“First, let me start by telling you that I’m so honored you could make it to the first annual Gathering Ceremony! This was a long time coming, and we’re so pleased that it’s finally here.”

Anaya’s smile was tremulous as she gazed out over the crowd. As they gazed back at my sister adoringly, there was no question that they loved her as much as she loved them.

My heart swelled with pride as I took in the scene.

“In just a few moments, we will have the drinks flowing and we can begin!”

Had it only been a year since she’d taken the throne and defeated Sebastian Du Monde, bringing his reign of terror to an end?

There was no question the year had done both the people of Ironhaven and their queen good.

The auburn locks that had been shorn when she and her four protectors had gone into hiding had grown out again and swung about her shoulders in a mass of springy curls. Her gray eyes sparkled with a light that I’d never seen there before, and her face radiated pure joy.

More than all that, though, was the proud way she carried herself. Chin held high, back straight, she had the bearing of the Queen she was. It had taken awhile for her to gain the confidence that the position required, but now there was no doubt she was exactly where she was meant to be.

As I watched her take her seat back and rest her hands on her round belly, I couldn’t help but smile. In another month or so, she’d have a whole new challenge to tackle.

I had no doubt she would excel at motherhood as well, especially with four proud, expectant papas surrounding her and bolstering her with their love.

I shot a glance at the men who flanked her on either side. Michael, with his Greek god face, chiseled lips tipped into a smile as he gazed on his mate. Lucian, seated beside her with one hand rested low on her belly beside her own. Gatlin, who stood behind her throne, gently kneading her shoulders and keeping watch. And, last but not least, Connor one seat away, his fingers laced with hers.

If I didn’t love her so damned much, I might have even been jealous.

But I was just happy. Happy that my sister had found her place in this world after feeling like a puzzle piece that didn’t belong for so very long. Happy that she had fought through the worst and come out the other side victorious.

My heart gave a squeeze as a shaft of longing shot through me before I could shake it off.

I would never begrudge Anaya even an ounce of her happiness, but times like these, I felt wistful. Hopeful that one day, my own path would be as clear.

At that moment, my sister raised her hands in the air and servants came out into the courtyard from every direction with pitchers of wine, mead and ale.

“Now, shifters of Ironhaven. Let us have some fun!”

The crowd roared with approval as cups were filled and laughter abounded.

Anaya had picked a perfect day for it, the crisp, fall weather thick with the scent of apples baking and fallen leaves. My hands were itching to get started.

“Well, shrimp, what do you say? Do you plan to join the games today?”

I turned to see Stephen, the miller’s son, standing behind me. His freckled face was split into a smile.

I let out an indelicate snort and rolled my eyes. “Of course, I am. Do you think I brought my bow and quiver just for show?”

I rested my hands on the bow at my feet with a grin. The thing felt as much a part of me as my arm or my leg. So strange, since it had only been a year ago that I had first laid hands on it.

“All right then, Iris. I guess I’ll see you out on the field,” Stephen Miller said with a wink. “I look forward to competing against you.”

“Aye,” I replied with a shrug. “Although, if you want to be some competition for me, you’re going to have to do a lot more training,” I added with a chuckle.

“I wish I could argue with that,” Stephen said with a wry smile. “But I saw you three months ago on the training grounds and I don’t think I could’ve bested you then. I can’t imagine how much you’ve improved, considering as much as you practice.”

A voice called to him in the distance, and he shot me one more grin before loping off after his friends.

“I’ll see you later!”

I watched him go with a wave, a warm feeling unfurling in my stomach that felt something like pride.

The first couple of months of my sister’s rule in Ironhaven, I struggled to find my own identity. As children, I’d always been my father’s favorite, such as that was. He was an ambitious, callous man with a cruel streak by any standard, but Anaya had taken the brunt of that cruelty. I’d also always been considered the “lovely” one, so between the two fickle feats of fate, I’d led a somewhat easier life than my sister.

A life with only one goal.

Find a good husband to please my father and get away from his almost strangling control.

That had all changed upon Anaya’s coronation. I had a new purpose and I’d quickly and willingly taken a supporting role, helping her wherever she needed me to in this transition. Once the palace was emptied of furnishings and redecorated and the new regime of household staff in place, though, I’d lost my way.

Cook, the Saint John brothers’ chef, had whipped the kitchens into order. Then, Hattie, their trusted maid and Anaya’s confidant, had taken over the day to day running of the household. I was grateful they were there, but it left me little to do and struggling to find my purpose. It was my own recurring nightmares of the battle in the palace square that had eventually brought me to the training grounds where the soldiers fought, preparing to protect my sister’s kingdom if the need arose. As I watched them, I realized what I needed to do.

The day that we had overthrown King Sebastian, the violence had been riotous. So many had perished, and I’d been able to do nothing to protect anyone. Even myself. Yes, I’d stood by my sister’s side, and later had helped Theodora the Healer tend to the wounded, but when push came to shove, I knew I was helpless. I lacked the ability to defend myself beyond the gifts I’d been born with as a lion shifter. That sense of helplessness and, yes, uselessness, had altered my perspective in an instant. Determined to never feel that way again, I’d put my mind to becoming someone else. Someone fierce. Someone strong. A female to be reckoned with, like my amazing sister.

