Page 62 of Inheritance
I blinked open my eyes to find the Seraphim standing in front of me. My vision was a bit blurry and my hearing seemed muffled, but I heard, “Take care, Amare, and remember the fate of this realm lies in your hands now.”
I so badly wanted to make a quip about ‘no pressure’ but I could only nod slowly, my vision clearing as I started to feel a bit more stable.
When the wind shifted, Zerachiel's head snapped to the side, his power lighting up. He disappeared, the others following, leaving just Raphael, who was staring out at the battlefield with an odd longing in his gaze.
“What?” I demanded, confused as to what in my realm could make him look that way.
The angel seemed distracted, offering a dismissive wave of his hand, “Nothing. I’m sure we’ll be seeing you again.”
The cryptic reply left me feeling uneasy as he blinked out of existence, and I looked up at Luce, who seemed suddenly amused. He kissed my brow before stating, “Don’t worry about that. I have a feeling they just found something they didn’t realize they were looking for.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Drayven
Ihad thought the Kingdom of Pura was stagnant, impossible to change and cemented in its ways, but that was clearly not the case. In fact, I was starting to realize just how much our houses had been holding us back. That would never be the case again.
The war brought about a new era, and it was one led by the beautiful woman sitting on the table edge next to me, looking over the room of leaders and military commanders with interest.
She was serene, her calm presence having a way of seeping into the room and putting those around her at ease.
When I’d been told before that I needed to be the next ruler of the House of Death, something about it had always rung untrue, and now I knew why.Ama was a natural leader.Did I think I had the capability of doing so? Sure. But Ama was something else. My princess was this vibrant strong light that had the capability of leading not just one house but an entire realm. I think a part of me had known it was possible, but seeing it in action was fucking amazing.
In fact, the past three days of restoring the lands around us from the war, had just proven to me that there was so much I still was learning about her and from her. The way she handled people and interacted with them was like no ruler I’d ever seen, and it had garnered her respect very quickly. It was one of the many reasons I knew this meeting was going to go so damned well.
She was a natural born leader, forged into an exceptional queen through trials and tribulations throughout her life.
When she had called all of the military leaders and house representatives to the capital, no one had argued, shockingly enough. And further so, they’d all arrived far quicker than expected. Even King Cyrus and Queen Safiya had arrived in a bit over a day despite the distance, not questioning why they had been summoned here.
My eyes ran over the crowd gathered, the eight of us sitting on either side of Ama, something that was probably fairly intimidating…paired with the fact that the devil himself was sitting at the very far end. Then again, could he be called the devil anymore? Was it a title or an image? We damned sure weren’t calling Ama the devil now that she was ruling.
So, I suppose he was still the devil to us since it was the identity he was used to, but his magic reflected a different story—now on par with that of a regular Fallen Angel, much to Colt’s satisfaction. Finias and Colt were the most hell bent on proving they were his equals in power now, which pissed Luce off to no end.
Still, I could see people eyeing him with caution, something I didn’t blame them for because the fucker was scary in his presence alone. In the crowd, King Cyrus and Queen Safiya sat, watching Ama with a level of affection I knew probably freaked her out a bit, as she wasn’t used to such kindness, but she managed to hide it well.
Behind them was Commander Pandora and her lieutenants, all of whom seemed pretty damned exhausted. Next to the Kingdom of Impurus leaders sat Ama’s father, who had managed to get a tight reign over the House of Death in about a day flat once Ama came clean about how bad the bullying had been. She hadn’t mentioned what I’d done specifically, but the disappointment that I’d let it go on had been a gut punch.
I still had a lot of shit to make up for.
The House of Sin and House of Runes were absent of any representatives and military leaders. The citizens had all surrendered, and anyone who hadn’t had been taken into the capital as a prisoner of war.
The absence was very obvious, but Ama had purposefully left those seats open to prove a point. On the other side were the House of Hellfire, House of Fallen, and House of Shadows. Their military leaders were present, and for the House of Hellfire and House of Fallen, the current designated leaders were as well.
The most surprising individual who’d joined us was Ama’s mother. I couldn’t tell exactly how Ama felt about that, truth be told. The woman in question sat next to Ama’s father, and while they weren’t touching one another in any way, the interaction they had was very telling.
The doors closed as Ama stood, her voice echoing through the room, “I want to thank all of you for joining me today. I know it's been a really hard past few days…especially with the lives we lost.”
Everyone nodded, a solemn and serious tone filling the space.
“I wanted to meet with everyone so I could explain how this is going to work,” she stated patiently, motioning to the eight of us, “We have established a way that we think is going to work to move the realm forward. I am completely open to listening to disputes, but I want everyone to understand that the goal is to have one realm, one kingdom…none of this pure-blood and hybrid bullshit. Okay? That is done. Over. If anyone has a problem with that, they are welcome to leave.”
No one did.
“As you know, the House of Sin and House of Runes are absent of any leadership. Currently, the other house leaders have stepped up in order to aid in the transition of those houses from previous…leadership methods,” Ama shook her head. “Which leads me to my first decision…”
“We will no longer have houses of any kind moving forward.”
The room was silent as she continued, “The Kingdom of Pura and Kingdom of Impurus, whose names will be changed, are massive urban cities that would both benefit from not only trade, but also diversity in population on both ends. The house territories here will serve as city-states, and the borders will be completely open to whoever wants to live in them. We will be building a road to Impurus.”
