Chapter 34 #2
Turning to the Royal table, each Royal leader acknowledged me with a nod. Sir Cross stood from his position next to my seat, centered in the middle. His red suit stood out against his pale skin, which was usually pink, as his red cape trailed behind him. In the middle was a large silver pendant of Zadia, the goddess of life and death. The clanking of his shoes drew closer as I prepared for him to reach my side.
“Well, my favorite princess isn’t one anymore.” His somber tone seemed unnatural to my ears. He gathered my hand with my family’s ring, giving it a light squeeze that tugged at my heart. “My condolences to you. I know Youna will be overjoyed to have another one of her children in her kingdom.”
“Thank you, Sir Cross,”
“Your mother would be proud. You’re a spitting image of her, and I look forward to seeing how you govern your people. Maybe it will inspire Liam to get his act together. Either way, you have my full blessings.”
Sir Cross lightly pressed his thumb to the sharp point on my family’s ring, filling the marquise-shaped ring with his Zadia blood, causing the emerald to turn a murky shade of green before it gave way to the painted green color. Secrets among secrets. I thought as, one by one, the Royal Coven leaders gave me their blessings with their offerings. Sir Muller was getting ready to leave when he muttered, “You did the right thing.” In retrospect, he was correct. I did the right thing, but having it come out of the worm’s slimy mouth left me with the need to choke him or any male that came my way. Of course, I couldn’t because I had to keep up with a good appearance.
Grin and bear it…
One of my mother’s favorite sayings.
I plastered on that forced smile and kept it on until I was seated in the emerald back chair used for special occasions. My mother used to complain that she would have to sleep on her stomach because the chair was so hard, and she was right, but I wouldn’t complain. Not even throughout dinner, as I sat between Sir Cross and Sir Zheng from the Asian Coven. Where they played spit tag as they spoke around me. Did I complain? No. I couldn’t stomach eating my food after I watched a wet glob of chewed-up food land in the middle of my plate.
Pushing away the dish, the young attendant hurriedly gathered them up and vanished before I could even thank him. Excusing myself from the overbearing table, I made my way to find some alone time, even if it was just going to the bathroom. All I could think about was escaping to my room and crying myself to sleep, but this will have to do for now. My throat ached from straining as I tried not to scream at the crowded table. After I was finished using the bathroom, I finally took my first full breath.
I can do this.
I only had a couple of hours left until everyone went home. With my blank face, I decided it was time to face the music and head back. The moment I placed my hand on the knob was when I heard some of the staff talking.
“…It’s going to be a shit show,” a male voice said. His voice sounded raspy, like he smoked. “She’s unmated and ruling. That’s a disaster waiting to happen.”
The two men laughed as my nail dug into my wrist, fighting back the tears. It hadn’t even been a good two hours since I buried my mother, and they were already gossiping.
“Youna must hate her. Imagine your ancestor is the goddess of fertility, and you have not even one mate to fulfill your family’s legacy.” A high-pitched voice said.
“What if her pussy is cursed?” Both men went silent before their laughs bellowed out throughout the empty hall. “Can you imagine... being from the goddess of Youna and being barren?”
“I mean, look at her mother. She waited until poor Frederick was balls deep in mermaid…heck, any pussy to have a child. I always wondered if Youna just gave her a child just for fun.” There was a brief silence between the two. “And the disrespect for her father. Yes, he wasn’t royal, but she could have at least shown him some respect. She was always running off, knowing her father would be furious. Fucking women. They don’t know what’s good for them.”
“Exactly disrespectful bitch…I would put her over my knee and beat her. She does have the ass to handle a couple of beatings. Then I would fuck her until she couldn’t walk or think. I always heard the bigger girls have the wettest pussy.”
Standing against the cold bathroom door, paralyzed as rage ran through my veins. I waited until their footsteps and laughter faded into the background of the burial feast. Faint chuckles from the banquet hall drifted into the small bathroom, adding to my fiery mood. I’ve always held in my anger until I was alone, but one can only hold it in so long, and I was over the tipping point.
