Cyrene’s mouth hung open.

He wanted her to be…the consort.

To be his consort.

To replace Daufina.

She knew it was possible to replace the consort, but it was so rare. Usually, it happened as the result of a death. Very rarely did it happen because the king wanted a new advisor. The consort, much like the queen, was a life term.

Edric breaking from that tradition was unprecedented. And the shock on everyone’s face said as much. The crowd was a mix of confusion and uncertainty. They didn’t know how to respond to this news.

Kael looked livid. It was as if everything he had been planning, whatever he had been planning, had just been obliterated. It was the first time since she had gotten on that ship to return home that she could actually feel his dark magic brewing inside him, ready to release. She knew he had used his magic on her when she was vulnerable on board but not like this. Not this sinister.

But it was Daufina’s face that said it all. She had not known about this. It seemed likely that no one had known about this…not even Edric. He had just decided on the spot when he saw her. Daufina would have murdered Cyrene then if she could. Cyrene gave her credit for holding on to her decorum though.

It was only Edric who looked happy about his decision.

The only person, including Cyrene.

She was not happy about this.

Becoming consort might have been her dream, but now, it felt like a death sentence. A way for Edric to keep her close even though he could not make her queen.

“Come,” Edric said, offering Cyrene his hand. “We have much to discuss and an Investiture to plan.”

Cyrene could do nothing but accept his hand with everyone looking on. No didn’t seem to be an option.

He led her into the Nit Decus castle just as the skies completely opened up behind them. She could still sense Kael’s presence and the darkness rolling off of him as he followed behind them, but she could pay no heed to him. She had to deal with this situation first.

The Investiture for the consort was essentially a coronation without a crown. The consort was the highest position in the land, save royalty. She was the king’s greatest advisor, his strategist, his companion. Many past consorts had been the lover or mistress of the king. Some had borne him children. Others had been best friends and closest confidants. The woman was to be brilliant, beautiful, and charming. She was everything you could want in the person standing at your side. While the king rarely was able to pick his queen, he chose his consort, and he chose well.

It was a great honor to have been chosen. Yet, with everything she had endured, everywhere she had traveled, all the kingdoms she had seen, Byern felt quite small, especially if she never had the opportunity to leave again.

“How was your trip?” Edric asked. “Pleasant enough, I hope, while on a warship.”

Cyrene tilted her head. Is he really going to ask basic pleasantries? “Fine. The ship was fine.”

“Did you spend much time with my brother?”

She measured the set of his jaw and the anxious tell in his eyes. He wanted the answer to be no.

“There was no one else of equal rank.”

He nodded. Surely, he took that to mean yes. Though he could never know that she had spent the last couple of weeks in Kael’s bed. Even if nothing had ever happened, she could see now that he would not take well to it. She was extra pleased that Kael had suggested removing her ring. Another thing Edric never needed to know.

“Now that you’re back, we have much to discuss.”

“Indeed, My King,” she said.

“Cyrene, call me Edric.”

“Of course.” She took a deep breath and then continued, “Like you making me consort.”

“It’s brilliant,” he said at once. “I should have considered it sooner.”

“Edric, please, think about this. What about Daufina?”

“Don’t worry about her. What’s done is done. We will figure out the details at a later time. For now, I just want to relish in your return.” He drew her out of the entrance hall and down a hallway. “It was dark days when you were gone.”

The same darkness that came from Kael’s magic seemed to lick at Edric when he mentioned her disappearance. Yet there was no magic on Edric. She couldn’t sense a thing.

“I’m anxious to understand all the changes.”

“Yes, much has changed since you left, but you will fit right into my inner circle. You will be at the center of everything from now on, Cyrene. Allow me to show you.”

A guard opened a door to a chamber Cyrene had never seen before, and she followed Edric inside. The room was expansive with intricate molding circling the upper and middle of the room. A long, rectangular table ran down the center of the room, laden with maps and charts and an interactive display of much of the known world. It laid out all the stations for the military, where their ships were, and all potential enemy armies.

She could tell right away that this was a place that few had access to. Only Edric and his most trusted advisors were ever brought in here. The weight of the consort sank onto her shoulders, the further she stepped into the room.

“This is my war room,” he told her.

“We have not been to war in three hundred years.”

“Small skirmishes easily handled in that time, but you are correct, no full-blown wars. Nothing that could make the everyday person fear for their safety. However, this has been the same room through the generations. Viktor Dremylon himself stood at that table to wipe out the remaining Doma,” Edric said, pointing to the head of the table.

Cyrene body would not move another inch. Her eyes were fixed on that spot. Right there, the man who had loved Domina Serafina and still murdered her for power had strategized how to slaughter her people. Cyrene’s chest ached.

