Chapter Nine
Chapter Nine
“Good evening, everyone, and welcome to the Winter Palace,” Nicolas Frost boomed out from where he was standing on the dais at the far end of the ballroom. “Thank you for joining us for this momentous occasion when I will appoint a new ruler to be my successor to reign over the Winter Kingdom.”
The dais was made of pure crystal and was surrounded by a curved wall of glass windows. Wide steps lead up to the raised platform, and two silver throne chairs embellished with jewels were positioned at the back of the dais.
The king stood next to his mate, Queen Bianca, directly in front of the throne chairs as they looked out over the crowd. Both of them looked regal dressed in white and silver robes, with crowns of diamonds and sapphires glittering on their heads.
Jackie and Micah stood at the front of the crowd below the dais, their friends fanning out behind them like a wall of protection as they waited to be called forward. As the king continued to talk about the sacred traditions of the Winter Kingdom, Micah glanced around and scanned the crowd. Most of the people who had gathered near the dais kept a respectful distance, but there were a few of Jackie’s relatives who were too stupid to hide their greed and envy as they eyed the throne.
He knew the two biggest threats were Jackie’s cousins, Charles and Rowan. Both males wanted the throne for themselves, but there was nothing they could do about it.
“Now I call upon my eldest daughter, Prince Jaqueline Frost to come take the pledge of leadership along with her mate, Micah Volt. May they prove their worth and show their willingness to spill their blood for the kingdom and our people.”
“That didn’t sound ominous or anything,” Sapphire murmured unhappily.
Raiden just grunted in agreement beside her.
Queen Bianca nodded at two guards standing close by. They moved forward to uncover the sacred relic that had been placed on a pedestal in the center of the dais. The crowd began to whisper excitedly at the sight of the magical ice sculpture that was in the form of the Winter Kingdom’s crest.
“Something is wrong,” Jackie hissed, the anger in her voice almost savage.
As the king, queen, and the guards moved to stand off to the side of the dais, Micah held a hand out to Jackie to help her ascend the steps.
“What?” he asked. “What is it?”
“The ice sculpture has been tampered with. We are supposed to spill our blood on it, and it is supposed to light up when we are accepted as the next rulers of the Winter Kingdom, but it feels off. The sculpture has always been hidden away in a secret compartment under the throne, but I’ve managed to sneak a peek at it a few times over the years. It feels different right now. I can sense it.”
Micah believed her without question. “What does that mean for us?”
“It means someone planned this. Someone here wants to hurt us. If we are rejected, we could be banned from the kingdom…or even killed.”
“What?” he gasped in outrage. “Hell fucking no.” Switching to his mental connection with Braxton, he said, “Hey, I need a favor. A big one.”
“Okay,” Braxton answered without hesitation.
“Can you destroy the ice sculpture without anyone knowing you did it?”
“Yes. Not that I mind destroying shit on the regular, but would you mind telling me why I’m demolishing this particular relic for you?”
“Short answer is someone tampered with it. If Jackie and I spill our blood on it and we are rejected, they are probably going to murder us right here in the middle of the damn ballroom.”
“Oh, I don’t fucking think so,” Braxton murmured.
A few seconds later, the crowd let out a collective gasp of shock as the chandelier directly above the ice sculpture suddenly fell. It crashed into the sacred relic, cracking the ice sculpture into a million tiny pieces that rained down on the ground like shards of ice.
Micah pulled Jackie to a stop on the steps, shielding her from the debris using his own body. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine.” Using their bond, she asked, “What the hell just happened?”
“Brax did it to save us,” he told her.Switching over to praise his cousin, he said, “Nice work.”
“I try,” Braxton said. “So, now what?”
Since Micah had no clue, he didn’t say anything. As he glanced around to observe everyone around them, he noticed that the king looked extremely confused and distressed by the situation. In contrast, the queen just looked pissed.
“What have you done!” Bianca demanded coldly.
“This was an attempt on my life, Mother,” Jackie shot back. “Someone is trying to stop me from claiming the throne. They are trying to hurt me and my mate, and that will not be tolerated.”
Stomping up the remaining steps, she made a big show of glancing up at the ceiling and then down at the broken pieces of the sacred relic as if to study them. Micah just stood by her side, silently guarding her.
“This has obviously been tampered with,” she announced.
“You must have done something to it. You knew it would reject you so you had to destroy it,” Rowan accused.
“Prove it, or shut up,” she shot back. “A few seconds more, and we would have been crushed under the chandelier just like the relic. Perhaps this is your doing.”
“Prove it,” Rowan threw back at her mockingly.
The queen huffed out an annoyed breath. “Enough! Since the relic has been broken, we must hold the Crucible to determine whether or not Jaqueline and her mate are worthy of ruling over the kingdom.”
Loud murmurs echoed through the large room.
“The Crucible?” a fae from the crowd exclaimed.
