Page 113 of Reign of Light
“I am aware,” I nod. “Although I was not expecting it so soon.”
“None ever are. But that leads me to the topic of discussion for today. Steps need to be taken, procedures initiated to have a successful transition into your reign. First, the entire kingdom will need to be notified that the king has passed. It is required in order to begin the mourning period before planning the funeral and your coronation.”
My head spins as the reality I’ve hidden from between the pages of my books comes crushing down on me. I blink at him rapidly as I try to process all the things I have been avoiding thinking about, and now, I can’t any longer.
“You will need to select your advisors and make any changes to the staff for how you would like the castle run. The other kingdoms will also need to be notified about the conveyance of power, and no doubt there will be many who want to speak to the new queen.”
Reeling, I shake my head, and my brows furrow. “Of course. I knew all of this would come, I just didn’t want to think about it yet. Would you mind if we started tomorrow? Of course, you are the one I trust above everyone else, and there is no question that I choose you, Edmond.”
“Yes, well,” he says with a small nod. “I would be remiss if I said I did not know you would choose me, but I am afraid, Your Majesty, I have to decline and offer my formal resignation from duties for the kingdom.”
My jaw falls open, and I gape silently at him.
Resign? How could Edmond resign? In the time I need him the most, the time I need my tutor, my advisor, the man who shaped me into the future ruler, he’s leaving? Weston’s hand tenses on my thigh, but he says nothing.
“I don’t understand,” I say, shaking my head slightly. “Did I do something? Did something happen before we came back?”
“Nothing you did could have affected my decision, Your Majesty. However, somethingdidin fact happen.”
Edmond reaches beneath his coat, the same way he did when he pulled out my mother’s diary, but instead, my breath catches in my throat when I see what he’s holding.
Weston jumps to his feet and we both stare at the lump of familiar fabric, this time not dangling and empty, but round and full, with a golden glow emanating from above the golden tassel that ties it closed.
“What are you doing with that?” Weston growls. “I’ve been searching for it, and you’ve had it this entire time?”
“I see your time away did not change your ferocity,” Edmond says. I would laugh if I wasn’t in complete disbelief of what Edmond is holding, and can do nothing other than stare and wait for an explanation. “You may compose yourself. I simply did not want it falling into the hands of someone who did not know what it meant, or—” Edmond’s voice trails off and his face softens as he looks at his son. “Someone who did, but did not deserve to have that decision made for them without the proper knowledge.”
“Edmond, what are you saying?” I whisper, and fix my eyes on the pouch that brought us here mere days ago, the one that holds the power to give hope or take it away. The one the Castaways had been searching to fill for years.
Edmond smiles at me softly, as if he knows I’ve figured it out.
I need to hear the words, the truth. Weston needs to hear it.
“I cannot continue with my duties in Blackwood, because I have new responsibilities and duties, for Dawnlin. As the Guardian.”
My hand flies to my mouth as I can’t hold back the gasp this time. Weston’s arms lift, his hands settling on the back of his head as his fingers grip his hair. The look of shock and disbelief quickly overtakes his expression.
“What do you mean, as the Guardian?” Weston barks.
“Let me explain?—”
“How do you know what that is?” he says. “How did you even know he had it to take it?” Weston gestures to the pouch still in Edmond’s hands.
“My boy,” he says gently, “I know far more than I have ever been able to tell you.”
Been able to tell you.
That can only mean one thing.
“Edmond…you’ve been to Dawnlin?” I ask breathlessly.
“What?” Weston snaps, his head whipping back and forth between us. “When? I would have known. How did you keep it from me?”
“Please, son, sit. I will tell you everything you wish to know, now that I can.”
Weston lets out a sigh as he drops heavily down beside me. He leans forward, resting his elbows on his bent knees and holding his head in his hands. Reaching out, I graze my fingernails across his low back, reminding him with the touch that he craves that he’s not alone in all of this. With as shocking as it is for me to learn that Edmond only told me about Dawnlin because he had been there, I can imagine it is worse for him.
Once Edmond determines we have settled, he starts.
