Maeve
Three kings sit before me at a large circular table in a simple, but bright, room within the temple in Crescent Falls. Sweat prickles along my brow line, but my magic keeps my nerves under wraps as King Lucius of Lunaria smiles at me, pleased, I think, with how the summit went.
King Evan of Celestoria, however, keeps his expression cool and collected, while Sydney sits somewhat smugly nearby, glancing at his watch. We’ve been here for hours, covering everything from trade to the relationships between the territories under our separate control. With so much migration and tourism between our four kingdoms these days, not to mention a massive boom in population that followed the War of Tarsian twenty years ago, the agenda was long and tightly managed, but long nonetheless.
I’m tired, hungry, and ready to leave.
I smooth the fabric of my neat, perfectly tailored black and gold suit jacket. My hair is tightly woven into a bun at the nape of my neck, and Brie did my makeup this morning, which is simple, but perfect. No frills. No show of my magic. No crimson. I am here as the Queen of Eastonia, plain and simple.
King Lucius continues to grin at me until I can’t take it anymore.
“I believe Celestoria and Lunaria will benefit greatly from joining the Allied Kingdoms,” I say to the group. It's the reason I’m here. So far, the Allied Kingdoms have only encompassed Eastonia and Crescent Falls, but they want in.
Sydney, to his credit, was leaving it up to me. I wanted a summit with them first. I was mostly curious about the shrewd king of Celestoria who has been a hard man to pin down when it comes to trade negotiations.
I continue, “I’m willing to sign whatever treaties come my way.”
“And would those include Eastonia’s promise to come to our aid in times of crisis?” King Evan asks dryly.
“Of course. My army is your army when duty calls.”
King Lucius continues to grin. I glance at him then quickly look away. “Well, then. I believe we’ve discussed everything I came here for. Sydney, do you have anything to add in conclusion?”
He shakes his head, but King Lucius says, “Will you be joining us tonight at the castle for the ball held in the queen’s honor?”
He’s talking about Sarah, of course. It’s her birthday party–at least, the birthday she and Sydney decided upon since neither know her actual date of birth.
“I will not,” I reply, giving him a polite smile. “I’m traveling with my sister to the port. My next stop on this tour is Maatua.” It’s a half lie. I’m not going for work. The family is gathering in Maatua for the Solstice, and since Brie traveling via my powers would be risking her life, I agreed to sail with her to the island instead. It gives us two days together, alone, to try to sort out my life.
King Lucius’s smile fades, and Sydney's small, knowing smirk makes me bite down on a smile of my own.
I rise, and so do the kings, who bow to me, and I bow them, and blah, blah, blah. This side of being queen is dreadfully boring. I like the other stuff–talking to commanders and warriors. Having to be mean and firm when it comes to Alphas who dare to not acknowledge my leadership. I like those things.
Talking about trade? Kill me.
Blake would be much better at this. He should be here for me, actually, but is still dragging his Goddess-damned feet about leaving his title behind and joining my court, the bastard.
In the car, just me and Sydney, on the drive home, he says with a smirk, “King Lucius is desperate to introduce you to his oldest son.”
“Prince Eric?” I laugh, my powers flickering as they continue to shield the pregnancy he doesn’t know about. “According to the news, we’re already very much in love.”
“Have you given any thought to the prospect of marriage?”
“You sound like Grandpa Ryatt right now,” I accuse bluntly, shooting him a glare. “And no, of course not. I have no interest in that.”
“You might change your mind. I’ve heard Eric is very handsome.”
“Introduce him to Briar and Celeste, then. Have them fight over him.”
He groans, but I laugh, and it’s a sound I haven’t heard in a long time.
It’s a quick turnaround once we reach the castle. My bags are already packed, and Brie’s waiting patiently in the foyer, dressed comfortably, and itching to get on the yacht waiting for us at the port. I change and say quick goodbyes, and within minutes, my guards are driving our procession to the port of Crescent Falls.
Brie, sitting beside me in the back seat, rolls up the partition so we’re not overheard, then turns to me. “How’d it go?”
“Exactly like I thought. It was boring and could have been an email.”
She smirks, rolling her eyes. “You have to get used to these things. It’s all I do these days.”
“You’re far better at delegating than I’ll ever be, and plus, you have an Alpha King by your side. You can split up the work. I can’t.”
She searches my eyes, her smile fading. “You could find–”
“No,” I bite out, shaking my head.
“You know, you never told me his name.”
I chew my lower lip, casting her a weary glance. I haven’t said his name out loud in months. Sometimes when I lie in bed at night, I dig up the courage to whisper it into my pillow but always chicken out before it leaves my lips. I desperately want to call him into existence, but he’s… gone.
I need to accept that eventually.
But today, I decide to be brave.
“His name is Soren.”
Brie smiles softly, nodding. “That’s a nice name.”
“I thought so, too.”
“Theoretically–” she begins after a beat.
“No.”
“If,” she cuts in as the highway bleeds back into a coastal city now that we’ve left the sprawling metropolis of Crescent City and spent the last half hour driving through woodlands, “if you did find him again, he could be in your life, Maeve. He wouldn’t be the king, so to speak, unless you gave him that title–”
“He wouldn’t accept it–”
“But if you offered, and he did accept, then he’d rule beside you. You wouldn’t be bearing this burden on your own–”
“You don’t know him–”
“But you do! I–I’ve always wondered what kind of man you’d fall for one day and what you described is exactly what I thought he’d be.”
