by A. M. Hardin
I puff out a breath. “I wish I could see them,” I murmur to myself, “just let them know that I’m okay.”
Ella steps closer, bringing my attention back to her. She flashes me a smile. “I shouldn’t have said anything. You need to be smiling. This is a big day for you. You’ll be crowned Queen in front of your Kingdom today.”
I give her a sad smile. “Yeah, but I will still have tomorrow to face and I’m really not sure I can do that, Ella.”
“You can,” Kade’s voice says from the doorway. “And you will. Not because it’s what you want to do, but because it’s the kind of woman you are. You will always do what you have to, even if it’s something that you’d rather not do.”
I smile at him. “That’s a glossy picture you paint of me.”
He grins as he steps close and plants a kiss on my lips, apparently uncaring of my lipstick now smeared on his lips. “Everyone’s got flaws, mia. Your flaws just don’t take away your appeal for me, Andrei, and Xander.”
I grin up at him.
“Awww, that was so cute!” Ella says, her voice high pitched. She points between Kade and me with a big smile on her face. “Your new guys are sooo much better than Adam was. They actually give a shit about you.”
“Adam was the guy you punched in the face during school, right?” Kade asks, eyes faraway as if trying to remember.
Ella snickers as I sigh. “Yeah, that’s him.”
“Guys, we’ve gotta get going,” Xander announces as he walks into the room. “There’s a lot of people out there waiting.”
My eyes widen as my stomach lurches. “What?” I squeak out.
Kade frowns down at me. “Yeah, you knew that you would have to do this in front of most of the Kingdom right?”
“Most of the Kingdom? No one freaking told me that! I just thought it would be like a handful of people.”
Kade’s mouth twitches. “Really? A handful of people watching the crowning of a new ruler?”
I glare at him as I cross my arms over my chest. “I don’t care for your tone.”
Xander laughs and the door opens again, showing Andrei wearing an impatient expression.
“What the hell is taking so long?” Andrei inquires, moving to lean against the wall.
“Cherish just found out that the crowd is going to be a lot bigger than she expected it to be,” Xander explains, trying and failing to hide his laughter.
“And she’s freaking out,” Kade adds.
Andrei frowns at me. “You did fine before.”
“Well, yeah, but this is a little bit different, Andrei.”
“How so?” he challenges, eyebrow raised as he studies me.
“Because that wasn’t really planned! I mean, we knew that I would have to stand in front of a group of people, but that was just one village. Not the whole damn Kingdom.”
“It’s not the whole Kingdom now,” Andrei points out, deliberately keeping his voice calm.
I narrow my eyes at him. “’Most of the Kingdom’ might as fucking well be the whole Kingdom, Andrei. It’s close e-fuckin’-nough.”
All three of my guys exchange looks for a brief second before Andrei sighs and moves into my personal space, placing his hands on my face, and forcing eye contact with me.
“Cherish,” he whispers, “you’ll be fine. Kade, Xander, and I will all be by your side the entire time. You’re not alone, Baby. You only have to stand there while you’re introduced. Then when you’re announced as Queen and that crown is put on your head it’ll all be over.”
I suck in a deep breath then slowly let it out to calm my racing heart and to let his words sink in.
“You got this, Cher,” Ella encourages. “I’ll be watching the entire thing, too. So don’t fall on your face.”
Andrei’s mouth twitches as Xander, Kade, and I burst out laughing.
“You’ve got such faith in me, Ella.”
Ella shrugs unapologetically. “You’re the crazy ass wearing heels.”
“Just because you couldn’t wear heels without falling on your ass doesn’t mean we’re all that way,” I counter with a smirk.
Ella laughs, waving a hand in the air. “So, I didn’t get out much. We know this. Now get your gorgeous looking ass going, Cherish, or you’ll be late to your own damn coronation.”
I take another breath to prepare myself then nod to Andrei. He backs away, letting go of my face with a small smile. “Alright. Let’s go before I chicken out and change my mind.”
