My Queen

A Dante’s Circle Short Story

Author Note: My Queen is a short story set in the Dante’s Circle World. It’s a peek into the lives of Amara, Tristan, and Seth on Amara’s coronation day. It’s best of you read their book, An Immortal’s Song (Dante’s Circle Book 6) first.

“Are you sure we can’t go back to the fae realm and pretend I don’t have to do this?” Amara asked as she ran her hands over her new ball gown.

She hadn’t worn a ball gown since prom, and even then, it didn’t really count as a formal. Not like this. She’d been too poor for anything nice and had worn whatever she’d been able to find.

Today, however, she wore a sparkling lavender gown of silk and diamonds. It flowed to her feet and had a long train.

While it wasn’t her normal day-to-day outfit, it was her ensemble for her first day at court.

Yes, she, Amara Young, was going to court.

Not the kind with a gavel, but the kind where she ruled over her new people as their Queen. She’d already tried to pinch herself awake, but it hadn’t worked.

“You’re going to be fine,” Tristan, her fae mate and a prince in his own right, said as she walked behind her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and brought her close.

She immediately relaxed, her body sinking into his. He wore a suit, coal-grey with a similar color tie. He looked professional. Like he knew what he was doing.

Thankfully, one of them knew because she was freaking out.

She’d become a siren only a few short weeks ago when she’d mated Tristan and Seth. After a series of unfortunate events, she’d become the Queen of the realm. It wasn’t her fault that the blood in her veins happened to be royal. It also wasn’t her fault that the former Queen had lost all sense of reality and had forced Amara to protect those she loved.

So now, instead of being home with her mates on a Saturday evening, she was wearing a ball gown and learning how to be a Queen.

“You look lickable,” Seth, her other mate, said as he prowled into the room. He wore a dark black suit with a green tie to match the teal of his eyes. She was so blessed that this merman loved her just as much as the fae did—that the two men loved each other, as well.

She smiled at him and tilted her head. “Are you talking to me or Tristan?”

He grinned, that dimple of his peeking out. “Yes.”

She laughed then, realizing finally, after a long day of preparing for what she was going to do, what she was going to say that evening.

They’d gone to her new palace—or rather the old palace that was now hers—early that morning and had sequestered themselves within her rooms. Those who had been part of the court for longer than she’d been alive were preparing everything for her down below. Tonight, she would be formally introduced and would have to speak in front of a crowd.

And when that was over, the real work would begin. She’d have to learn each and every name of those around her. She’d have to form her own cabinet while continuing to learn the vast history of her realm. Then she would need to listen to the worries and fears of the tenants of the land while learning how to shore up her defenses in case there was ever an attack.

There were hundreds of little things for her to do, and yet she knew if she kept thinking about it, she might freak out even more.

Seth gripped her chin and brought his lips to hers. She sighed into him even as Tristan’s hands tightened on her hips. Her body ached for them, but there was no time…not yet.

“You can do this,” Seth said softly. “I have faith in you, and will always be by your side. I am a warrior of my people, and now, I am your warrior.”

Tears filled her eyes and she kissed his chest. “Thank you,” she whispered.

“I am your prince, my siren, your aide, your right hand,” Tristan added. “I’m not going anywhere.”

She smiled at her men and took a step away from them, her chin rising. “I’m ready,” she said finally. “Let’s do this.”

Her men gripped each other’s hands quickly before letting go and ushering her on. She made her way through the open doors and down a hallway, her mates and fate following her.

Or rather, she was following her fate.

When she entered the large throne room, hundreds of sirens turned to her, their voices silencing abruptly.

“My Queen,” Tristan said softly. “They are waiting for you.”

She hadn’t realized she’d stopped moving. At Tristan’s words, my Queen, she raised her chin and went to stand in front of her throne.

Seth stood beside her, Tristan on the other side. “My Queen, you are magnificent,” her merman said under his breath.

She smiled then, knowing she could do this because she wasn’t alone. She’d prepared a speech before she’d come, and now she couldn’t remember a thing she’d written.

“Thank you for coming here tonight,” she said to the room, her voice stronger than she thought it would be. “I know I came to you on a path that no one thought possible, but no matter where I came from, I am here now. I know some of you will resent me for that, and I understand. But know that I am still going to be here no matter what. For those of you who wanted change, I know this isn’t what you thought would happen, but now that it has, I want to work together to ensure that our people, that the sirens, thrive.”

She paused as some clapped while others nodded in assent.

“I want us to be a people who are known for our strength, as well as our compassion. No longer do I wish us to be feared for what we are, but rather known for what we could be. I know this journey will be long, and we will make mistakes, but I hope that one day we will find a way to work together. Strong. United. And with a song of triumph.”

The crowd bowed toward her, and she wiped a tear from her face.

These were her people; the men at her sides her future.

She wasn’t alone anymore.

She was strong. She was a siren. She was loved.

She was a Queen.