Page 85 of To Wake a Kingdom

“I guess he didn’t make it,” Angeline said.

“Yes, I suppose not.” Keeping my voice even, we exchanged a look.

But it was time to change the subject, so I asked Esme about her wedding plans. Thrilled, she dove into the myriad details of the nuptials and, mercifully, I sat back only half-listening as I tumbled this new information like rocks, polishing them to uncover their truth.

While I listened with one ear to Esme, I formulated a plan. She’d said Erick was open to finding a solution to unite our two kingdoms, and I was determined to do just that.

Protecting my family’s legacy was my only goal. I had to save it. For their memory, and for their honor. I’d failed them for the last time.

A pair of guards marched ahead of me as I followed them to Erick’s council chamber. I’d asked to speak with him hours ago. Inside, I found Erick seated at the head of the table, along with several other men, taking my measure. Ronan stood near his brother while Esme’s hand rested on Erick’s shoulder.

Ronan appeared impassive, but I caught a hint of worry as his gaze flicked to me.

“Your Highness,” Erick said, pressing his fleshy palms to the table as he stood. “Welcome. Please, come in.”

He gestured to the front of the room, and I came to rest a few feet from where Ronan stood with a hand on his sword hilt, giving away nothing.

“I have been considering the matter of your kingdom,” Erick said, the word ‘kingdom,’ drawn out as if it were the punchline to a joke. “The council has been talking in circles all day but has come to no conclusion that satisfies me.”

I stepped forward, my courage lodged in my throat. “Your Highness, that’s why I requested to see you tonight. I have given it some thought and would like to discuss my plan. I have some ideas on an arrangement that is mutually beneficial.”

Erick dropped his glittering eyes on me. “Is that so?”

I nodded, swallowing the sourness of my indecision, suddenly unsure of what I was doing. The room in the air expanded with tension, though I wasn’t sure why.

“Yes, I propose—”

Erick cut me off with a slice of his hand. “I’m not interested in your solutions, Princess. I have made up my own mind and invited you all to hear my decision.”

Something cold—a clawed hand of doom—raked gouges along my spine. A warning, like a delicate world rendered in crystal about to shatter.

“Given the situation of the former people of Ravalyn and their desire to see the return of the Ravalyn line, it only makes sense for our kingdoms to form an alliance.”

An alliance. This sounded promising, but the warning blaring in the back of my head wouldn’t settle. Ronan’s gaze clashed with mine.

“A marriage,” Erick said, offering me a magnanimous smile. I frowned as that delicate city of crystal formed hairline cracks. “Between the new Queen of Ravalyn and the King of Estria, forming an unshakeable bond between our realms.”

Silence thundered through the room as everything shattered, releasing an army of misery, leaving nothing but scorched earth in its wake.

Esme gasped, clutching a hand to her stomach, the other flying to her throat as if trying to stop her soul from leaving her body. The council sat open-mouthed like a row of frogs croaking in a pond.

“But, sir, what about the gold mines of Galin?” a councilman asked.

Erick waved a hand.“That was my father’s desire. I am far more interested in quelling these uprisings and consolidating what is left of Ravalyn with Estria in a decisive manner. I’ve had enough of their protests. This should shut them all up, for good.”

Ronan’s jaw turned hard enough to split mountains. Brother against brother, their eyes met in the raw arena of a lifelong blood feud. Erick was doing this to punish him, confirming all of Ronan’s fears.

“Your Highness,” I said, trying to tamp the hurricane inside me. “While I’m certainly flattered by your proposal—”

“This isn’t about flattery. Don’t be ridiculous,” Erick said, a sneer on his face.

My sweaty hands clenched in my skirt. “I don’t think this is necessary. You’re already betrothed to Lady Perrand, and I have no interest in marrying you. We can find another way to unite our kingdoms.”

Erick rose from his chair. “I think you misunderstand me,Your Highness. I am not requesting your hand in marriage. You will do this,”—he turned to Ronan and then back to me, a slow smile spreading on his thin lips—“or he will die.”

On cue, two of Erick’s guards seized Ronan by each arm.

“Do you think I’m a fool?” Erick asked, stalking closer to his brother, who strained against the guards’ hold. “That I wouldn’t see how you look at her? That you can carry on inside the walls ofmycastle and keep it from me? What did you think? Thatyouwere going to marry her?”

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