Paige grimaced as I told her about my attempt to encourage Danie. “Just be nice. Let her do her job and be nice to her. Remember, you’re not spying on the staff and you don’t want to give that impression.”
“I’ll try.” My heart pounded as we reached the council chamber.
Oscar and Ronald were already there, as well as a handful of nobles from other parts of the kingdom.
Everyone stood when I entered.
Jasper and Cora Calloway, the count and countess from Northland, had been kind to me, and supportive. Across from them were Harrison and Desiree Symonds from Trinity, the first destination for most refugees. They had twin daughters—Summer and Juniper—who raced through the halls of Sandcliff Castle, playing like the wraith didn’t concern them.
Prince Colin was there, too, his arms pulled over his chest in a defensive posture.
Melanie took her place at the table while the rest of my guard watched from the wall. Red uniforms nearly outnumbered the blue here.
“Thank you for joining me this morning.” I looked around the table, meeting everyone’s eyes for a heartbeat. “We’ve always known the Indigo Kingdom couldn’t stand between Aecor and the wraith forever. But none of us thought this day would come so soon.”
There was nodding all around.
“After yesterday’s devastating news, I promised a plan to keep Aecor safe. My closest advisers and I spent last night working out the details.
“We still think a barrier similar to the one Liadia constructed is our best chance. As such, Captain Rayner will lead a team into the wraithland to gather whatever remains of the barrier King Tobiah built. Meanwhile, we will build our own facility. Flashers who volunteer their magic for the new barrier will be compensated. I will be first to pour my magic into the barrier that will protect our kingdom. Paige, please see that the plans are drawn up.”
She nodded and wrote a note to herself.
“A waste of resources,” Harrison Symonds said.
I turned my glare on him. “The only other option is giving up, and I’m not willing to do that. Not when there’s still hope.”
“Is there still hope?” Lord Symonds rose and leaned forward, his hands flat on the table. His wife touched his arm and shook her head, but he ignored her. “Most of the continent has fallen to the wraith. A hundred years of wiser minds than yours have worked to contain or stop the wraith. The barrier in Liadia failed after only a year—”
“Then what do you propose?” My fingernails dug into my palms. “Should we sit here and wait to die? Tell thousands of people out there that we’ve given up? If you thought the riots were bad before—”
“I suppose you would know about the common people?”
“I know enough to tell you this: people are scared. In Skyvale, it was this constant, low-grade terror. Knowing the wraith was coming, knowing they could do nothing about it.”
“They could have stopped using magic,” Prince Colin said. “They could have turned in the flashers among them.”
“Some did.” My chest ached. “They told the police and left signals for Black Knife. But mostly, they wanted to be able to trust their king and queen. Their princes. They wanted to believe in the people whose responsibility it was to care for them. They wanted to trust that their leaders would find a way to keep them safe from the wraith. And now you want me to tell my people that we’ve given up.”
“Just two men.” Melanie’s words jerked me back into the present. The Grays, the Calloways, Lady Symonds, and even the guards—they were all staring at Prince Colin, Harrison, and me. Melanie’s tone remained level. “Not we.”
I shook my head. “No matter what I said, it would be we. No one would care about the difference. Besides, if I allowed that kind of announcement to be made, it would mean I’d given up, too. And I won’t do that.”
“You don’t have a choice.” Prince Colin strode toward me, just a hair too close for politeness. “You’re a queen in name only. I remain overlord.”
I stood, tipping my chair back, and closed the gap between us, suddenly in his space. “Wrong again. As you said, the Indigo Kingdom is gone. Your king is dead. You’re the heir to a falling kingdom, and your claim to the title of overlord is empty. That leaves you with two choices: leave Aecor, or admit you are now a refugee. In accordance with the Wraith Alliance, you are welcome to stay here as a ward of the independent kingdom of Aecor.”
The council room was silent, save Lord Symonds’s “I humbly respect my queen’s wishes.”
I wanted to see their faces, but there was no way I was turning away from Prince Colin. “Paige, prepare for my coronation. Tomorrow is the ten-year anniversary of the One-Night War, the anniversary of Aecor losing its king and queen. At noon, I will take the crown, and Aecor will have a queen once more.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”