For a moment, no one moved; then, nearly as one, the members of the High Council kneeled,
pressing their hands to their hearts once more as the crowd did the same, shouting their declarations of allegiance.
“It is done,” her father declared, and taking the crown that had been brought forth, he set it on her head. It was cold and heavy on her brow, yet somehow, she felt lighter for having it there.
“All hail her Imperial Majesty, Empress Zarrah! Long may she reign!” her father roared, and all those around them echoed the words.
And not just them.
Like a wave, her name rose from outside the palace and into the streets, crossing the city.
All hail her Imperial Majesty.
Only Keris, Lara, and Aren were not on their knees, but they stood with their hands pressed to their hearts as the sound slowly faded.
“Care to have your first act as Empress be the signing of the peace you fought so hard to achieve?”
Aren asked.
“Yes.” She smiled. “Yes, I would.”
A table was brought forth, an old scribe laying out a thick piece of parchment. Dipping the pen, the man moved to begin drafting a formal agreement of peace, but Keris reached forward and took the pen. “Allow me.”
Zarrah felt her heart constrict as she watched a commitment to peace between the three nations flow onto the paper in his elegant script, and then he turned to her, holding out the pen. “Majesty, would you do the honors?”
His fingers brushed hers as she took the pen, hand trembling as she bent to sign her name. The scribe placed a glob of lavender wax next to it and stamped it with Valcotta’s seal. She handed it to Aren, who swiftly scribbled his name, pressing his signet ring into the green wax Jor supplied.
“Keris,” he said, holding out the pen, “it’s your honor to complete this alliance.”
Keris stared at the pen for a long moment, then stepped backward, shaking his head. “I’m afraid that I cannot.”
A gasp rolled through the onlookers, and Zarrah’s stomach dropped. “Why not?”
of Ithicana’s belly covered with armor, Keris’s sister clearly having been in the thick of it. A beautiful
“Because,” he said, “it should be signed by Maridrina’s queen.” Clearing his throat, he said loudly,
“My last act as king was to change the laws of succession so that the eldest Maridrinian child, regardless of gender, would sit on the throne. Now, allow me to formally announce that I am abdicating the throne of Maridrina. Rule of the kingdom will pass to the next eldest child of Silas Veliant, Princess Sarhina.”
“For which I’m never forgiving you,” the woman in question muttered, but Zarrah barely heard.
“I don’t understand,” she croaked out. “Why have you done this?”
It was as though the whole world fell away as he approached, taking her hands. “A ruler must put their kingdom first,” he said quietly. “That is the cost of the title, to ever and always put the nation and its people before all else, before even those he loves.” His voice caught, and he swallowed before adding, “I find that an impossible task, for nothing in this world or the next comes before you in my
“In his final hours,” her father shouted, “Emperor Ephraim Anaphora declared his daughter, Aryanaheart.”
“Keris …” Tears flowed down her face, cutting stinging paths over her ravaged cheek.
“Maridrina and Ithicana are bound by marriage,” he said, dropping to his knees before her. “And soon to be bound by common blood with an heir. I … I would offer you the same union between legitimacy to the throne and ending the war. I ask you all now to bend the knee to the rightful Empress Maridrina and Valcotta. If you’ll have me.”
This is a dream, she thought. It has to be.
Yet as she stared down into the azure eyes that possessed her soul, Zarrah knew that it was real.
That against every odd, they would be together in a way that honored their nations, and themselves.
“I will have you.” She dropped to her knees, kissing his lips. “From now until the end of days, I will have you.”
Only Keris, Lara, and Aren were not on their knees, but they stood with their hands pressed to their
“Because,” he said, “it should be signed by Maridrina’s queen.” Clearing his throat, he said loudly, their kingdom first,” he said quietly. “That is the cost of the title, to ever and always put the nation and
“I will have you.” She dropped to her knees, kissing his lips. “From now until the end of days, I will have you.”
“WELL, WHAT DO you think?” Keris leaned back, admiring the white stone construction,
the masons working on the final decorative touches.
“It’s smaller than Ithicana’s bridge,” Dax answered, and Keris turned to glare at
him, only to discover his friend was grinning. “It’s a fine bridge, Your Highness. I look forward to walking back and forth over it many times.”
It was a fine bridge.
Not just in its construction—Keris had approved every detail—but in the meaning of it, for it crossed the Anriot, connecting both sides of Nerastis. No more would Maridrinians and Valcottans skulk across the rubble of bridges torn down with violence, braving alligators and worse for illicit encounters with one another. Now they would walk freely, trade freely, and in time, he knew that Nerastis had the potential to become the greatest city on the continent, for it united the two most powerful nations.
“I need to get back to the palace,” Dax said. “Her Grace holds to a schedule, and we are to be on a ship back to Vencia in an hour. If I make Sarhina late, I’ll be subjected to her verbal flagellation.”
“That’s a big word, Dax,” Keris murmured. “You’re spending too much time with politicians.” For all his distaste of snakes and his fear of Sarhina, his friend had taken well to the role of ambassador, traveling back and forth between Vencia and Eranahl, as the weather of the Tempest Seas permitted.
Not that peace was in question, with Lara’s place in Ithicana more secure by the day and Sarhina ruling Maridrina as its much-beloved queen.
“Likely so,” Dax agreed. “But the pay is good, and I’ve come to have a certain fondness for snake meat.”
“There are worse things.” Keris considered the date, then said, “Ithicana might have its heir by the time you return again.”
“I pray so,” Dax answered. “Will give Aren’s harridan grandmother something to do other than hassle the rest of us, though I expect she and Lara may come to blows during delivery.” He then clapped him on the arm. “I should really go. Take care of yourself, Keris.”
“Likewise,” Keris answered, watching as Dax crossed over the bridge to the Maridrinian side, disappearing into the mass of construction along the waterfront.
Saam straightened from where he leaned against a pillar, the rest of Keris’s Valcottan bodyguard hovering behind him. “Ready, Your Highness?”
Keris gave one last look at the bridge, the sight bringing an unexpected flood of emotion into his heart, and then he nodded.
“Good,” Saam said. “Because it looks like the Empress has arrived.” Lifting a hand, he gestured to the Valcottan palace, where Zarrah’s personal banner slowly rose up the flagpole, the sight causing Keris’s heart to quicken.