* * *
My stomach churns as I walk into the garden with my guys surrounding me and I see the giant crowd.
Don’t fall on your face. Don’t puke. You totally got this.
“You’ll be fine, sis,” Ella encourages softly from behind our little group. “And if anyone tries anything your guys will destroy them.” Her voice is weirdly cheerful as she says the last and it brings a reluctant smile to my lips.
“I know,” I mutter quietly back to her just before we reach the end of the crowd.
Seamlessly, the crowd parts, making a path straight down the middle for me and my guys to walk through. I swallow hard and take another deep calming breath before making my way through the hundreds of people gathered on the castle grounds, toward the makeshift stage that was put together for the coronation.
Once I make it in front of the elderly Fiela Mohi -very loosely translated to ‘Holy Man’- he gives me a soft encouraging smile.
“Majesty,” he greets quietly. I can’t help but smile back at him; every time I’ve talked to this man he’s been nothing but kind and he’s just got the relaxing personality that makes you stop freaking out by just being in his presence.
“Horith,” I respond softly.
Horith looks to the younger man beside him who’s currently holding the crown that will be placed on my head and barely nods his head before turning his attention back to me and the people filtered on the grounds. He spends several minutes speaking in the elven language before walking me through the vows that I have to repeat.
Despite the fact that I really have no idea what I’m saying, I think I did alright.
“I proclaim Cherish Marsh, last princess of Tira, first of her name, Queen of the Tira Kingdom!” The man holding the crown hands it off to Horith. Horith stands in front of me as he lifts the crown over my head and slowly lowers it to fit around the elaborate up-do that my maid had insisted on doing. His eyes meet mine. “Your father would be proud, my Queen. Now, turn and face your people, my dear.”
My eyes water at the whispered words and I flash him a watery smile. “Thank you,” I whisper. I turn to face the crowd and am extremely relieved to see that there isn’t a single person that looks pissed off about me being crowned Queen.
“Long may she reign!” Horith declares.
“LONG MAY SHE REIGN! LONG LIVE THE QUEEN!” the crowd shouts back, almost making me jump by the sudden roar of voices and celebratory noises.
I look to the side at my guys, melting at the pride and love I see shining in their eyes as they look at me.
The earth beneath my feet shake slightly as a loud boom thunders through the sky. My guys exchange looks and then Kade is at my side immediately, wrapping his arm around my shoulders as he pulls me away. “Get her out of here! Now!” Andrei demands as he and Xander pull the swords dangling from their waists from the sheaths and run in the direction the boom came from.
“What’s going on?” I ask as screams, shouts, more exploding noises, and cries echo around us as we rush through the grounds.
“Don’t worry about that right now,” Kade says, his voice steady as he leads me to the castle wall and hits a piece of the stone, opening a doorway. Apparently we’re going to be hiding in the tunnels again. Joy. “We just need to get you out of here. I’ll tell you in a minute,” he assures me as he herds me into the dark tunnel.
Once Kade has the tunnel closed off again, he turns to me and kisses me gently. “Sorry the assholes had to ruin your coronation.”
I ex
amine his face for a moment, taking in the strain there and then meet his eyes. “You knew something was going to happen, didn’t you?”
He opens his mouth, most likely to deny it but then his mouth snaps shut again. He sighs. “Mia,” he starts, “it’s not- There was a reason we didn’t tell you.”
I raise an eyebrow at him when he hesitates again, looking like he’s expecting me to blow up. “I’m listening, Kade. I’m not yelling at you. I just want to know why I wasn’t informed that there was a possibility we would be attacked.”
“Because we’ve been getting threats ever since you took the throne from your brother. A majority of them turn out to be nothing but talk, so there’s really no way to tell which ones are serious and which ones aren’t. We’ve had security tightened since Forrest and we haven’t let it slack because of all the threats we’ve been receiving.”
My lips tighten into a hard line. “Why didn’t I know about this?”
