Not prisoner. Not monster. Not even just survivor. Something new entirely.
The weight of it settled over my shoulders like a mantle. Heavy. Inescapable.
I'd spent my whole life being told what I was. Fae. Veil-touched. Weapon. Monster. Wretch. Every label assigned by someone else's fear or ambition.
My mind ran in every direction. Fear. Doubt. But a portion of the crowd at the front was so loud that I broke out of my trance. It was the resistance. Kaelen. Malzaun. My bodyguards. All covered in bandages and some missing limbs just like I was.
If I became Queen, I could protect them. I would be able to protect them by changing the system itself.
I looked at Daemon, the man who'd freed me, fought beside me, and loved me through every impossible moment. Who'd never once tried to control or diminish what I was.
I would never be able to do this alone, but with him…
"Yes," I said.
The word came out steady, though my mind was full of doubt.
His smile broke like the sunrise.
The crowd's roar shook the stones beneath our feet.
And standing there, broken, exhausted, one-armed and barely standing, I felt something I'd thought lost forever.
Hope.
Not for what had been. Not for the family, home, or innocence I could never reclaim, but for what might yet be built from these ashes.
For what we might become, if we chose wisely.
For a future that we knew joy.
CHAPTER 31
SERIS
The moment the cheering reached its peak, something inside me cracked.
Not broke. Just fractured. Like ice under pressure that hadn’t quite given way yet, but would, if I didn’t move.
I pulled my hand from Daemon’s. Turned. Walked back through the arched doorway into the castle’s shadowed interior.
Behind me, the roar of the crowd faded to a distant rumble. My footsteps echoed too loud in the empty corridor. They were uneven, limping, and every step a reminder of how much the battle had cost. My missing hand throbbed with phantom pain, nerve endings screaming for something that would never answer again.
