Then, for the first time, I take in what are supposed to be my rooms.
The royal chambers are atrocious. Sure, some people might use other words to describe them.Elegant. Opulent. Glittering. Regal.But in my eyes, they’re an unnecessary extravagance.
Precious metals are everywhere. The furniture is all spindly and delicate-looking. Whoever crafted the chairs set up along the round table to my right clearly sacrificed comfort for style. The bed I spot in the other room is massive and canopied, big enough for ten people.
The worst part is the walls. Animal heads are mounted. Trophies. Mostly stags and elk, but there’s a fox, too. All of them have been taxidermized with jewels for eyes.
“What a waste,” I grit out, my head buzzing with the injustice of it. While the commoners of Nocturna struggled to keep themselves fed, the king placed precious gems in the bodies of dead animals and hung them as art.
Siegrid glances over at the taxidermy. “I agree,” she says, “not to mention how horrifically ugly they are. What do you want to do about it?”
I startle at her words. She’s actually asking me what I want to do, instead of telling me her plan?
“Sell it all,” I tell her. “Start with anything unnecessary in these chambers,and then we’ll go room by room through the whole castle. Surely some nobles and merchants can afford the dead king’s castoffs. We’ll put the proceeds back into the communities that need it, starting here in Sturmfrost.”
Siegrid nods. “I’ll inform Matron Alienor.” She takes a seat at the table, which is laden with food, then gestures to her side. “Sit.”
And I’m back to taking orders.
Still, I do as she says. Siegrid leans a forearm on the table. The look she gives me is severe but not unkind.
“We have three weeks until the castle is swarming with nobles. Three weeks to mold you. We must start immediately. Alienor will continue to instruct you in court etiquette, while I train you on your new powers. How is your access to the Bonded communication channels?”
My head spins at what she just said. “Uh… not great. I’m able to reach everyone, as you saw when I informed them of my identity, but it took an enormous amount of energy. And I’m still not sure how to reach individuals outside of my pack.”
Siegrid picks up a grape and chews it, thinking.
Eventually, she says, “It takes training to understand how to manipulate the new flow of conversation and connection. A pack’s connection is a river. As their Alpha, you can speak down the river, and your voice will reach your entire pack. I think you understand this already.”
I nod.
“As queen, or as Sovereign Alpha, you and I have access to a veritable sea of connection. You can reach everyone. You can reach the rivers of the separate packs. You can reach the tributaries that represent each Bonded individual.”
“In theory,” I grumble.
“Oh, it’s complicated, of course. Distance is an obstacle, though the magic you possess can overcome any distance with enough focus, as you’re already aware. Additionally, while you can reach any Bonded, they cannot reach you unless you initiate contact first. You alone can open the channel, and you alone can close it.”
“The exception being the mate bond,” I muse.
Siegrid gives me a long, unreadable look. “Yes,” she says eventually, her tone uncharacteristically encouraging. “Perhaps Anassa has informed you of that already. If your wolf has a mate bond, which it appears yours does, you can reach the mate’s rider and they may reach you as well. You should make ample use of that uncommon connection.”
There’s a spark in her eyes that unsettles me.
Before I can parse it, Siegrid swallows another grape and leans back in her chair. “Individual will may be an obstacle as well. If someone doesn’t wish to speak with you, they are capable of erecting mental walls just as you might with your direwolf. Though, you may be able to overpower such boundaries.”
“I wouldn’t,” I say quietly.
Sigried doesn’t respond to that. “The only thing that will help you learn how to navigate the waters of communication is practice. Devotion to it. It is no fault of your own that you cannot manage the bonds as you are. You are weak.”
What a nice reminder that this woman is Stark’s mother.
“But you think I can change that.” I hope?
“Any muscle can be strengthened. We’ll work on this in our sessions together. You also need to practice your powers, as you now can harness the magic of any pack.”
I blink in surprise. “I can? Are you sure?”
Siegrid presses her lips together, as if frustrated by how little I know. “Of course. From what we know of the Sturmfrost Queens, you are the conduit ofallBonded pack powers. Have you noticed that everyone’s powers have strengthened now that you’ve reclaimed your place?”
