A royal bloodline gets divided by rebels' attempted regicide, casting Alvina from her throne and into hiding, as Quinn, the bastard brother, is forced to take her place.
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Alvina was supposed to be queen, but when her coronation is abruptly stopp...
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"Do you think it was wise to tell her about the spirits?" I asked and looked up at Dy from my position on her chest.
"We didn't have any other choices at that point. That was the only thing I could think of saying."
"I couldn't think of anything. I never expected the people would support Quinn if they knew I was alive."
"Why? Do you think he'd make for a bad king?"
"I don't know. He always said he never wanted the crown. But he's very kind. He'd make a good king." I fiddled a little with my hair, that was resting on Dy. Just pressing one of the curls down only to watch it pop back up.
"Are you even sure you want the throne?"
"Of course, I do. I'm the rightful queen. It's not a question of whether I want it or not. It's my duty."
"Says who? Your brother has been crowned. You're free."
"Not if I return to Andaheim. I was crowned queen before him. If I return, the crown returns to me."
"And you want that?"
"Dy," I said very sternly and pushed myself up on my elbow, looking down at her. "I have to. My feelings are irrelevant."
"They just shouldn't be. It shouldn't be like that. You're a human being, and you're more than just a queen, Al."
I shook my head. "I'm not. The nation comes before me."
Dy sighed deeply but didn't say anything else. I figured she realised I wasn't going to budge on this. I hadn't ever stopped to think if I even wanted to be queen and no one had ever asked me either. It wasn't about me.
But then why did it feel like it was?
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We didn't get summoned the second day. Neither the third. My poor nails had been bitten down to their roots, and I was so bored I had started fiddling with my metal arm. Dy swatted my hand, making me stop.
"You're just going to mess it up, and then Huck will be very annoyed."
"If we ever see Huck. Maybe this is our new forever-home," I grumbled back. The two very large men were the only people we saw, and they only brought us food. I tried questioning them, but they just ignored me. Which, of course, made me even more anxious and annoyed. Dy seemed to just be relaxed about the entire situation. The only time she had seemed even slightly annoyed was during that dinner with her grandmother.
