June
“Well, you’ve had a busy week,” I said Sunday morning as I sat down with the queen. It was hard not to react as she slowly raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow.
“As opposed to all the other calm ones of my life or the completely boring ones since I’ve taken the throne?” she shot back, completely deadpan.
I really liked her now, but I understood why she was off-putting to a lot of people. Not really because it all stemmed in sexism, but I saw how she rubbed people the wrong way—I’d been one of them. I simply understood the real Sagan De la Rosa now.
Somewhat. I was getting so much pushback at work to get more—dig deeper and really get something more than just exclusives. The novelty of this was wearing off after a few weeks.
People wanted juicy, not just information.
How pathetic was that?
Really, it disgusted me. We were giving actual facts from the source and it wasn’t juicy enough to keep the focus of the masses of Thovudin.
Sometimes I thought we deserved the shit we got as dragons for being one of the dumbest species. Really, we did.
“I think if you ever have a boring week, you’re already dead, Your Majesty,” I teased right back, ignoring when her guards went tense. Sagan snickered and knew it was a joke, not a threat. “Just so everything is clear and not the spin everyone loves to put on what they hear—”
“Who needs facts when the fiction is so much more entertaining?” she interjected, something laced in her tone that worried me.
Because I didn’t like my time being wasted, and if she was in a mood or said too much, we wouldn’t be able to use this footage. I really wasn’t about to go back empty-handed.
She sighed, probably reading the room. “Ignore my saltiness. I apologize, June. I’m a bit tired of the judgments and unfair opinions. I’ve heard people think something is great until they hear it wasmyidea and then there’s fault with it. It’s to the point I remove myself from the situation because it’s the only way people will accept the proposal and we can get things done.”
I ignored when Princess Treena coughed and locked in on that. “So you were involved in the preparation of the press conference? Not that you just showed up to get some of the glory of the Alpha’s idea?”
And there it was—the root of her upset. Her mask never cracked, but I practically felt the temperature of the room go up from her fire dragon. Rage was thick in her tired eyes and—she waspissed.
She explained how she followed every letter of the law when the elders overstepped their authority and were shown to be a threat against Thovudin. People objected to it, but she did her duty and then remanded them to Alphas to be investigated. A panel of Alphas was to hear the evidence she would rule on. That was the law.
However, none of the Alphas had ever done it. None of their living family members, and given Alpha Dray had the mostexperience in law enforcement, they all turned to him for advice. Once that miscommunication was handled, all the Alphas discussed it on a call with her, and as a group they decided how the correct steps for the law would be followed in this day and age.
No one floundered. No one was confused. Everyone simplycaredabout getting this right and cutting out the cancer to make the nation better. It was done as a team, but the fact she had to take a back seat on it so it was accepted irked her.
Especially because she was then judged for being a weak woman who let the men do all the heavy lifting for her. So she really just couldn’t win.
She snorted. “I don’t want to win. It’s not a game. This isn’t agameand its people’s lives on the line. This corruption cost Thovudin its ruler and his mate—my parents.”
“What do you want?” I asked, studying her.
“Some fairness,” she answered immediately. “People don’t have to like me—I don’t like a lot of people after how downright horrible some have been to me, but I’ve beenfair. And I’m doing it all to make their lives better. So the next time someone opens their mouth to judge my wardrobe, take two seconds to befairand remember what I’ve been through.”
“And I heard you’ve corrected the situation as well,” I said, getting us back on track now that she’d made her point.
She nodded and went over how it all happened. I was a bit impressed that not only a mating prospect had come up with it, but that the pieces had fallen into place so easily. I even said as much.
Her eyes sparkled with hostile amusement. “It’s amazing how fast things come together when people aren’t greedy. Andra isn’t greedy. She wants people to be treated better in her industry—people like her in Thovudin. I wasn’t greedy. I simplywanted to bevaluedas other royals are when they have these sorts of brand deals.
“I didn’t want to be treated like a moron as other designers have behaved like I cannot do simple research. Or flex their power on aqueenthat they’re my only option and I need them because I’m such a disaster.” She gestured to the simple deep purple suit she was wearing. “I’m not wearing rags nor garbage bags. People will live that it’s plain.
“I’m here to keep peoplealive, and my goal is to make Thovudinthrive, not be at the top of fashion trends. Andra will help make sure that I do it a bit more fashionably because I am—and should be—otherwise focused.
“She also cares about my style and input. Also about Thovudin, not just herself and career aspirations. So things come together easily when people have the same goals—women support each other. There should be more of that.”
I hid my reaction and felt slimy for pushing. “You mean the new ‘reports’ about your relationship ending. The interviews and panels discussing it.”
She didn’t answer right away, shooting almost an apologetic glance to where Treena and my college friend Toni who now handled her PR were sitting. Then she focused back on me and I saw a queen, not just a woman.