“What is that?” another asked.
Crispin stepped forward to explain. “It is the ancient ritual that was used before the creation of the sacred ice sculpture. The Crucible is a series of trials that will take place in the labyrinth that is located on the lowest level of the palace. Only the participants know what is required of them in the Crucible, so no one can prepare beforehand.”
“That sort of sounds like the Merit of Godhood Trial you went through,” Devon whispered to her mate.
Braxton nodded. “I guess each race has their own version, or something similar.”
“Jackie?” Micah said through their bond.
“I don’t know. I’ve never heard of this Crucible before, nor was I aware of a labyrinth below the palace.”
Crispin spoke up again, surprising everyone as he added, “If they are going through the Crucible, the participants are allowed to call upon guides or helpers to join them in the labyrinth.”
“That’s not possible—” the queen began, but he cut her off again before she could finish her protest.
“It is stated in the covenant drafted and signed by the four founders of the kingdoms. All of the kingdoms once held the Crucible trials to select their leaders, and they all agreed to abide by the same set of rules. They are allowed help,” Crispin insisted. “The Crucible will not only determine whether or not she is worthy to be queen. It will also prove that she can lead others through difficulties.”
The queen’s lips pursed as she shot him an icy glare. “But no other rulers or members of the royal houses may help. That means not you, Kamillia, or the Prince of the Summer Kingdom. The Prince and Princess of Hell and the new rulers of the Shifter Realm are also banned from participating. If you try to enter the labyrinth to intervene, the participants will be punished for your interference.”
“What the fuck kind of rule is that?” Kami snapped. “I don’t want the fucking throne, so I should be able to help them.”
“You can’t.”
“Weird that she immediately knew all of us wouldn’t be able to help,” Devon pointed out in a dry tone. “Not suspicious at all.”
“Hmm,” Braxton hummed in agreement.
Crispin sighed before saying, “The rule was meant to stop the royal houses from warring and consolidating power. All of the fae kingdoms agreed to the same terms and made the same vow. It was the only way to safeguard the ley lines within each kingdom.” He turned to stare up at Jackie. “This was all I could do to help you.”
So, this was the secret he had been keeping.
Her brother had realized something was wrong and had done research on what would happen if she had to participate in the Crucible. She nodded her thanks to him, trusting that he had done his best to try to aid her.
But why hadn’t he warned her about it beforehand?
“Maybe he couldn’t,” Micah said. “Or perhaps he didn’t want to forewarn your mother about what he was doing. Considering she knew all about the Crucible, this might be her doing.”
“You’re right. She must have something to do with this,” Jackie agreed.
“We can help,” Kellen announced as he and Lia stepped forward.
“Shifters?” one of Jackie’s uncles scoffed. “What good will they do in a fae trial?”
“Let the dog help her,” Rowan sneered. “She’ll still fail.”
“And once she fails, we can take our turn in the trial and claim the throne,” Charles said gleefully.
Kellen and Lia ignored the commentary as they walked up the steps to join Jackie and Micah on the dais. As the apex alpha wolf shifter, Kellen was far more than just an average shifter. So was Lia, who would one day be the apex alpha alicorn shifter. Since all shifters had recently gotten a magical boost, it was foolish to underestimate them.
Braxton wasn’t subtle as he used his god powers to bitch slap Rowan across the face, making the fae male fall to the ground from the force of the blow.
“Who did that?” he shouted as he tried to get up, but a magical force held him down on his hands and knees.
“Me.” Braxton sent him an evil grin. “Who’s the dog now, you little bitch?”
When Dillion and Andrea started toward the platform, the queen shook her head. “Jaqueline, you and your mate may only bring one helper each. So, choose wisely.”
Jackie gave her guards a gesture telling them to remain where they were, then she turned to address Kellen and Lia. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
Kellen shrugged. “Consider us the contingency plan.”
“Or at least the backup of the backup plan,” Lia corrected.
“Okay, let’s do this,” Micah said.
Jackie nodded, grateful for their quick agreement to join them on this quest. Turning back toward her parents, she lifted her chin. “We will do the trial.”
Her father’s expression changed for a moment to one of extreme sadness before it went blank again. “So be it. Let the Crucible begin!”
“Now? We are doing this right now? Can’t we fucking change clothes first?” Lia bitched.
“Guess not,” Jackie murmured.
“You brought this upon yourself.”
Pure shock tore through her as she heard her mother’s voice ringing through her head. The fae didn’t have natural telepathic abilities with anyone except their mate, so how in all the realms had her mother spoken in her mind?
For a second, she thought she had simply imagined it.
Then, she saw her mother’s lips curve into a small, triumphant smile. Was she the person who had tampered with the sacred ice sculpture?
Had this been her plan all along?
Before she could respond or send a warning to Micah, the floor beneath her feet disappeared, and she fell into a dark, endless void.