Each word from her was like a blow to my heart. Every. Single. One. But I squared my shoulders and didn’t back down. “Yet, it wasmewho stopped a king from creating a war throughout our continent. Doesn’t that deserve some kind of respect?”
She laughed lightly. “Ah, the charges that were brought against you that you somehow managed to wheedle your way out of.” Her smile turned razor-sharp. “And is that how you’ll solve issues as they arise? By visiting the Veiled Between and altering fate every time something doesn’t go your way?”
My head snapped back as though she’d slapped me. “No, of course not.”
“That’s good. We wouldn’t want a heretic sitting on the throne who flaunts the laws of our land in everyone’s faces, now would we?”
A flush worked across my neck, yet despite the rage building inside me, I kept my voice calm. “My queen, I can see that you’re doing everything in your power to disrespect me and try to scare me away, so I’ll say this once. I won’t let you.”
Her eyes widened.
“And to answer your concerns that I cannot possibly lead because I’m not royal, or that a union between Adarian and I could never work because of the ten Houses...I disagree. The Houses may be angry that one of their daughters wasn’t chosen, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be appeased in other ways, and I can learn to lead. I’m educated, willing, and determined to do what’s best for Stonewild. And I love your son more than any other ever could. He and I will rule together, side by side, doing what’s best for our kingdom. And I can assure you, every decisionIever make will be to benefit Stonewild. I promise you that. So, whether you choose to accept me is up to you, but I’m telling you this now, I’mnotgoing anywhere.”
For a moment, she just stared at me, her gaze as consuming as her son’s.
She shook her head and laughed softly, yet the sound wasn’t scorning. It was more...pitying.
She sighed and laid a hand over mine. Her palm was smooth, warm, and soft. It was the hand of a female who’d been doted on her entire life and had never needed to lift a finger to obtain what was needed. Unlike Jax, whose hands were rough and calloused. He had the hands of someone who got in the fray.
“Truly, Elowen,” she said quietly, and a ring of sincerity filled her voice. “I mean this from the bottom of my heart. I have nothing against you. I can see that you mean well, and my son wholly cares for you. But I’m asking you to step back. I’m asking you to do what’s best for others. If Jax doesn’t marry a woman of noble birth, we’ll have broken our vows to the ten Houses. The reason they’ve never risen up against the crown, or threatened to try and steal it from the Stagthorn line, or bickered too valiantly when their king asks for them to put his needs before their own is because of promises that have been made and must be kept. And one of those promises is to keep the crown pure with royal blood.”
Pure. A dirty feeling washed over me. “And I’m not . . . pure.”
“No, Elowen. You’re a lorafin whose magic has been treated as a whore.” I made a noise, low in my throat, and her face dimmed. “I don’t say that to insult you. I’m merely speaking plainly. The ten Houses will never view you as an equal because you’re not. You don’t belong with my son, and you don’t belong here, so please, I’m asking you to do what’s best for everyone else around you and leave Stonewild once and for all.” She stepped closer to me, her voice like steel. “And, Elowen, I ask that younevercome back.”
CHAPTER 31
The queen’s words cut me so deeply with hurt and rage that I didn’t trust myself to return to the dining hall. Because apparently, the queen hadn’t heard me. Despite her threats, despite her attempts at manipulation, I wasn’t leaving, and I saw what all of her words truly were.
A way to try and trick me.
A way to twist my emotions to suit her.
But I’d grown up with a master manipulator. Now, I could spy those acts miles away, and I wasn’t going anywhere.
Even though the queen wanted me to leave because it would be easier for her and the king, I had no intention of doing so. Still, I couldn’t help the fury her meddling had born.
I scoffed and paced back and forth in Jax’s suite. So much anger had worked up inside me that I needed to burn off some steam.
I sneered when I reached the far wall and turned. His mother had even used the ten Houses as a scare tactic to try andmake meleave her son, yet I’d seen enough of our realm to know that the ten Houses could change at a king’s whim. And as much as she tried to declare that the throne needed the Houses, the opposite was, in fact, true. The Houses needed the throne.
The law of our land gave the power to the courts and the throne. Not the ten Houses of each kingdom. So while I knew that it made life easier for the throne if the ten Houses were functioning amicably, I also knew it wasn’t the be-all and end-all. It just made a king and queen’s life less encumbered.
And as for the promise Jax’s parents made to the Houses that their son would marry one of their daughters. Well, that was just too damn bad.They’dmade that promise. Jax hadn’t, and I hadn’t either.
I paced even faster in Jax’s tower. I knew that Jax was still downstairs. I could feel him within the palace, and from the tug of his location along the mate bond, I was guessing he was still with his father. Most likely, he was getting an earful too.
Seething, I threw my hands up in disgust that his parents were being so difficult, and stormed across the room again. Magic crackled around me. The bedsheets flapped wildly against the mattress. The walls trembled. I was seriously ready to combust.
Taking a deep breath, I stopped and realized that I needed to expel some energy. My magic was roiling inside me so violently that I worried I would blow off the top of Jax’s tower if I didn’t calm down.
Tapping my foot, I tried to figure out the best way to do that. I could exercise, perhaps even grab Trivan or Lander or Lars and ask if they’d spar with me, even though I had no idea how to spar.
Or, I could leap from the window and see how well my shadow magic protected me in the wind’s currents. I’d learned on the Isle of Song that such a thing was possible for a lorafin who fully controlled her shadow magic. I’d just never had the opportunity to try yet. But apparently, my shadows could work as one with the air, and if I learned how to master that part of my magic, I could literally fly.
I made a face. No, that probably wasn’t very wise. I could just as likely end up on the cobblestones below, a bloody mess, if I didn’t do it right. It was probably best to try and master that skill with a location closer to the ground.
With a huff, I sat down on the sofa and realized the easiest option to expel my energy was to simply venture to the Veiled Between and speak with the semelees. In fact, there was no reason I couldn’t do a calling for myself right now.
