I stand erect, chin up. “So, they’ve captured their rogue? Good. Hopefully he won’t come around again--”
“Liana.” The harsh whisper of my name stops me and I grow silent. “It says that you attacked their wolf. That he’s barely recovering,” my mother says, her voice stern, her features hard, but her fingers twist on her lap, worrying the fabric of her dress.
“He surprised me. I was bathing. I only…”
“Liana!” My father’s voice cracks like thunder, the echoes reverberating in the large room. He rises, pacing in front of my mother and the other queens. The wildness behind his stare makes my insides tremble, but I hide my emotions from everyone in the room so as not to show any weakness. “They ask for us to turn over the idiot lion who’s attacked their son, Liana. The son of the Royals of Winter.”
“Son of the Royals?” I repeat, unsure if I heard him correctly.
Thinking back to that day, I try to remember the wolf, but it had all happened so fast. I was bathing in the warm water. A wolf darted through the brush. It was a rogue off his mark, out of his realm, and although I didn’t know that immediately, I protected myself.
“That wolf had been watching me,” I stammer. “He was out of bounds.”
My mother stands beside my father and he takes her hand when her knuckles brush over his. A heavy sigh falls from her lips before she explains the gravity of the situation. “He was heir to the Winter throne. Noble.”
My mind races, but I fall into silence, letting the drumming in my chest fill me with dread.
“If their demands are not met, there will be war,” one of the other queens chimes in.
Her eagerness for me to go to Winter is obvious and I bite my tongue so as not to remind her of her rank in our family and infuriate my father further. Her daughter, Lia was named so directly after my birth, because everything with the queens is competition.
Not my mother, of course. She’s superior, the one the other two copy. They vie for her attention, and for the King’s.
Lia lost rank to me last year, and our elder sister Calla, who’s also my senior, lost rank to me just before the wolf found me. Bathing.
Battle adrenaline still moves the lion’s share through me.
I suck in a deep breath and try to sound diplomatic. My father, who always reminds me I need to learn to be a better leader, that I need to find a more constructive outlet for my anger, waits for the brewing rage to spill from me. Steadying my nerves, I look to my father and then meet my mother’s attentive gaze.
“He was…watching me bathe.”
My mother gives me a half smile. She knows how private I am, which is my one trait that makes me stand apart from the pride who shares everything. Too often for my liking. I wrinkle my nose thinking about it, but straighten it when my mother shoots me a disapproving glare.
Lions are passionate, but I’m past that. Reigning in my emotions drains me, but still I stand tall and wait for them to issue their final command on my life.
Unease settles in the room. My parents approach me, their front united as they clasp onto one another. The strain behind my mother’s hazel eyes tells me more than I care to know. I bow my head, thoughts coursing through me, unnerving the confidence that’s always been a part of me. And I know, deep in my bones, I have nothing to fear. I’m their favorite. The one destined to command over the realms.
Chapter 5
Liana
Frustrated, I storm out of the great hall, finally letting my temper loose. A non-decision, I huff, remembering my parents’ words. They’ve decided to discuss it further with the King and Queen of Winter as if there’s anything to discuss.
Crede, a longtime friend and the man I know I’m destined to rule beside, waits for me, a wary smile crossing over his handsome face as I stomp over to him. His strong arms encircle me immediately, and I rest my face against his sturdy chest where I listen to the drumming of his heart beating.
“What if they send you? To the wolf court?” he asks, resting his chin on my head.
I draw in my brows in disgust. “You think my mother would sell me to the wolves? Crede, you’ll be a rug on a hunter’s floor before that happens.”
“You still believe in the realm of man?” he mocks, his voice tinged with a bit of humor. “That’s for children.”
Again, silence folds its warm arms around me and I don’t tell him about what I saw as a child. About the hunter. About the truths I know.
The realm of man isn’t a fairy tale.
Needing space, I step away from his embrace and walk through the open wood doors that lead outside. With his hands behind his back, Crede follows me out into the sun, his golden hair catching in the light. I stop and face him, tension twisting my gut. I open my mouth to speak, but not yet having found my voice I choke on the words.
“You hurt a wolf cub, who really cares?” he asks, not understanding the reality of my situation.
Bringing my hand to my lips, I start biting my nails. “He wasn’t a cub. He was big. A Royal.”
Not wanting to meet his gaze, I look down and mentally chastise myself. Because I should’ve noticed. I shouldn’t have been so stupid.
“How do we even know he was rogue and not a spy?” Crede shakes his golden mane, and brown eyes twinkle with mischief as he tries to joke in a meek attempt at making me feel better. “If it only takes pretending rogue to see you bathe, Liana…”
“Don’t even, Crede,” I mutter under my breath and stalk away from him.
Bellowing laughter follows my every step so I walk faster, suddenly needing to put some distance between us. He catches up with long, easy strides, and his closeness both annoys and soothes me. While I understand his sudden growing attachment, I can’t help but also resent it.
Crede’s going to be King. He doesn’t even have to wait for my father to pass. He has far too many wins, and my father won’t fight him once he’s ready to challenge. Out of respect for me, for my own affections he hopes to possess, Crede has remained patient.
But even the most patient man can’t resist the pull for something more, for something greater.
With one rash act, I’ve endangered my future as Queen of all the Realms. And wife to the beautiful lionheart.
He’s not the usual gruff male; he’d let me rule as my mother has. He’d spoil me, and not make me hunt for him. But I would, because I love to hunt. The chase, the thrill, the freedom.
It would be perfect.
One house…three women.
That part - that’s the part I’ve never liked. Sharing my life, my love with Lia and Calla. All under one roof. Our children would play together.
It’s the way of the pride.
Lia and Crede have already been promised and they’ll be wed soon. Calla will follow. And I would be next.
The idea makes my palms sweaty. I would be the most important, the one he truly honors. Yet, the thought of any of this actually coming to fruition terrifies me. It’s what I’ve always wanted. What I’m furious about losing.