I narrow my eyes to cat-like slits. “I described him as annoying and hot-headed–”
“Exactly. He doesn’t balance you out. You’ve never needed that. You’ve needed someone to fight with, Maeve. Someone who riles you up and matches your energy–”
“Well, that sounds like a recipe for disaster–”
“Look at Aviva and Ryan and tell me that kind of dynamic doesn’t work.” She arches a brow in challenge. I chew my lower lip, shrugging, then face the window. “See. Not everyone is like Mom and Dad. They needed that balance. Logan and I needed that balance. You… you would’ve eaten alive someone who bowed to your every whim.”
I snort a laugh, throwing her a look over my shoulder, but she frowns at me.
“You look exhausted, Maeve.”
“It’s my powers. Keeping my shields up all day is one thing, but shapeshifting really drains me.”
“Well, the second we get on the yacht, you should drop them. I already spoke to the captain, and he’s a discreet man. It’s a small crew, too. I’ve already paid everyone a handsome bonus for keeping their mouths shut. Don’t worry.”
I throw her another weary glance. “I suppose…”
“Your guards will be on another ship, anyway. I think one or two will be aboard at the most, and they can be dealt with.”
“You’ve really put a lot of thought into this.”
“You look like hell frozen over and reheated,” she says with a yawn. “And I’m mostly trying to keep myself busy so I don’t wring your neck for not telling me.”
I smile against the window as the car comes to a stop. The yacht is beautiful, of course, and belongs to Grandpa Ryatt and Grandma Ella. We board but sit in the bay for quite some time as a light storm passes over, causing a bit of a traffic jam. Day fades into a startlingly vibrant sunset as we bob in the water, sitting on the main deck drinking tea and ignoring the bite in the air.
I dropped my shields ages ago, just like Brie said I should. I feel large and wobbly as I curl into a blanket, but it’s not big enough to cover my neck and shoulders. A few other boats linger nearby. Brie watches them, narrowing her eyes, then looks back down at her book.
“I’m going to get another blanket,” I grumble, shimmying to my feet. “I don’t fit in this one.”
“Let’s just go downstairs and get ready for bed. It’s freezing.”
I nod my agreement and set the blanket down in a heap on the slightly frosted lounge chair I’d been resting on, but a flashing light briefly catches my attention on the water below. I squint down as a boat soars past the yacht and out of sight.
“I think we’re finally leaving the bay now,” Brie says with a sigh. “Thank the Goddess. I told Mom we’d be there in two days, tops.”
And two days pass. It was the break we both needed for sure. Brie did nothing but read and show me the thousand pictures of Kieran on her phone. I did nothing but sleep and eat to my heart's desire, finally regaining an appetite. I credit Brie for that.
I didn’t open up about Soren again, however, and she didn’t push me. But just… talking about him? It helped.
Morning sunlight drifts over the main deck as the yacht pulls into the private dock owned by my family. I squint into the sun, my shields up and my shapeshifting powers hard at work. I convinced Brie to keep my secret until I’m ready, even if it means spending the four or five days in the company of my entire family, and even if she doesn’t like how I’m going about this.
I’m just… not ready. I’m not sure I’ll ever be ready to explain that I fell desperately in love and my entire life got turned on its head, and now I have a little souvenir to show for it.
“Oh! That’s Mom!” Brie says excitedly as the yacht bobs to a stop. She bounces on her toes and waves at the dark-haired beauty hurrying down the length of the dock, followed closely by Misty, her golden hair streaking out behind her. “Why are they running? Why is Misty pulling on Mom’s arm like that?”
My guards grab our suitcases, stepping past us toward the ramp now lowering against the dock. Misty yanks Mom to a halt and says something to her that I can’t hear, but the worried look on Mom’s face and the nerves pinching Misty’s eyebrows together makes my stomach hollow out.
“Something’s wrong,” I murmur, grabbing Brie’s arm. We race down the ramp as Dad comes into view, followed by Grandpa Ryatt, the two men looking stern and cold as they walk side by side.
Something isn’t right. A prickle of unease shoots up my spine when Mom yanks out of Misty’s grasp and whirls to us, her eyes wide in shock, maybe even… disappointment.
“Maeve–”
“Hey,” I smile, glancing at the four people now closing in on me and Brie. “What’s wrong? Did something–”
Misty steps in front of Mom looking grave. Brie pales as she looks between us then over her shoulder at Dad and Grandpa.
Mom opens her mouth but chokes on what I think is a sob, but Misty says, “Kenna, everything is fine.”
“Maeve, is it true?”
“Is what true?” I ask, my cheeks beginning to prickle. “If this is about the Prince Eric of Lunaria again, I swear to the Goddess–”
Misty holds up her phone so I can see the screen. Brie leans in, gripping my arm as my world shatters at my feet.
A picture of us on the main deck several days ago stares back at me. It’s hazy but clear enough to see… to see me, and my advanced pregnancy, in full color.
It’s all over the news.
It has been for days.
“We tried calling you!” Mom says in a near shout, her eyes frantic as she looks between me and Brie.
“We didn’t have service,” Brie says, but her eyes water as she looks at our mom then our dad then me.
But I’m looking at Grandpa Ryatt. His silver gaze bores into mine.
I straighten my spine, squaring my shoulders, and that’s all he needs to know the truth. He turns on his heel and walks away, leaving me in the center of my mother’s downward spiral.
“Drop your shields, Maeve,” Dad says on a breath.