Kitlyn glided in and hastily changed from a plain dress to a satin one slightly more elaborate than Oona’s. While standing there suffering Meredith’s assault on the back lacing, she smiled at Evie. “Oh, you are adorable!”
Evie beamed, swishing side to side to show off how her dress fluffed around.
Oona waited until Kitlyn appeared ready. “Come then. Time to deal with the dreadful.”
“What?” Piper tilted her head. “You don’t like being queen?”
“I hated being princess because I thought I would have to destroy Evermoor. I don’t mind being the queen consort, but sitting in a room full of old men quibbling percentages of taxation is absolute torture.”
Kitlyn, Evie, Piper, and Meredith laughed.
It’s not as bad as sitting in a room while Aodh tried to auction me off to a foreign prince. She took Evie’s hand and followed Kitlyn down the hall to the stairs for another day at court.
38
As Equals
Kitlyn
Perched upon her throne, Kitlyn once again felt as though time decided to go on holiday.
In all likelihood, she’d only been there for about fifteen minutes thus far, but it felt like hours. The endless murmuring din of advisors, nobles, and courtiers reminded her how little sleep she’d had the night before. She couldn’t wait for nighttime to return so she could crawl back into bed. Any minute now, the advisors would line up and present whatever list of matters that they felt worth elevating to her direct attention that they couldn’t decide for themselves.
If she managed to survive the day without passing out on her feet in front of a packed room, she’d consider it an act of the gods.
Evie sat on a little chair between the two thrones, occasionally holding their hands, but more often than not fidgeting and bouncing.
Oona reached over to adjust the girl’s floral crown, whispering, “Please try to sit a little more still. This is dreadfully boring, I know, but it won’t be long.”
“Okay,” whispered Evie, nodding.
Kitlyn looked down the length of her dress at the tips of her matching emerald green shoes poking out from under it. She raised and lowered her big toe, amusing herself by watching the fabric move. Beredwyn said I will not find this quite so dreadfully boring when I grow older. Am I too young to be queen?
She let her thoughts drift to Oona telling her that Tenebrea had appeared in person to warn them of Fauhurst. What have we done to be worthy of such direct intervention of the goddess? For a moment, she felt tiny and insignificant, like some little beggar girl the richest person in the land had decided to randomly adopt.
It cannot be simply me, or even Oona. The gods must be acting for the all of Lucernia, and we are somehow important to that.
Beredwyn cleared his throat.
Kitlyn lifted her head, not having realized she’d slumped forward. The advisors all stood in a line to the right of the carpet leading away from the throne dais. A line of people: a few nobles, a handful of merchants, and a couple dressed in commoners’ garb waited to speak to her.
“Someone fell aslee-eep,” singsonged Evie in whisper.
Kitlyn didn’t bother holding back the laugh. She stood and moved to the top of the dais stairs. “Before we begin, I have a short decree to announce.”
The room fell quiet.
Beredwyn tilted his head, one eyebrow up.
“My father proved that too much power concentrated in too small a place leaves too much room for cruelty, greed, and capriciousness.”
A few murmurs came from the court.
“I do not wish to become or be viewed as a tyrant. To that end, I hereby declare that my wife is an equal. No longer queen consort, but a regent equal in standing to me. Henceforth, we shall both bear the title of queen.” At an upsurge in muttering, she raised her hand, quieting it. Noticing an urgency in Lanon’s eyes, she nodded at him. “Advisor?”
“Highness.” He waved his hand about, trying to collect his thoughts. “Queen Solara had no real power. This is an unusual precedent.”
“I am aware of that. At least, that is what I have been told. I was quite young when she was murdered. My father craved power. He loved having authority and status more than anything. My mother accepted being politically weak to soothe his ambitions. She satisfied herself with the luxury of life as a queen. I only crave two things, and power is not one of them. My bloodline and the people have given me power, and I accept it for what it is—a responsibility. The two things I crave are…” She twisted to smile at Oona. “My wife, Oona… And for the people of Lucernia to prosper in a much-overdue time of peace.”
A few hesitant claps started, then more, growing to a reasonable level of applause. Though she wouldn’t call it deafening, it reached enough of a volume to make her smile.
“That is all. Shall we proceed with the matters of state?” Kitlyn backed up two steps and took her seat.
