Crush the King (Crown of Shards #3)(119)
I fell asleep almost immediately, and for once my rest was calm and devoid of any nightmarish dreams or memories. Perhaps that was because I knew I had finally beaten Maximus.
And Maeven too.
It seemed as though I had barely closed my eyes before Calandre and her sisters were back in my tent. Calandre dressed me in a gorgeous midnight-blue gown patterned with my crown-of-shards crest done in silver thread, while her sisters worked their usual magic on my hair and face. I thanked them for their services, then left my tent.
Sullivan, Paloma, Serilda, Cho, Auster, Xenia. My friends were waiting outside, and they updated me on everything that had happened while I’d been asleep.
Apparently, Maeven’s plot was much larger and far more complex than I’d realized. Not only had she killed Maximus and Nox killed Mercer, but they’d also enlisted the guards who were loyal to them to swiftly slaughter all the ones who weren’t. In the space of a few hours, Maeven had taken control of the Mortan camp, and everyone was bowing down to her as the new queen of Morta.
“Why are you smiling again?” Paloma asked after Auster had finished updating me. “Maeven is still alive, and now she’s the fucking queen. That makes her even more dangerous.”
“I know.” Once again, my smile widened. “Since Maeven is queen now, I should bring her a present. After all, it’s a Bellonan tradition to celebrate a new queen’s reign with a gift.” I looked at Auster. “Get Leonidas.”
Auster returned with the boy a few minutes later. Leonidas was dressed in a dark gray tunic, along with black leggings and boots. He seemed to have recovered from his earlier shock in the arena, although his face was still tight and pale with worry.
“Auster told me that you asked to see the memory stone of the royal challenge,” I said.
I had wanted a record of the day’s events, so I had ordered the captain to discreetly place a memory stone on the royal terrace. I hadn’t had a chance to view the images yet, but Auster had assured me that the memory stone had clearly captured everything that had happened, from my fight with Maximus to Maeven killing her brother to Nox assassinating Mercer.
Leonidas nodded. “Yes, I wanted to see . . . everything again. Thank you for letting me watch the stone.”
He didn’t say anything about what his mother had done to his uncle, but I could smell his relief. He was glad that Maximus was dead. Me too.
My friends and I crossed the bridge and made our way to the DiLucri castle. The mood in the grand ballroom was far more jovial than it had been last night, although an undercurrent of tension rippled through everyone’s gossip, laughter, and chatter. The tides of fortune had shifted far more drastically than anyone had expected at this Regalia, and everyone was still scrambling to figure out what it meant for Morta, as well as for their own kingdoms.
Eon and Ruri greeted me warmly, but Cisco ignored me in favor of talking to Driscol and Seraphine. Driscol’s shoulders were slumped, and he looked absolutely crestfallen. Whatever deal he’d made with Maximus had died the moment the king had. But Seraphine was smiling and nodding at Cisco as though nothing noteworthy had happened at all. Then again, Fortuna favored her ladies, and I had a sneaking suspicion that Seraphine was the one who truly ran things here.
I smiled at the other royals, then went over to Heinrich and Dominic, who both hugged me tight.
“Thank you for avenging my son,” Heinrich murmured in my ear. “And Lord Hans and everyone else who was lost at Seven Spire.”
Tears filled my eyes, but I blinked them away and hugged him tighter.
Zariza came over to congratulate me as well. “I knew that aligning with you was the right thing to do.” She toasted me with her brandy snifter.
Xenia lifted her cane and poked her cousin in the arm with it. “You knew it? I was the one who told you to align with Everleigh, even though it took you a while to listen to me.”
Zariza sniffed and tossed her long red hair over her shoulder. “And once again, I did very well listening to you, even if it did take me a while.”
I laughed at their bickering.
The ball continued, and everyone seemed happier and far more relaxed than they had been last night—until the Mortans arrived.
Everyone eyed the Mortan nobles, advisors, courtiers, servants, and guards as they streamed into the ballroom, but Driscol and Seraphine stepped forward and greeted them like usual, and the tension slowly eased.
A minute later, Nox escorted Maeven into the ballroom, and everyone turned to stare at her, including me.
The new Mortan queen looked truly stunning in a midnight-purple gown trimmed with cascades of silver thread, including the large, fancy cursive M of the Morricone royal crest that stretched across her chest. An amethyst-and-diamond crown was nestled in her long, loose golden hair, and more amethyst-and-diamond jewelry covered her neck, wrists, and fingers. Being queen seemed to agree with her.
Just like I’d hoped it would.
Maeven swanned around the ballroom for the better part of an hour, greeting the other royals, chatting with the nobles, and doing other necessary, queenly things, with Nox trailing along behind her. I wasn’t the only one studying her. So was Leonidas, who was standing in the corner next to one of the coined-woman fountains, watching his mother move from one Mortan noble to the next, slowly but surely shoring up her power.
I walked over to the boy, and the two of us stood there, watching while Maeven chatted up yet another noble.