I raised my hand politely, and King Venclaire sighed in exasperation but gestured for me to speak. “No one ever did that for me.” I paused, my eyes swinging to the still irritated King Kincaid. “I know the mate gets the power, but you still never did that.”
King Kincaid’s jaw clenched. “I did do it. You just didn’t realize it. It’s something that has to be done even if we know the truth plainly enough.” He rubbed his chest, glancing away from me. “You were in bed asleep when the spell found you.”
I blinked. “Oh.” Nice to know he had snuck in on me when I was vulnerable, and I hadn’t even noticed him. I glanced with irritation at King Venclaire. “That’s all.”
“How fortunate,” he muttered before stating loudly, “You’ll all be leaving as soon as you’re crowned.”
All four of us froze.
King Venclaire clapped once. “The other Kings and I need to begin helping the Elders with the war they believe inevitable. We have more contacts at our disposal, so it’s time for the four of you to become the faces and names of our people.”
I raised my hand again.
Elder Jacobs sighed, “Are you fucking kidding?”
“Obviously, she’s not,” Ezra hissed, his eyes still down. “So shut the hell up.”
King Venclaire gazed at me with forced patience when Elder Jacobs glared at Ezra. “Yes, Lily?”
I cleared my throat. “Won’t it worry our subjects to have,” another clearing of my throat, “young and inexperienced Rulers when a war is approaching?”
King Kincaid smiled. It wasn’t his nice fatherly one. “Everyone knows the Elders are who really rule when a war erupts.” His smile turned satisfied. “You won’t have only me to listen to. All the Kings’ and Queens’ actions are a majority of the time dictated by,” a pause, “the Elders’ decisions.”
Perfect. I needed to find that damn history book. Again, I was thinking too much like a Com. Playing it smart for the first time since entering this conference room, I kept my mouth shut as King Venclaire walked to Ezra.
King Venclaire stared down at him until he eventually looked up. And now I saw why Ezra had kept his gaze down, hidden beneath his lashes. His eyes were slightly glowing and his furious expression was only barely masked. King Venclaire didn’t seem surprised by it, and he held Ezra’s gaze with unfeigned tolerance.
“There’s no time for fanfare or parties. We need this done immediately and have the four of you back here as soon as possible so we can begin our duties as Elders.” King Venclaire pulled the red and black ring off his finger. “Do you have your Prodigy ring with you?”
Ezra grunted and leaned on one hip as he dug into his pocket, holding Bonnie carefully with his other hand. “You told me to always keep it with me.” He pulled a smaller version of the King’s ring out of his pocket. “I listened.”
“Good.” King Venclaire nodded. “Place it on your finger.”
Ezra slipped it onto his index finger.
“Ezra Zeller,” King Venclaire took Ezra’s hand, making Bonnie hiss, “I, the current King Vampire, hand over my right to the Vampire people and dub thee the new King Vampire.” He slipped the King’s ring onto Ezra’s middle finger, and I blinked as it molded perfectly, and then fused, with the Prodigy ring, leaving only a little space between his fingers. As Ezra stared at his hand, holding Bonnie back with the other, King Venclaire smiled. “When the spell reaches the new Prodigy, the rings will separate again, and you will pass the Prodigy ring to the child or child’s guardian.” He rested his hand on Ezra’s shoulder, grinning at him. “You, I know, will do amazing things.”
Ezra cleared his throat, glancing at his dad, who had a small smile playing on his lips. Green eyes quickly darted to King Venclaire. “I pray I do as well as those before me.”
King Venclaire patted his shoulder, hastily taking his hand away when Bonnie almost got free of Ezra’s grasp. “You will.”
King Fergus stood and did the same spiel for Jack, only their rings were multicolored with red, yellow, blue, green, and white. Together, they placed the King’s ring and Prodigy ring in the same location. Index finger and the middle finger.
My eyebrows furrowed as King Nelson did the equivalent with Pearl with identical fingers, but golden rings. That was going to be an issue for me, and I would feel foolish for asking if I had to do the same. This was probably another deed I should already know. Nervously, I watched King Kincaid stride toward me. He seemed to be over his alpha’s temper, walking fluidly, the Mage having done his healing magic on him.