Chapter 68

68

Cassius

A knock sounded on the door, and I stopped speaking as a voice filtered through. "Lady Ella, requesting an audience, Your Highness."

"Send her in," I replied.

Aamon raised his brows inquiringly. I looked from him to Cassandra. "Ella brought down the Triad and stopped the assassination. She should be a part of this conversation."

Cassandra nodded. She was a blood relative and loyal—something that was priceless in our current predicament.

I rose as Ella swept in, and my blood heated at the sight of her. Her heartbeat was like nectar, her scent a heavy wine. The mauve dress I'd hoped she'd wear clung closely to her, sliding over her breasts and hips with each step. She wore no ornamentation, but her silver hair framed her perfect face and enchanting lavender eyes.

She was a goddess. And she was mine.

I wanted to wrap her in my arms and claim her there, but the oaken desk, my two advisors, and the last vestiges of decorum that I possessed stood in the way.

"My lady," I said with a dip of my head. "I'm glad you're here."

She blushed at that.

I gestured toward Cassandra. "This is Commander Cassandra, who oversees the forces here in the castle and at the border outposts."

Ella curtsied low. "A pleasure to meet you, Commander."

Cassandra remained stiff. Aside from the Triad, I'd never brought a human into my council before. I'd never seen the point. They lived short lives of little consequence—or so I'd thought. Now, I couldn't imagine the chamber without Ella's voice.

I resumed my seat behind the desk. "We were just discussing the fallout from last night."

"Thalindra?" Ella asked, meeting my gaze with worried eyes.

"She's dead."

"A pile of ash, just like Malthus," Aamon said. "It couldn't have happened to a crueler woman."

Ella released a long sigh, and her shoulders slumped with relief.

"However," Aamon continued, "there's substantial fallout beyond the Triad. We've rounded up the surviving conspirators. There was quite a network behind the assassination attempt."

Ella's eyes flashed with fear, and her heartbeat accelerated. I could almost taste her rising dread through our bond.

I leaned forward, resting my arm on the desk and looking Aamon in the eye. "I gave Lady Marquette my word that no more humans would be hurt. The assassins are all dead, and further bloodshed is not the way to fix this."

Aamon lifted his brows and glanced at Cassandra apprehensively. "The court won't be happy. They want justice."

"I think you mean revenge," Ella said, her voice low but filled with fire. Her quiet anger swept through the room, and all eyes turned to her.

"They plotted against the prince," Aamon said. "There should be a trial. The act demands justice."

"Yes," she said, uncowed. "And we want justice for centuries of oppression. For centuries of taking our blood. How are you going to give us that?"

I couldn't restrain my admiration. She was fierce and fearless, and what our kingdom needed. A heart better than mine. A vision unclouded by centuries of arrogance and tradition.

"Rhetoric of the resistance," Aamon scoffed.

Ella spun on him, ferocity in her voice. "If you're going to put the resistance on trial, then you should put yourselves up before a judge as well. Since the Uprising, your kind has treated us as second-class citizens. Worse. You've stripped us of our humanity and our dignity. We've lived lives of oppression and humiliation. What did you think would happen? That people would lie down and take it without a fight?"

"That is a wide net you're casting," Aamon growled. "We're not all animals."

"You're complicit," she said, not missing a beat. "This kingdom is comprised of humans and immortals. It should protect both."

Her words fell like a hammer. A condemnation of our rule, of our laws and pretense and power.

Aamon opened his mouth, but I raised my hand, and the room fell to silence. "Ella speaks the truth. As lords, we've failed in our duty. We can no longer continue to do so."

If we didn't make things better, then the humans would continue to fight. I had no doubt Ella would lead them. Successfully.

"What do you suggest, Your Highness?" Cassandra asked.

Nothing had changed during the centuries my family had ruled. It was time for new voices. I turned to Ella. "What do you suggest? How do I rule both people fairly?"

Her eyes widened at the invitation, and she hesitated.

"Speak, whisperer . I value your counsel as much as any here, if not more."

Her voice wavered slightly. "Mandate the fair treatment of humans. And end the blood tithe."

Aamon snorted. "Our people would starve."

Her shoulders tightened, as did her fists. "Then you should pay for what you take, and never take it without permission." Ella gestured around the room. "Look at the wealth in this place. Your kind can afford it."

Before my council could continue the argument, I held up my hand. "It will be law. Ella is right. We are rich, and we should pay. It will be the first of many changes I make when I take the throne."

While I'd chafed beneath the rule of the Triad and had only contempt for my father's rule, I'd never imagined a different world. A better world.

Not until her.

She'd opened a path to a better future as surely as she'd made one through the forest the night before.

Aamon poured himself a cup of wine. "I'll follow where you lead, Your Highness, but keep in mind, immortals don't like change."

Cassandra grimaced. "And with the Triad gone, some of the great houses will see it as a chance to depose you and seize power. Lord Perrault certainly will, and these kinds of changes could bolster his support among the court."

I met their gazes squarely. "Which is why I must do my duty and secure my throne first—as well as my line."

Aamon's expression brightened. "Finally, some sense. Before you declare yourself a complete revolutionary, we need to get you married and your alliances secured."

Ella shifted uncomfortably, and I could taste her sudden misery.

"As it so happens, Eva Marbury is still here," Aamon continued eagerly. "There's time to secure an alliance before she departs."

I shook my head, measuring him and Cassandra both. "Marbury is an outsider. After last night, I need someone who understands the Bloodvale and our troubles. Someone who can rule both humans and immortals with an even heart. Someone I can trust. Someone who is open to change."

The corners of Ella's mouth curved in a frown. "I think you might have trouble finding that woman."

"I already have," I replied, meeting her gaze head-on. "More than anything, I need you. Your strength, your understanding of this place and its people. Your heart."

She stilled. "What are you saying?"

Since I'd met the silver-haired siren, the old woman's words had hung over me, a constant specter. Choose a bride wisely. I understood now that what I'd thought to be a warning had been a promise of a new future. If you fall in love, the woman you choose will destroy everything your father built. And if she ever takes the throne, she will make your people pay the price of their thirst.

Ella had shaken my world, tearing down the prison of my father's kingdom. She'd destroyed the withering power of the Triad, and now she demanded equality. She demanded justice. Under our rule, any immortal who abused a human would pay—with their lives.

The truth was, Ella had been the answer all along, and the old witch had seen it coming. Not only would her heart heal this place, but her strength would protect it. Together, we would be unstoppable in our quest for change.

I rose and faced the woman who'd saved my kingdom. "Ella Marquette, I want you to be my queen."