Chapter 35
M ina proved to be invaluable for every aspect of preparing for Scoria Bay to respond.
Over the next couple weeks, scouts returned with information that confirmed that Scoria Bay was planning an offensive but would wait until the spring thaw to use their navy to attack.
We had superior land forces, but they were definitely the stronger force on water.
We prepared for our river to be breached and for them to reach the capital by summer.
Father and the Generals had Spencer join them in planning since the coronation and wedding had been combined and scheduled for this winter.
Father agreed to become a war advisor for us, to help ensure we had the best chance.
He networked with our allies for reinforcements, and while many informed us they worried that directly supporting us with troops and ships would harm their relations with Scoria Bay, they agreed to support us in other ways.
It was the best we could hope for, realistically.
The wedding planners were thoroughly upset with my decision, since it meant that the meeting Mina interrupted was useless.
They had Ivy and Amyra ragged with all the details and never let them go a day without complaints about the timeline.
I felt for all of them; it was certainly not my choice.
But we couldn’t just explain to them why, mostly because I didn’t understand why .
Mina tried to teach me about what my role was to be, but I just couldn’t wrap my head around it.
She challenged me and helped me to find more effective ways of managing my magic through my emotions.
I had fewer accidental releases, and more control.
Using my connection to the earth to move large amounts became easier.
We used that in our war preparations - I was to go help fortify the coastal towns in the late winter.
I could move rocks larger than many of the merchant stalls with ease, so while it was not a grand plan to have me at the front near the expected start of the war, it was also the best way to ensure minimal loss of life.
I insisted that Emberly and Zoya accompanied me to help with the effort, and to be there to remove me from danger with the speed of Emberly’s magic.
Mina also wanted to go in case we needed her.
While I didn’t understand all her powers, I knew it was the best plan for us, so we agreed.
It’s not like she would have listened to us telling her no, anyway.
We invited all our allies, and even a few we felt certain would ally with Scoria Bay, to the wedding and coronation.
As we expected, nearly all accepted. People would fill the temple to the brim.
We hired several artists to capture as many images as possible and planned for a larger section of journalists to share all the details they could.
I couldn’t remember a royal wedding as expected as this one.
I didn’t know if people just understood the gravity of what I was about to do with the world, without actually knowing, or if this was some kind of effort to be in Elthas before Scoria Bay took out the new king and queen.
Ethan had broken things off with Katelle during this time.
She was incredibly upset at us for holding her father in the dungeons.
I wish I could say I understood, and on some level I did, but I also couldn’t understand how she could support someone who intended to kill me, a 20-year-old woman just barely starting life.
Sure, a future queen, but still, I’m not that much different from her, just born with a different lot in life.
Katelle sought refuge at her mother’s estate to avoid the war.
I was glad that she wasn’t a loose thread in the castle .
About two weeks before the wedding and coronation, we received a courier from Scoria Bay.
He brought a letter to the gate, handed it to a guard, and ran off.
The letter informed us that Scoria Bay knew about the wedding and was furious about not receiving an invitation.
It seemed weird that they wanted to be invited when Egan left with such a threat.
If we didn’t have the intelligence reports telling us they were building up for war, we would have questioned the sincerity of his threat.
Father determined this letter was designed to have us let our guards down for that day, so he ordered the strongest security possible for the entire capital city.
It meant that we would have troops moving to the coastal cities in the period where we typically had the heaviest snowfalls, but it seemed wise to help prevent any surprise attacks from stopping the event.
Father also wanted us to solemnize the wedding and transfer power quietly prior to the event, but I didn’t like that idea, and Mina supported me in allowing the legalities to carry on the same day as we had planned.
The day of the wedding came, and I woke up long before the sun to prepare.
I barely slept the night before. Amyra stayed with me that night, just as she had done nearly every night since they installed the warding spells.
I had seen little of her since Mina showed up, other than when we slept next to each other.
I ached for our days when we could just be together, giggling and sharing gossip about the various nobles staying in the castle and city.
It felt like a lifetime ago. She had been almost as busy as me, working with the planners and learning more to control her magic.
She could do some healing, which felt immensely fortuitous.
Often, she would practice on me, healing my sore, aching body after grueling sessions with Mina.
She worked often with Lettie, who was also a healer, to learn more about her gifts.
Amyra and Ivy were up and readying themselves for the day as I woke.
They had my breakfast ready and informed me Eliza would be there shortly.
I hurried through, eating what little I could and then moved to the bathing room to get ready.
Once I was clean of any signs of Amyra and I spending the night together, Ivy and Amyra sat me down at my vanity to prepare my hair.
They had quite the challenge with my hairstyle today, as they couldn’t design it around a tiara.
I would end the day with the official crown for the Queen of Elthas.
They needed to design a hairstyle that could look stunning without hair accessories and under the crown.
They chose well, using a series of braids that could then help fix the crown on my head when the time came.
By the time they were done, my hair was covered in small braids that were pinned in diamond shapes, brought back to one larger braid down my back.
They had left small bits to frame my face, which they curled using their fingers.
As they finished up, Eliza arrived with my dress. The dress was both my coronation dress and my wedding dress, so it was untraditional for both events, which felt so fitting for the change Mina promises I will bring.
As she pulled the dress out of the capsule, I felt floored once again by her ingenuity.
She designed a perfect winter gown, woven from shimmering silver-blue fabric that catches the light like freshly fallen snow.
The bodice is adorned with intricate embroidery of frost-kissed vines and delicate snowflakes, each stitched with glistening thread that mimics ice crystals.
The off-the-shoulder sleeves are sheer, crafted from gossamer-thin fabric dusted with iridescent beads that resemble frozen dew.
A dramatic, flowing cape of soft, translucent white tulle cascades from her shoulders, embroidered with a pattern that mimics frost creeping across glass.
Tiny diamonds and pearls are scattered across the train, sparkling like icicles in the moonlight.
The skirt is layered with delicate chiffon and velvet; the hem edged with a swirling pattern of icy filigree, as if winter’s breath had traced its mark along the fabric.
“Eliza…” I whispered as I stared at her creation.
“You’ve outdone yourself once more.” I reached out to touch the dress.
Eliza and Ivy helped me into it. After several minutes, I was finally facing my mirror and admiring the dress on me.
It was then that Amyra came back into my sitting room from the bedroom.
She was wearing her own dress, and it was so like mi ne.
Where my coronation gown shimmered with regal opulence, hers was a softer reflection.
It was no less breathtaking, but woven with understated elegance.
The icy blue fabric hugged her frame, catching the light with a faint silver sheen, as if brushed by frost. Delicate embroidery traced the bodice in swirling patterns, subtle yet mesmerizing.
Tiny pearl-like beads dusted the sheer, off-the-shoulder sleeves, glinting as she moved.
The skirt flowed in layers of chiffon and velvet; the hem edged with an intricate frost pattern that mirrored my own.
A soft, translucent cape draped from her shoulders, its edges scattered with crystals, like ice catching the light.
In her dark hair, a silver hairpiece shaped like frost-laced vines rested in place—delicate yet unshakable.
She was beautiful. A quiet storm, standing at my side. As our eyes met, I knew I would never be alone in this.
I turned to Eliza, saying, “You didn’t have to do that!”
Tears threatened to fall.
“No, but she wanted to,” Ivy said. “She wanted you to know you will always have your love by your side, in all ways.”
Amyra walked over to me, grasping my hands. We stared into each other’s eyes; hers shimmering with magic; the color matching our gowns as if it was designed that way. “Wait, Eliza, did you match these to Amyra’s eyes?”