Beredwyn nodded, his tall hat wobbling. “In the matter of the traitor, Fauhurst. You must decide his sentence.”
Kitlyn emitted a ‘must I deal with this now?’ sigh, and glanced at Oona.
Oona uncovered her mouth, the grin she’d been hiding long gone. “Let him scrub floors for the rest of his days in the dungeons.”
“I agree.” Kitlyn looked at Beredwyn. “Life imprisonment, and he shall be tasked with cleaning the floors.”
Beredwyn barely managed to conceal a smile and scribbled something on his record scroll. “Now on to the matter of Lord and Lady Fenmeer and their land claim.”
Evie let her head fall back against the seat, looking up at Oona. “Is this going to take long?”
fin
Acknowledgments
Thank you for reading The Cursed Crown!
I had been considering doing a sequel to The Eldritch Heart for a while, but it kept finding itself bumped back by other projects. Well, when I heard from a mom that her daughter made a specific request from her hospital bed that I write a sequel, I knew there was no possibility of refusing such a request.
And so, here we are at the end of The Cursed Crown.
Thanks to Lee Hargrove for editing.
Additional thanks to Dianne, Gwen, and Daniel Cox (no relation) for beta reading.
And of course, my most sincere appreciation goes out to Amalia Chitulescu for the beautiful cover art. - www.amaliach.com
About the Author
Originally from South Amboy NJ, Matthew has been creating science fiction and fantasy worlds for most of his reasoning life. Since 1996, he has developed the “Divergent Fates” world, in which Division Zero, Virtual Immortality, The Awakened Series, The Harmony Paradox, and the Daughter of Mars series take place. Along with being an editor at Curiosity Quills press, he has worked in IT and technical support.
Matthew is an avid gamer, a recovered WoW addict, Gamemaster for two custom RPG systems, and a fan of anime, British humour, and intellectual science fiction that questions the nature of reality, life, and what happens after it.
He is also fond of cats.
Visit me online at:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MatthewSCoxAuthor
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/mscox
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/matthewcox10420/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7712730.Matthew_S_Cox
Email: mcox2112@gmail.com
Other books by Matthew S. Cox
Divergent Fates Universe Novels
Division Zero series
Division Zero
Lex De Mortuis
Thrall
Guardian
The Awakened series
Prophet of the Badlands
Archon’s Queen
Grey Ronin
Daughter of Ash
Zero Rogue
Angel Descended
Daughter of Mars series
The Hand of Raziel
Araphel
Virtual Immortality series
Virtual Immortality
The Harmony Paradox
Divergent Fates Anthology
(Fiction Novels - Adult)
The Roadhouse Chronicles Series
One More Run
The Redeemed
Dead Man’s Number
Faded Skies series
Heir Ascendant
Ascendant Unrest
Ascendant Revolution
Temporal Armistice Series
Nascent Shadow
The Shadow Collector
The Gate to Oblivion
Vampire Innocent series
A Nighttime of Forever
A Beginner’s Guide to Fangs
The Artist of Ruin
The Last Family Road Trip
Standalones
Wayfarer: AV494
Axillon99
Chiaroscuro: The Mouse and the Candle
The Far Side of Promise anthology
Operation: Chimera (with Tony Healey)
The Dysfunctional Conspiracy (with Christopher Veltmann)
Winter Solstice series (with J.R. Rain)
Convergence
Containment
Catalyst
Alexis Silver series (with J.R. Rain)
Silver Light
Samantha Moon Origins series (with J.R. Rain)
New Moon Rising
Moon Mourning
Maddy Wimsey series (with J.R. Rain)
The Devil’s Eye
The Drifting Gloom
Samantha Moon Case Files series (with J.R. Rain)
Blood Moon
Dead Moon
Young Adult Novels
Caller 107
The Summer the World Ended
Nine Candles of Deepest Black
The Eldritch Heart
The Cursed Crown
The Forest Beyond the Earth
Out of Sight
Evergreen
Middle Grade Novels
Tales of Widowswood series
Emma and the Banderwigh
Emma and the Silk Thieves
Emma and the Silverbell Faeries
Emma and the Elixir of Madness
Emma and the Weeping Spirit
Standalones
Citadel: The Concordant Sequence
The Cursed Codex
The Menagerie of Jenkins Bailey
Sophie’s Light