Kade puffs out a breath. “Because Andrei suggested we keep it quiet so that we didn’t worry you or add to the stress you’re already dealing with. Xander and I agreed because we just want to protect you, Cherish. We didn’t keep it from you to hurt you.”
I close my eyes and rub my hand over my forehead. One on hand I’m pissed that they kept it from me, but on the other- I can definitely see where they’re coming from.
“I understand if you’re pissed, mia. We just want to keep you safe, if that means keeping you from constantly worrying, we’ll do it.”
I look up, meeting his electric blue eyes as I smile softly. “I know, Kade, I understand. I may not like it, but I understand.” I pause for a heartbeat before dropping a bomb that I know none of my guys are going to be happy about. “In the future, I want to know about shit like this. I don’t like being caught this much off guard. If I know about it, I can at least make things easier on you guys.”
Kade’s eyes widen as he opens his mouth, most likely to object before he groans and leans his head back against the wall. “Damn it. Fine. I’ll make sure we keep you in the loop regarding threats to your safety.”
Chapter 5
Andrei
I stare down at the unconscious man between Xander and I for several heartbeats. Meeting Xander’s eyes I toss him a pair of cuffs. “Put these on him. I’m going to ask around, see if there are any others that survived attacking us.”
Xander nods once then bends down to cuff the guy. “Alright. What about Cherish?” he asks as he straightens.
“She’s with Kade. Once we have all those that survived taken care of and in the dungeon then we can get her.” I kick the man’s boot, watching as his foot slumps to the side. “These guys aren’t going to be happy campers when they wake up.”
Xander snorts. “Nah, they’ll be even more pissed when they find out that their little plan to kill Cherish failed.”
“You’re sure it’s failed?” Horith asks as he comes up from the side. “She’s safe?”
I nod at the Fiela Mohi. “She’s safe. We watched Kade get her to safety.”
Horith lets out a relieved breath. “Thank the Gods. I don’t want to have to do another coronation anytime soon. And I quite like Cherish. She reminds me of my daughter.”
Xander laughs. “Yeah, they’re two peas in a pod, Horith. I can’t wait for the day that they meet.”
“I can,” I mutter dryly, making Xander laugh harder while Horith chuckles. “Take this asshole to the dungeon Xander. Fiela Mohi, it’s always a pleasure. I have some things to check on.”
Horith smiles. “Of course. I look forward to seeing you all again.”
Xander reaches down and picks the unconscious male up and hefts him over his shoulder like he’s a sack of potatoes. “Hope we’ll be seeing more of you around here, Horith,” Xander says as he starts walking away toward the castle.
Horith chuckles, shaking his head as he walks in the opposite direction.
* * *
It takes an hour and a half for Xander and I to find and put all of the attackers that survived in the dungeon.
Meeting Xander’s eyes as I shut and lock the last prisoner in one of the cells. “Let’s go get Kade and Cherish.”
“You got it,” Xander says as he hands the keys to one of the guards.
“That’s it?” Forrest snarls from his cell once Xander moves past it. “You’ve got nothing to say to me?”
Xander stops in his tracks but doesn’t look at Forrest. “Why would I have anything to say to you?”
“Maybe because we’re friends,” Forrest spits out.
Xander chuckles, the sound holding absolutely no humor in it. “We stopped being friends a while ago, Forrest. I definitely stopped considering you a friend the moment you went after your sister.”
“Oh? Why is that? You can’t tell me that you didn’t at the very least suspect that I was the one responsible for the deaths of my siblings.”
Xander’s quiet for a moment. “I suspected, but had no proof,” Xander admits. “That’s not why I stopped considering you a friend. I stopped considering you a friend because you not only tried to frame the woman I love for your crimes, you also tried killing her. That is something that will never be okay with me.”
“Love,” Forrest says through clenched teeth. “How sickeningly sweet. Well, I’ll bet you’re thrilled to know that my plan failed. The annoying little brat still lives and she’s even got my crown.” Forrest cackles. “Now it’s just a game to see if she can manage to keep it.”
