Page 8 of Oath-Maker

I held my chin high and shot a glance at Ian. If things got hairy should the court turn on Lucius and think him unfit to rule and make decisions, I trusted him to get Jessa and the other paladins out of here. Perhaps it was an unfounded worry, but old habits died hard. Ian nodded once shallowly.

Commander Garnet positioned himself partway between the court and Lucius and me. I took it as a sign to sit in the throne beside Lucius. As soon as my arms fell into place on the armrests, Lucius took my hand in his. His skin was cold and clammy, but his firm grip spoke to the fight he was putting into being here instead of in bed, where he should have been resting.

“I present to you,” Commander Garnet began, “your King Lucius, the Angel of Death, and your new soon-to-be Queen Consort, Ayla, the Angel of Demons.”

Gods. Lucius had really gone for that cringey title.

A small smile formed on his tight lips. “It’s true, is it not?”

With the way my wings had turned black and starry to match Lucius’s magic, to more accurately embody our shared power of potentiality, no, I supposed not. I was both a reflection of demonic power and position and now also the demons’ queen.

“You’re correct,” I said as the court began to cheer. I saw a few faces of dissent as I scanned the crowd, but that was to be expected. “Doesn’t mean I don’t think it’s just the tiniest bit cringey.”

“Well, you can change it now if you want to,” Lucius said, his voice lowering to something barely audible over the court. “You’re their leader now, as far as I’m concerned.”

My stomach dropped, but I tried not to let the emotion show. “I thought we’d discussed this.” I had agreed to this handfasting and upcoming coronation to appease Lucius, but he was not going to die anytime soon, so there was no reason for him to be relinquishing control. “And besides, this isn’t the place.”

“Maybe not.” He let go of my hand so he could grip both of the armrests of his throne. “But it will be done regardless.” With great effort, Lucius hauled himself up to a standing position. Lucius raised his voice as I stood to match him. “Now that we are handfasted before the court with news of our mate bond and marriage to be sent throughout all of Alastia, I will crown Ayla myself. Commander?”

Garnet bowed deeply before us both and then retreated partway down the dais, where a demon with a long neck, slim body, and two too many arms to be humanoid approached with a crown on a black velvet cushion. The crown was nearly identical to Lucius’s obsidian one, only it was slimmer and more feminine with many more diamonds, to the point where it almost looked like someone had simply plucked down a part of the nighttime sky and shaped it into a crown.

Commander Garnet returned once the crown was in his possession. Lucius held a hand out for me and I took it, not sure if this was part of the ceremony or if he needed support. Regardless, I held his hand in a firm, reassuring grip.

“Kneel,” he said and for the first time, the word didn’t sent spirals of aroused excitement through me. I did as he asked as carefully as possible in my gown. Nesta was there, aiding the motion and then disappearing before I could thank her for her assistance.

And then it was just me kneeling before Lucius once more in this throne room, surrounded by demons and those paladins still sworn to me. Four days ago, this had been a very different scene.

Four days ago, the world had still made very stark, black-and-white sense.

Lucius carefully took the crown from Commander Garnet’s possession and held it before me. Our eyes met and the full force of our mate bond slammed into me, even with Lucius as weak as he was. It took my breath away and made me feel powerful all at once.

“As Queen Consort, do you agree to serve Alastia and its people and demons as though they are your own?” Lucius asked.

“They are my kin now as well,” I answered, “so yes, I do promise.”

Lucius’s smile grew and pride shone in his eyes. “Do you swear your loyalty to me and to Alastia above all else?”

A single moment—lengthening quickly into several—of hesitation anchored deep within me. Above all else.

Above Jessa and Ian. Above what was left of the Order and the oath we’d taken.

I’d broken that Oath—at least, the Oath as ithadbeen. I may not have been a part of whatever remained of the Order that wasn’t sworn to the Guardian and the Fallen now. But I was still a paladin through and through. I’d sworn to protect the innocent. To aid where I could. To fight where peace was not possible.

In many ways, those were the very same vows Lucius was asking of me now. Protect the innocent—only now that meant demonsandhumans. To aid them. To fight for them. All of them. Just no longer as a paladin, but as Queen Consort of Alastia.

It was the same vow, only made to a different entity.

Lucius saw my hesitation. I knew by the locking of his jaw. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ian do the same. It felt like I was being torn between two loyalties, but that wasn’t true. Not anymore.

It was all of us against the Fallen, even if everyone didn’t realize that yet.

But Ian did. Lucius did.

And so did I.

I nodded. “I vow loyalty to you and to all of Alastia. Above all else.”

The weight of Lucius’s gaze—now heavy with the knowing of what he’d just asked me to pledge myself to—anchored me. We were in this together. Nothing had reallychanged, but the oath was out there, the words said for all the court to hear and spread throughout Alastia.

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