For the next nine months, I’d trained side by side with Anaya’s soldiers. In her infinite wisdom, my sister had stricken down the laws prohibiting female shifters from serving in the Royal Army, so I was one of several women on the fields. The only difference between me and them was that, despite the fact that I had abilities that rivaled all the trainees, especially in marksmanship, I would never be able to serve.

I swallowed the lump of bitterness lodged in my throat and tried, for the millionth time, to see my sister’s perspective.

“Every life in Ironhaven has value to me, sister. But yours?” Anaya had said, her gaze filled with premature sorrow. “Yours means everything to me. You are the only true blood family I have left. My only sister, and if I lost you, I would be unable to rule effectively. Which makes you being part of my Army a liability to this kingdom and a threat to our people.”

She had straightened those shoulders and lifted that chin, and I knew I was fighting a lost cause.

“My allegiance needs to be to the kingdom as a whole. As much as I want you to be able to fulfill your own dreams, and want to support what makes you happy, if you truly want to be a soldier, you will have to pledge your sword elsewhere.”

I’d stopped training for two solid weeks after that, taking to my chambers in sulky silence. It was only after I felt the stiffness in my back and the ache of emptiness at the loss of the camaraderie that I sucked it up and went back to the fields. My muscles, firm and taut, had already begun growing soft, and I hated it.

Whether I was able to serve officially or not, I decided then and there that I would now and always be part of the elite group of five who loved my sister unconditionally and would protect her from everyone and everything. Including herself, if need be. So, I would stay fit and at the ready in case she ever needed me.

In the interim, I would find another use for my talents, and I did. I had young boys and girls lining up in the early mornings to take beginner’s fencing courses and learn how to shoot a bow and arrow.

“Everyone who would like to enter the archery competition, please head to the northeast corner of the square with your bows. And may the best man…or woman, win,” Anaya said pointedly. She sent me a conspiratorial grin as she lowered herself onto her throne again.

I looked off into the direction of the archery range and saw Hattie approaching.

She fell into step beside me.

“Fine day, no, milady?” she asked, her cheeks pink with delight.

The maid was dressed in a pretty green frock, the muslin fabric dotted with purple flowers. Her hair hung long and free down her back, giving her usually plain face a lovely frame that, paired with her winning smile, garnered her appreciative glances from some of the passing males.

“It is, yes. That dress looks wonderful on you, Hattie.”

“Yes, well, it belonged to your sister. But she claimed it was far too small for her now with her growing belly and I couldn’t bring myself to argue with her that it would fit again soon enough.” She ran a reverent hand over the fabric before swinging her skirts around, then bursting into chuckles. “I realize it’s probably silly to you, but there really is no feeling like getting a new dress.”

I knew the feeling well. For so long, that was the focus of my entire existence. Obtaining new finery in hopes of catching the eye of a worthy male.

But after watching Anaya’s metamorphosis from a humble caterpillar to the glorious monarch butterfly she’d become, I’d realized his dreams were not mine and beauty had very little to do with outside trappings.

“Not that you need it. You’d be gorgeous if you strapped a potato sack around your neck,” Hattie said without even a trace of envy.

I glanced ruefully down at my britches and worn, leather boots. “Of the two of us, I can guarantee you’ll be getting more offers than I will tonight.”

"Ah, if so, it’ll only be because they’re intimidated by you,” she replied. “We’ve come a long way, but it will take many of the males a long time to catch up with the times and realize women are just as good as men at most things, and better at some.”

She was dead on there, and the last thing I wanted was some overbearing man who thought he was in charge of me coming into my life and taking over. I’d survived my father already, and that had been more than enough bullying for a lifetime. In fact, unless I could have what Anaya and her pride had…True love, total respect, and a passion beyond compare? I didn’t want a mate at all.

It was a tall order, but one I was determined to fill some day.

My steps slowed as we approached the crowded corner of the square.

Ten targets were lined up in a row, each with a red bull’s-eye in the center. Already, many of the competing archers were lined up, discussing technique and strategy as they eyed the distance and checked the direction of the winds.

The final target off in the distance was a stuffed, leather elk. I couldn’t wait to find out who would be taking shots at it and what my sister’s plans for determining the winner were.

My pulse quickened at the thought of the competition to come.

It was Gatlin, one of my sister’s mates, who approached a few moments later, leading my sister and his brothers, to set the festivities off. They stepped up onto a stage where five seats awaited, and he waved a hand in the air to silence the chattering crowd as he began to speak.

“The competition will start with our twenty marksmen who have signed up. You’ll be paired off against one another, and each take one shot. The winners of the heads-up matches will then compete again, five on five this time until we are left with our five finalists. The final five will compete by aiming at the elk and executing their best kill shot from the farthest distance they can manage.”

His eyes were bright with excitement and a little mischief as the crowd began to murmur.

That was a nefarious twist. Letting the archers determine how far away they could make a clean shot was one that spoke to confidence or cockiness. Would separate the cautious from the risk takers.

It was about to get very interesting.

He gestured to a man dressed in official-looking garb below him. “The Judge will call the early rounds and our Queen will select the winner. Now?” He swept his arm out and rose his voice to a shout. “Let the games begin!”