The Fate of Crowns by Rebecca L. Garcia

Author:Rebecca L. Garcia [Garcia, Rebecca L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rebecca L. Garcia
Published: 2021-01-04T16:00:00+00:00

NINETEEN

It had been two days since I arrived at court, and I’d hardly seen Blaise since I arrived and he’d shown me his library. I had permission to go in there whenever I wanted, and I’d taken him up on the offer. I spent last evening flipping through books until the early hours of morning, enjoying lying in front of the crackling fire, on a rug, devouring words I’d had to hide back in Morgana’s tower room.

Forbidden spells revealed themselves. Old rituals and truths about the world led me down a spiral of thirst for more. There was so much I hadn’t known. The Objects of Kai kept popping up in different centuries, then lost to the next. There were entire volumes filled with properties of mer venom, and pages of royal family trees from the solises, light and dark fae, and lunas. I hadn’t looked at the light fae or solis ones yet, but I planned to.

Knowing as much as possible about the kingdom I would rule was imperative to my success as queen. Father would be impressed if I continued to show the same strength and resilience that I had in Berovia and here, and to do that, I had to make sure I wouldn’t get caught tripping over the lie I’d stumbled upon. All it would take is one wrong question, and his work would come undone.

While guilt tugged me one way, the weight of my father’s crown pulled me the other direction. Sometimes leaders had to do what needed to be done, and from time to time, there was collateral damage. I figured it was a burden that needed learning, accepting. It didn’t feel natural to me, betrayal and war, but it would. Someone had to carry the weight of a kingdom and make the decisions no one else would. As a ruler, I must accept the blame for actions that would mean the best for our people, even if sometimes those people hated me for it like they did my father. So many wanted the crown, but few were willing to do the dirty work to keep it.

I inhaled deeply, then left the library. I’d spent so much time in that room, I needed a change of scenery. I made my way to the one place where I could win the very thing I needed.

Gray crevices narrowed as I walked the dark tunnels toward the gambling rooms. My heels clicked against the stone, echoing. Reaching the archway, I hurried through with a smile on my face.

A faery with yellow eyes spotted me from behind a velvet-lined table. I placed seven gold pieces onto the purple tablecloth. The faery smirked, then shifted his eyes to mine. He turned to the blonde woman behind him, the only other person in the room aside from us, and chuckled.

“She thinks we play for coin.” He pushed the pieces back toward me. Black flashed in the corners of his irises, which looked like the sun. “I don’t deal with something as common as coin.

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