My heart pounded in my throat with each step I took back to the crowded, open banquet hall. Why do we really need men? I thought as I approached the royal table. Standing on the other side of the table, away from the rest of the coven guests, the scent of Fae wine thick in the air. It hadn’t dawned on me that I, along with the African Coven leader, Queen Afolayan, were the only females in the Royal Coven. She hardly ever interacts with us, choosing to follow her ancestor, Uona, goddess of peace. As she sat there, her mouth slightly turned down in a frown as Sir Muller and Sir Sladen drunkenly guffaw over whatever nonsense Sir Cross was saying. As if sensing me, her beautiful, warm brown eyes found mine with a raise of her eyebrow and sideways glance. Her full lips were pursed together. A grim smirk graced my face as I nodded to her.
With a wave of my hand, the instruments came to a halt as they plummeted to the floor, causing a loud clattering sound that ricocheted throughout the hall. Every eye turned to me, and if I wasn’t already hot with humiliation, I would have cowardly backed down.
“Although it’s late, I would like every one of my coven to meet me in the coliseum immediately,” I said as everyone looked around. Ms. Kincaid came rushing toward me. I leaned over and whispered in her ears, “Please help get everyone to the coliseum and prepare for the accession ceremony.”
“A meeting now with…surely it could wait until the mornin’.” Sir Sladen said. His usual overzealous voice had a slightly slurred tilt to it.
“No, it can’t, but I think you all had enough to drink. It’s time to send you back home. You’ll have a busy morning tomorrow.”
I smiled, but it felt forced and unnatural.
“ ‘pose so. We will be in touch,” Sir Cross said as he stood, stumbling a little as his housekeeper, a young man with green-tinged hair, helped him upright.
Twenty minutes later, when all of the Royal Coven leaders and their entourage were gone, I transported myself into the coliseum which Ms. Kincaid had turned back to the boring tan building. The table was gone and in place was the Emerald throne in the middle of the floor. It looked so dark that if I hadn’t seen the gleaming green chair during the daytime, I would have thought it was made from onyx. All ten thousand of the coven sat on the green wooden chairs on the floor instead of the cavea. Some of them swayed, filled with Fae wine, while others gawked as I made my way down the rows to my appointed seat on the throne. The accession ceremony usually takes place in the morning after the burial, but I couldn’t wait. I wanted to finish this night off right.
“Sera! Luc!” I bellowed. My voice dripped with magic as I used it to call my dragons. Within seconds, the heavy flapping of wings could be heard from behind me, and the hushed mutters of “Is she mad?” filled the coliseum. From my seat on the emerald throne, I could see fear laced throughout the sea of my people. My magic and I bristled at the fear because, above all else, fear was just as tangible as power. It felt better than anything to know they were afraid of me…well, some were, but only time will change that. Sera and Luc landed right beside me. One on each side of my throne. I trusted children. If I had no one else in this sordid world, I had them.
“Tonight, we celebrated the life of Celestine Thibodeaux by uplifting my ancestor Youna and her power of fertility by giving her back to the earth with a gift. Now it’s time to redraw lines and reestablish loyalties.” I paused to stroke Luc’s blue head. The witches in the front row nearly tipped their chairs back as he inched closer to them.
“Sir Reid, please gather your men to the front.” Sir Reid nodded from his position at the edge of the stage, beckoning the surrounding guards to fall in line. He, the Golden Army, and the house guards present formed five rows of gold and green armor-cladded warriors with Sir Reid at the forefront.
“As everyone knows, in this coliseum, no one is actually dead until they are given their send-off into the underworld. Death is inevitable even for an immortal, and although our body might die in this world, our tethered soul lives on in the underworld.” Letting the words sink into the coven. “But as the door closed on one chapter ending my beloved mother’s reign. A new day has come, and a new queen will fill the bestowed role that Youna had set for her bloodline. I, Kaydian Thibodeaux, will take my rightful place on the throne, and I will demand loyalty to a fault. And if that said loyalty is broken, then death would be the least of your worries. I make this promise to you we will usher Youna and our coven into a new era. A new beginning. A fresh start to a long and prosperous reign.”
Sera laid her head closer to me, giving me a chance to think about my next words. “Many have questioned my inability to rule because I’m still an unmated royal, but rest assure. I’ve planned to make sure that I will uphold our family name and prolong our reign. I want everyone to know that my loyalty will be to our people and to no one else. Not the royal coven leaders. To every single person in here tonight in this coliseum.” Turning my attention to the guards all lined up in front of the step. “Like my mother, I demand nothing less than your ardent desire to protect Youna and her bloodline. Those who follow suit will be blessed by the goddesses with eternal life in the underworld.”