Xander tenses and I immediately step up behind him, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Let’s go. He’s dead come tomorrow morning anyway. There’s no point in listening to this shit. Let’s go get our girl.”
Xander’s teeth grind together as he takes calming breaths. Without another word to Forrest, Xander leaves the dungeon, with me following close behind.
“You remember which tunnel they’re in?” Xander asks, sounding calmer.
“Yeah. The one that goes to the armory.”
Xander nods once and leads the way to the armory. “What made him choose that tunnel?” Xander asks as we get closer.
I shrug as I open the door to the armory. “He knows the tunnels better than anyone else does. According to him it’s harder to navigate the tunnels around this area than any other in the castle.”
“He had way too much time on his hands,” Xander mutters.
I bark out a laugh as I pull on an axe that’s hanging on the wall, triggering the tunnel door to open. “I actually have to agree with you on that one.”
“About damn time,” Cherish says, annoyance clear in her tone as they enter the light so we can see them.
My mouth twitches as Kade laughs. “She’s been just a little bit impatient, to say the least,” Kade informs us as he follows Cherish out of the tunnel.
“You don’t mean to tell me you guys didn’t find some way to pass the time,” Xander says, his tone suggestive with a teasing smile plastered on his face.
Cherish’s cheeks turning pink make me chuckle.
“That’s not the point,” Cherish grumbles as she crosses her arms over her chest.
Kade laughs and presses a kiss to her temple. “It’s alright, mia.”
“Why don’t we take this to Cherish’s room, so we can talk in private,” I suggest.
Cherish eyes me for a heartbeat before nodding. “Alright. There’s something I have to talk to you guys about anyways.”
Kade groans and ignoring the questioning looks Xander and I shoot his way, leaves the room before any one has a chance to say anything.
“Alright,” I say carefully, frowning at Cherish. She meets my eyes and raises a brow at me.
“We going? Or are we going to have a staring contest Andrei?” she asks dryly.
I chuckle and gesture for her to leave the room before me and Xander. “After you, my Queen.”
Cherish glares at me as she walks past. “Don’t call me that. I’m not your guys’ Queen,” she mutters.
Xander
catches my eye and shrugs. Apparently, he has no idea what she wants to talk about either, or he just has no clue what that comment was about. Great. We’re both clueless and the one person who knows anything decided to take off without us.
Thanks, Kade.
Upon entering Cherish’s room she immediately walks to the dresser and takes the crown off her head, placing it on top of the dresser. “Close the door, please, Xander,” she says as she reaches behind her to unclasp her necklace.
Kade leaves Cherish’s bathroom to stand against the wall, watching us and wearing regular jeans and a t-shirt again as opposed to the royal guard uniform that Xander and I are both still wearing.
I watch as Cherish continues to keep her back to us as she quickly changes out of her dress and into a pair of skinny jeans and a t-shirt. “Cherish, what is going on?”
She sighs and peeks over her shoulder at me. “What’s going on is that I don’t appreciate being kept in the dark, Andrei.”
My brows furrow together as I meet Xander’s and Kade’s eyes. Xander looks just as lost and confused as I am. Kade just looks resigned. “I’m not understanding, Baby,” I admit. “What are you talking about?”
She twirls around in her spot and glares at me. “I’m talking about your decision to keep me uninformed about any threats to my safety. You tell me I can do this, that I can be the Queen of your people, that I can lead them, but then you dictate shit that makes me feel like I can’t actually do it. If my own fucking boyfriends think that I’m too damn fragile to deal with threats to my own safety, then what the fuck am I doing putting on this fucking crown and calling myself a goddamn Queen?” Her voice raises during her speech so the last sentence is spoken as a shout and makes me freeze. I don’t really remember a time when she’s ever raised her voice at any of us this way.
My mouth opens and closes for several heartbeats as I try to find the right words. I finally snap my mouth shut as I consider her words.
She’s right. Fuck. I seriously fucking hate it, but she’s right. We should have trusted her to be able to deal with the threats. I should have trusted her to deal with them.