No matter what she had decided about her own mission, she had chosen to be Doma. Her magical powers were a part of who she was. They made her Doma. Yet Edric didn’t even know about magic. He didn’t know that Viktor had killed Doma because of their magic. He thought, as most citizens of Byern, that magic was a fairy tale, and Doma were unfair conquerors. But they were her ancestors. And, though she might not care that some ancient prophecy said she was important, she couldn’t help but feel the pain of those who had been lost.

That, by working with a Dremylon in this room…she was betraying her own people.

Cyrene took a step back and then another. Edric was almost to the head of the table. He was still speaking, telling her about the history of the room. The importance of the room. Yet she couldn’t hear a word he said.

Then, he was standing there. In the very spot she had imagined Viktor Dremylon—who, from her visions, she knew looked so much like Edric—and all she saw was betrayal. More betrayal. She couldn’t handle that. She couldn’t go through that again. She had nearly backed out through the door when he glanced up at her, as if he had finally realized that she hadn’t spoken.

“Cyrene?” a voice said behind her.

She felt a light brush against her back, and she knew it was Kael.

“You’re white as a ghost.”

“Are you all right?” Edric asked at once. “Guard, bring her a chair.”

Cyrene was pushed back into the Death Room and forced into a seat. Edric and Kael were arguing already. Cyrene wished she could block it out.

“She’s had a long journey. She needs rest,” Kael said.

“We have matters to discuss.”

“You don’t know what she’s been like.”

“Her health is my first priority, but we need information.”

“You’re putting her at risk.”

“Stop,” she said, looking up at them both.

“Cyrene,” Kael said, “you need rest.”

“I’m fine.”

“We will be brief,” Edric said.

Daufina and the man Cyrene had noticed in the black guard uniform both entered then. Daufina turned her nose up at Cyrene and marched to the opposite side of the room. The other man went straight to Edric and stood with his arms crossed in protest.

“You’re not fine,” Kael said.

“I was overwhelmed with everything that has happened. That is all.” She narrowed her eyes, telling him without words to let it go.

Kael nodded, as if he understood, and backed off.

“First, introductions,” Edric said. He turned to the man in the black uniform. “This is Captain Merrick. He is the head of my personal guard. All royalty has been assigned guards. You will be given a team at your disposal, and they will report to Merrick.”

Cyrene hated him on sight. Everything about him from his inky-black hair slicked back off of his face to the curve of his nose and to the beady little eyes with a malicious glint in the irises said that he was her enemy. She did not want guards that Merrick would pick and who would report her every move to him. She would have to figure out a way around that.

“Very well,” she said for now. “Pleasure to meet you.”

“I have heard so much about you,” Merrick said. “The pleasure is all mine.”

He said it, but his eyes said he did not believe it. How could Edric trust this man?

Her gaze darted to Kael’s, and he arched an eyebrow. She could tell that he felt the same way she did. At least he wasn’t the only one who got a bad feeling from the man. And her gut was never wrong.

“On to the matter of your kidnapping and escape,” Edric began.

“Actually,” Cyrene said, standing to make her point clear, “I wanted to discuss Ahlvie and Orden. You must have gotten my letter.” She flashed the Affiliate pin at him and watched Daufina’s face sour. “I would like to see them at once.”

Edric look to Merrick, who said, “They are being…detained.”

“Detained,” she repeated dryly.

“For now.”

“Detained where? How? For what reason?”

“Imprisoned,” Daufina spoke up with a whip in her voice. “They are imprisoned for treason.”

“What?” Cyrene nearly shouted. “On what grounds?”

“Kidnapping, murder, impersonating a High Order, among other things,” Merrick filled her in.

“None of those things are true,” Cyrene said. “You must release them at once. They were helping me the entire time we were together. They did not kidnap me. I even said that in my letter.”

“We were under the impression that the letter was coerced,” Merrick said.

“I was not,” Daufina said.

“We have more important matters to deal with right now,” Edric said.

“No, we do not!” she said, whirling on him.

“Cyrene.” Edric used the voice to try to calm her down, but she was furious.

Ahlvie and Orden were not criminals.

She turned to look at Kael for backup. She didn’t know when that had happened. When she had become so comfortable with Kael that she expected him to be on her side against his brother, the king. But, still, it happened.

Kael tilted his head and gave her a look that said, Choose your battles.

She huffed but conceded.

“We will figure this out later though,” she said.

Edric looked between Kael and Cyrene and seemed not to like what he saw. “Indeed, we will.”

“What we should be discussing is the change in consort,” Merrick said smoothly.

“Agreed,” Daufina said with venom in her voice.