My insides trembled as my magic rolled through me in waves of pent-up energy from earlier on.
Using my magic, I manifested my family sword from my enchantment room. With my palms open, the emerald hilt of my sword materialized into the palm of my hand. Unsheathing it from the scabbed. The usually soft green aura of my magic had turned a deep emerald green. I watched, mystified, as it warped around the silver metal until it turned green. Ms. Kincaid walked over with the golden chalice secure in her hands. The same cup Youna used to bind her heir’s loyalist to our bloodline for all of eternity, which held telltale signs of its age with abrasions that cut deep into its surface. I held out my hand as my magic reached out, hugging the cup as if they were old friends. The tinge of green remained suspended, just high enough for me to feed the cup. With my sword in my free hand, I lifted it, sliding it across the fleshy part of my palms. My red essence, a mass as old as the goddesses, dripped into the golden cup. Repeatedly, my palm healed as I reopened it until the cup’s gems shone against the coliseum lights.
In the back of my mind, I worried Sir Reid would turn me down. A silly notion in itself, but I couldn’t help the doubtful voice in my head. Walking over to the man, I considered my family, his face blank and unreadable.
“Sir Reid, would you stay by my side and lead the Golden Army as you once did for my mother? And help keep Saint Youna coven safe?”
Sir Reid peered at me as if I were a hallucination. He thought this was a joke. I thought as a bead of cold sweat rolled down my back. If Sir Reid didn’t stick by me, this coven may crumble. He was more than just my trainer and protector. He was my right hand—someone I trusted with my life. With my hand outstretched, with the chalice in my hand, I waited and waited until my foot tapped the ground. One black eyebrow cocked, and if I weren’t going crazy, I would say he was going to laugh at me.
The maddening man leaned in close enough for only me to hear, “In order for this work, you need to be honest with me about everything. And I mean everything. There are no more lies between us from this day on.”
Balls of steel this man had, but I couldn’t help but feel the balled up stress leave my chest.
“No more secrets or lies from this point on. We will tackle whatever together for as long as I have my sanity.”
He shook his head as he grunted, “And I want to know the full story about your parents. My duty is to you before the coven, but that becomes tedious when I don’t know the full story. We will plan accordingly for everything else.”
With the chalice weighing heavily in my hand, I nodded while I held it out once again. His dark eyes landed on me once again. I was about to command my magic or Bernadette, who was huddled in the back, to shake him, but his large hand reached out and took the cup. He took a step back, downing my thick red essence in one gulp, leaving nothing behind. Sir Reid’s pale skin engulfed my green glow as I watched with wide eyes. I’d never seen this take place, but I could tell he was enjoying the surprised look on my face as I watched a show only meant for my eyes. It made me realize how grateful I was for his support.
Sir Reid bowed. “I will and forever be a loyal servant to Youna Thibodeaux. As my father and his father and so forth, since the beginning of the first witches. I will serve you and your heirs until the goddesses determine its time for me to leave this world.”
A knot formed in my throat, making me too afraid to speak. So, I just nodded, which caused a cacophony of metal clanging against the concrete as the Golden Army and house guards bowed to Sir Reid. It was a rebirth of loyalty. An applause broke out in the crowd from the coven, who looked half awake. Sir Reid bowed to everyone as a show of respect.
“May Youna bless everyone who attended today’s royal funeral. You may now go home and rest. Tomorrow starts a new day for our coven.”
Watching everyone filter out of the coliseum, I couldn’t help but feel the tension leave my tight shoulders even if it was for tonight.
“It’s going to be smooth sailing from here.” My voice is filled with optimism.
Sir Reid snorted. He had moved over to stroking Sera as she rubbed her head into him, “I don’t want to spoil your night or mornin’, but I think trouble is on the horizon, My Queen, and it comes in the shape of two elder coven members. Sir Sladen mentioned they had some concerns about our coven, and they wanted to speak with the young new queen.”
A deep groan fell from my lips. Running my hand down my face as my eyes shuttered closed.
We’ve only just begun.
My dark voice gloated. What else could go wrong?