Stalemate | A Rise To Power

𝘈𝘶𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘺

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅ ◈ ⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

She stood to the side of the ball, but Landon soon caught her eye in the crowds and made his way over. He was dressed in a blue doublet lined in silver and a small band of gold lay across his messy hair; it was the first time she had seen him wearing a colour other than black since his father's death. She focused on the baby curls in his hair instead of watching his face, seeing the way they poked out beneath the golden crown lying on his head.

"May I have this dance?" he asked.

Audrey met his gaze. He showed nothing to suggest that he remembered what he had said the day before, or just a few hours ago. It was strange to think that he was officially King Landon then. No turning back. He had been crowned and declared in front of the Northern nobility with no objections raised.

"My king," Audrey replied simply.

Landon smiled before taking her hand and sweeping her onto the dance floor. He moved with easy grace and Audrey stepped in time with him. His touch was light around her waist and in her hand, his breath warm against her bare skin. She thought of his lips on hers and half wondered if it had been a dream.

"You shouldn't make bribes like the ones you made at the banquet," Audrey said.

"It doesn't matter. Soon all the Everwoods will be gone," Landon said.

"I am an Everwood."

"As of tomorrow, you are a Shadowhart," Landon corrected.

No. I will always be an Everwood. "You had Kael poisoned so you could have the throne. Now you have it. Is that not enough for you, or do you really need me by your side too?"

"The throne is mine," Landon said. "And it will stay mine. You're just a figurehead for the Northerners, a way to strengthen my claim to power."

"But you are not immortal." Audrey smiled coldly.

"I do not intend to die anytime soon."

"The throne is an unstable place to be. When the day comes when Ethelind or someone else kills you, I won't be surprised."

"Then what? You would take the Northern throne?" Landon raised his eyebrows.

"I am their heir. A woman can rule; I heard rumours that your mother had been a spirited person." She searched her memory until she found the name she needed. "Elise, right?"

Landon was silent for some time.

"I hear you were very close to Thomas," he said lowly. "Lucian, Adina, Lachlan. I even heard rumours of a serving boy named Clovis. Do you really want to get into naming games?"

The sound of her brother's name from Landon's voice made her heart clench. Each name was a punch, hitting her in the face. It was excruciating, the mental battle of attrition going on between them. But she refused to relent.

"Who is this new girl, Grace? What are her intentions, pray tell me?" Audrey shot back. "I saw the look on your face. You care for her."

"We grew up together." His gaze moved past her to the side where Grace stood, giggling at something a Northern lord was saying while he blushed and looked at his feet.

"You must be afraid of her," Audrey mused. "Because you don't know what she will see in you now."

His grip on her tightened and she wasn't sure if it was intentional or his way of trying to centre himself. He did not reply until the song ended and he let her go, his hazel eyes narrowing. "Stop looking back at the past, Audrey. Neither of us can afford to do so."