Chapter 63

Chapter 63

W hen historians look back on what happened following Queen Edelin's death at the hands of her own Blades, they write about the anger and the riots. They write about the days of violence, how it eventually did bleed over to the other Factions despite everything Alice had done to prevent it, how several innocent people died in the aftermath.

But they forget the uncertainty. They forget that much of that violence came not because of anger at the Queen's actions, but from the fear of what would come. Fear of the unknown, of the collapse of some vital safety net that had once existed and had been taken away forever.

The High Priestesses presented a united front, but there was too much fear, too much uncertainty for them to hold it for long. They held the peace in the city by a single thread, and it was quickly starting to fray.

In the end, the city's savior came from a truly unexpected source.

Three days after the Queen's death Cassiel Salvatore deSanguine, the so-called Fallen King, presented a solution that could save them all. A solution Fey couldn't help but think might have come from one of his sons .

The High Priestesses couldn't hold the city, not on their own. The Queen's army was in shambles—half the generals abandoning their posts during the night of the blood moon, and the others too broken from their leader's betrayal to offer up their lives willingly to any cause. Solare had burned to nothing but ashes, fueled by years of neglect and Fey's endless rage, and though Lunairea still stood, it was damaged nearly beyond repair.

The Witches were in rebellion, and without the other Factions behind them, the High Priestesses would lose the city to chaos. So, Salvatore brought them the other Factions.

The Eternal City they once knew was dead, and the old regime would never rise again. But a new regime could be put in place instead. Not a singular ruler, not the superiority of a single Faction above the others, but an equal counsel of all four.

The High Priestesses were suspicious at first. The Vampires had never truly bent the knee to the First Queen, and this had all the hallmarks of a coup. But there was no regime left to overthrow anymore, was there?

In the end, they acquiesced. There would be no more royalty, but an equal rule of four, representing each of their Factions: Salvatore deSanguine, a Lion Shifter named Kellos, a Demon to be chosen from within the Faction, and the ex-Princess Amalia.

There had been considerable debate among the Priestesses as to what should be done with the Princess. She was, all agreed, innocent in the crimes of her mother, even if she had been aware of what the Queen had been doing—and even in that, there was debate. She was a child, a victim of circumstance. In the end it was decided that she would lead the next generation, under the guidance of the High Priestesses themselves.

And so Princess Amalia became Counsellor Amalia, the representative of the Witch Faction.

It wasn't perfect, by any means, but it worked. It held the peace. Witches, furious over the betrayal by their Queen, were even more furious at the news that they would no longer hold sole rule over the city. Now they found themselves on equal footing with the other Factions, brought to the same level as the Fallen .

But the other Factions rejoiced. For the first time in three hundred years, they had a say in their rule. Their hope, their optimism, helped hold the city together.

Joy had brought the Eternal City to an end. But hope kept the realm alive.