“We are not discussing that. It has been decided,” Edric said. He waved his hand, as if he had a magic wand that would suddenly eliminate the concerns piling up around him.

“Your Majesty, you know that I have your best interests at heart,” Merrick began. His eyes slid to Cyrene, and he sneered. “After the attempt on your life, you need to keep your friends close.”

“Attempt on your life?” Kael asked at the same time as Cyrene asked, “What attempt on your life?”

“You know nothing,” Daufina said. “This is a mistake. I have been with you since the beginning, Edric. And you just want to turn me aside?”

“Beyond that fact, Daufina is a strong ally. The people know and respect her. The Affiliates and High Order respond to her. They listen to her. You are about to embark on a war. You do not change horses midstream,” Merrick reminded him.

“Brother, what attempt on your life?” Kael asked. “How was I not informed of this?”

“It was nothing,” Edric growled. “I dealt with the man.”

“It was two attempts,” Merrick said. “Someone wants the king dead, and they are doing everything they can to get it done. The first, you were lucky to kill yourself. The second killed his taster by poison. We had only instated a taster three days before it happened. If I had not suggested it, you would be dead.”

“It seems you have a common enemy with Cyrene then,” Kael said. “She was nearly killed on our own ship on the way here.”

Cyrene glared at him. She hadn’t wanted that information known.

“What happened?” Edric asked. “Are you all right?”

“Fine,” she said. It felt like that was all she was saying. Fine. Fine. She was fine. Nothing bothered her at all. Certainly not death, war, poison, murder attempts, prison.

“I killed the man,” Kael informed him.

“Further proof that you need to be careful of your choices, sire,” Merrick said. “They are already making attempts on her life. What will happen if she becomes consort? She will not always have a prince at her side.”

“No, she will have your guards, Merrick,” Edric said. “So, you do your job and let me do mine. I am the king.” He strode to the desk and stood at the head of the table. “Must I remind you that I am king? I was born for this moment. Cyrene was born to be at my side.”

Cyrene shrank back at the vehemence in his voice. The last thing she thought she was born for was to stand at a Dremylon’s side.

Everyone remained silent at Edric’s proclamation. They all knew he was king and that he held all the power. He could make Cyrene his consort with a snap of his fingers. Who wouldn’t want the honor? His advisors might try to persuade him against it, but in the end, it was his decision.

“That is settled then. Daufina, you will begin to train Cyrene on her position henceforth.”

“And what will you do with me after that, Your Majesty?” Daufina asked defiantly. She used his title like a whip.

“We will discuss it at a later time,” Edric said dismissively. “Right now, I would like to understand the letter that my brother sent ahead from Albion. The king and queen of Eleysia are dead, and they executed one of our own Affiliates for the murder?”

Cyrene staggered back and put a hand to her heart. She had to close her eyes to block out the torment of the moment. Maelia. The crowd. The scaffold. Maelia’s head rolling into the basket. Cyrene could have prevented it. She could have stopped it. If only she’d had a moment to think, she could have made it right. And, now, she was here, talking pleasantries with another royal court, when she should have been hanged in the other.

“Yes,” Kael said. Though she could feel his eyes on her and not Edric.

“That is an act of war,” Edric said.

“And I have negotiated peace.” Kael removed another letter from his breast pocket and handed it to Edric.

“This is signed by the prince of Eleysia, not the new queen,” Edric said. “This is a cease-fire in exchange for Cyrene’s return. It is not binding. We will go to war.”

The prince of Eleysia. Dean.

Her heart ached at the thought of him. He had given her up for peace. He had traded her so that his people would not die at the hands of the Byern warships sitting so near their capital. Whether or not he cared for her, she now understood why he had done it at least. She would not let Edric spit on that offer.

“No,” Cyrene said. Her voice was strong and steady. She could not allow this.

“No?” Merrick asked in disgust.

“That’s right. No. We will not go to war. Too many innocent lives will be lost if we do so. I was there. I know the heartbreak in the country. I know what they did to Maelia was wrong, but it would be insanity to take this a step further.”

Edric shook his head and stared down at the map before him. “You do not grasp the whole situation just yet. I know you’ve had a trying trip. Perhaps my brother is right, and you need to rest.”

“I’ve rested enough,” Cyrene said. “What you are doing is morally abhorrent.”

“I hate to say that I agree with Cyrene,” Daufina said. “But I have been saying this for months. You have been looking for a fight since you marched our troops into Aurum. Now, you have found one that has a peace treaty staring you in the face, and you ignore it?”

“Enough!” Edric roared. “We are going to war. Get used to the idea. We must prepare. You are all dismissed.”

Cyrene stared at Edric as he turned his back to the four people he listened to the most. It was clear he was taking no counsel. No one could sway him. Byern was going to war.