Chapter 51
Fifty-One
Anna
That was my cue.
I had listened to Caz through the door. I’d heard his words, but my focus had been on his emotions. He was as composed as anyone I’d seen, never wavering, but behind that mask, behind the tyrant, he was exposed to me. There was no hiding that raw vulnerability, and in it I sensed the truth.
He was worried. Fearful, even.
What we were doing, what we were about to do, was a watershed moment. He was putting it all on the line. For me. Not just himself, his position, his reign, but the entire kingdom.
Everything was balanced on a scale’s edge. One step too far on our part, and it could fall to pieces.
That said, neither of us was willing to back down. The status quo was unacceptable.
And it’s up to me to change it.
I pushed open the side doors and entered the throne room.
The thick black cloak I wore covered me from neck to toes, billowing out around the rest of my clothing.
I kept it wrapped tightly around me, a hand at the collar of my throat as I walked, steeling myself against the response my presence was sure to create.
There was total silence as I walked, but every eye in the room swiveled to look at me nonetheless.
The weight of that attention was enormous, and my steps slowed and started to falter.
I wanted to draw on some of the alpha power from my newly awakened dragon, but I refrained.
Caz and I had decided it would be best to hide my burgeoning strength for now.
Woe betide the first elite who tried to take advantage of me.
You can do this without it. You’re strong enough.
The thought was buoyed by a wave of support and encouragement flowing from the figure on the throne itself. He too was staring at me, but though his face was devoid of emotion, crafted into perfect neutrality, I knew the truth.
I knew what was behind it, and I felt my legs strengthen, my stride lengthen, and my pride wrap steel around my spine. I would not bow before the court. I would not let them see me cower in fear and run.
Never again.
I walked right up to stand slightly in front of Dirk. Bryna looked up at me from her knees, staring daggers. I narrowed my eyes a hair at her unwarranted defiance. The hand holding my cloak moved. To anyone else, it would have been a twitch.
But Bryna knew what it was, and she snarled at the reminder of who wore the collar and who didn’t.
That was the easy part. What came next would be tougher.
Exhaling, I set my shoulders and slowly turned to face the crowd of elites.
The same elites who had bought and abused people like me for centuries.
I faced them with a stiff spine, without shrinking before their combined power because that was all going to change, starting today.
Starting with me.
Mine. Mate.
The thought came pouring in through my bond, wrapped up in a mixture of admiration and outright delight and pride. I fought back a smile. I liked it when Caz got all possessive and proud of me.
My dragon soared higher in response as well, pushing up against my control until the room lightened.
Then I spoke. My voice rang out, reciting the words exactly as planned.
“I witnessed the accused in association with six scale dragons, all of whom were under her direct command. She not only knew exactly what they were but was excited to have them so they could execute the lawful ice tyrant of the kingdom. This constitutes an act of treason, and I so swear it was true.”
“Bryna Allard,” Caz ground out. He hated this part, but had said it was necessary. “Is there anything you wish to say now, before the trial?”
I knew right then Caz would be releasing his alpha hold of her, freeing her to speak. Now Bryna rose to her feet, though Caz and Dirk didn’t release her arms or even let up their grip.
It had to be done this way. Properly. Otherwise, it wouldn’t stick. The other elites would find any excuse they could to say the trial was improper. So, she had to have a chance to speak. But neither of us enjoyed it.
“There is much I wish to say,” Bryna said, breaking into laughter. “But most of all, I must point out that you are attempting to use a clippy to accuse me. Their words have no standing in here. Your father saw to that. No matter how important she is to you, none will trust her word.”
In days past, I might have lost my temper at that. But today, it was exactly what we had hoped she would say. Because it led Caz to his second announcement for the day. I turned to look at him, basking in his enjoyment of the moment. Of what he was about to do.
“I figured you might say something like that,” Caz growled. “It shows your true ignorance because you must have missed the bond mark on her.”
The crowd was silent. Caz stood and gestured at me.
With careful, and long practiced precision, I threw off the cloak to reveal a gorgeous purple dress. According to Caz and Dirk, it was more than befitting of my new station.
At a further gesture from Caz, I began to ascend the stairs. With each step, the noise in the throne room mounted at my back. I ignored it. I only had eyes for the man in front of me.
His eyes filled with approval and a deep, burning arousal.
“This is not a grounded, my fellows. This is my mate. I have claimed her. She bears my bite, and as such, I proclaim her Ice Tyrantess, whose word is as mine!”
Caz’s final words rose to a shout as I took my place at his side. He had to raise his voice to be heard over the roar that threatened to bring the ceiling down upon us. I poured my love and my support into him as the elites howled protests and counter-protests as Caz’s supporters shot them down.
Without looking, he reached out, his hand finding mine and taking it in his grasp. In unison, we sat upon the thrones. Together.
This was it, then. The point of no return. He had proclaimed me as his mate to the kingdom. Because I could do no other, he had told Dirk in private. I will risk it all for her because I would not be worthy if I didn’t.
Now, thanks to those like Bryna, Mirko, and Caz’s father, the kingdom hung on a scale’s edge.
One push either way, and it would fracture.
Civil war and rebellion would bring strife to the land.
Thousands would suffer and die. The Red King would swoop in, taking great swaths of our territory while we fought among ourselves.
Caz had outlined it all to me as he confessed that as his only doubt.
Never did he doubt me or my place with him. Only what might happen to others because of it.
I could sense his unease now, and I pushed forth my response to him. My love, my admiration, my desire. I opened myself to him fully as we sat on the thrones and let the elites howl at the realization that the end of their freedom and abuses was nigh.
His hand squeezed mine in return. I hoped he understood. He was doing the right thing. Change was rarely easy, but it had to be done.
Through the chaos, a dragon I didn’t recognize approached the throne slowly, calmly.
“Damon,” Casimir Dvorak acknowledged, his voice dropping to a threatening growl when the shifter’s eyes lingered on me.
Mine.
The word came through our bond crystal clear.
“If you do this, Alpha,” he said quietly, though my hearing could pick up his voice over the general din. “There is no going back. You must know that. Everything will change.”
Caz looked over at me. I met his gaze, and the bond between us flared to brilliant life. I saw everything he saw in that moment, heard every thought in his mind, and my heart swelled to breaking.
You are my mate. The woman I will spend eternity with.
I watched as a vision sprang up in his mind.
Of me, pregnant with our first child. I saw time flow past, centuries coming and going in the blink of an eye.
I watched our human sides slip into oblivion.
I saw us as pure dragons, spending every day at one another’s side, until far in the future, our time came.
I felt his heart soar as we made our own journey across the Great Abyss.
Together. Always.
Caz smiled at me before returning his focus to Damon. “No, Damon. Everything has already changed.”