A Name For A Crown

The Wells Proposal

The following evening, the city was already dark when the Wells convoy arrived at the Draven estate.

Viktoria stood at the top of the staircase, one hand resting lightly against the railing.

Alexander stood several steps behind her.

Neither spoke.

The large doors at the entrance opened.

Several people entered first—security, advisers, and two representatives of the Wells family.

Then he appeared.

Elias Wells.

He walked into the estate without hesitation.

There was nothing uncertain about him.

Nothing hurried.

His expression was calm, almost too calm for someone who had come to propose a marriage that could change the balance of an empire.

His attention moved across the room before finally settling on Viktoria.

He stopped.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

Viktoria studied him carefully.

There was something familiar about his eyes.

Not enough to become a memory.

Just enough to make her uncomfortable.

Elias looked at her for a long moment before speaking.

"Lady Viktoria."

She descended the stairs slowly.

"Elias Wells."

Something changed in his expression.

Not surprise.

Something else.

Something she couldn't identify.

"You remember my name."

"Your family made sure I did."

A faint smile touched his lips.

"I see."

She stopped a few feet from him.

"You asked for this meeting."

"I did."

"And you requested marriage."

"I did."

Viktoria looked directly into his eyes.

"Then tell me why."

Elias didn't answer immediately.

Instead, his gaze shifted briefly toward Alexander before returning to Viktoria.

"Because your empire is divided."

Her expression hardened.

"That isn't news."

"No."

His voice remained calm.

"But I know how to put it back together."

Viktoria went still.

Alexander's expression changed slightly behind her.

Elias continued.

"And I know what your father is protecting."

For the first time that evening, Viktoria's composure shifted.

"What?"

Elias stepped closer.

"The reason your grandfather wanted you to find me."

Silence filled the hall.

Viktoria stared at him.

For four years, she had wondered why her grandfather had mentioned the Wells family before his death.

For four years, she had wondered why the nameless file contained information she had never been taught.

And now Elias stood before her, speaking as though he knew the answers.

"You want the other half of the Draven Empire," he said.

Viktoria said nothing.

"I can help you take it."

"And the price?"

His eyes remained on hers.

"Marry me."

The words settled heavily between them.

Viktoria's face remained unreadable.

Behind her, Alexander didn't move.

Elias continued.

"This isn't a love proposal."

Viktoria raised an eyebrow.

"I wasn't going to mistake it for one."

A faint smile appeared on his face.

"Good."

He reached into his coat and removed a document.

"Then we can begin with the truth."

Viktoria looked at the document.

She didn't take it.

"What truth?"

"The truth about why the Draven Empire was divided long before the council ever touched the map."

That caught her attention.

Elias held the document out.

"The council told you the division was necessary because you were young."

"They did."

"That wasn't the whole truth."

Viktoria's eyes narrowed.

"What do you know about it?"

"More than you do."

Alexander stepped forward.

"That's a bold statement."

Elias looked at him.

"Your grandfather trusted you, Alexander. You know that."

Alexander's expression hardened.

"Be careful."

"I have no intention of disrespecting him."

Elias returned his attention to Viktoria.

"Your grandfather knew the empire had problems that couldn't be solved by succession alone."

Viktoria finally took the document.

She opened it.

The first pages contained information about the Wells family.

Their business holdings.

Their alliances.

Their influence.

But further down, the information became older.

Much older.

There were references to agreements between the Draven and Wells families that predated her grandfather.

Viktoria's eyes moved slowly across the page.

"What is this?"

"Old agreements."

"Between our families?"

"Yes."

She turned another page.

There were maps.

Records.

Names.

Territories.

Some of them were unfamiliar.

Others belonged to territories currently controlled by her father.

Viktoria's eyes narrowed.

"This territory."

Elias nodded.

"It was once connected to the Wells family."

"Why isn't this in the official Draven records?"

"Because the records were changed."

Her gaze snapped toward him.

"By whom?"

"That's what you're trying to discover."

Viktoria turned another page.

Then she saw something that made her stop.

A handwritten note.

She knew the handwriting immediately.

Her grandfather.

Her fingers tightened around the paper.

Alexander moved closer.

"What does it say?"

Viktoria read silently.

Her grandfather had written that some divisions within the empire existed long before the council's decision.

She looked at Elias.

"You knew about this."

"I knew some of it."

"Why didn't you tell me before?"

"Because you wouldn't have believed me."

"You don't know what I would believe."

"I know what your grandfather told me."

Viktoria froze.

"What did he tell you?"

Elias was silent for a moment.

"That one day, you would come looking for the truth."

"And?"

"And when you did, I was supposed to give you a choice."

"What choice?"

He looked directly at her.

"Whether you wanted the crown badly enough to uncover everything hidden beneath it."

Viktoria's expression changed.

Her grandfather had known.

He had known there were secrets beneath the succession.

He had known she would eventually come searching.

And somehow, Elias Wells had been part of his plans.

"What exactly can you give me?" she asked.

"The leverage you need."

"That's vague."

"It's supposed to be."

She frowned.

Elias continued.

"Your father has spent four years strengthening his territory. He has built alliances with people who benefit from the empire remaining divided."

"I know."

"You've tried negotiations."

"Yes."

"They failed."

"Yes."

"You could attack."

Viktoria's eyes hardened.

"I could."

"But that would cost lives, businesses, alliances, and possibly the stability of the empire."

She said nothing.

"Or," Elias continued, "you could use the same system that helped your father keep his territory."

"Politics."

"Influence."

"Power."

"Exactly."

Viktoria folded the document.

"And you have all three?"

"Enough."

She studied him.

"What do you want in return?"

"My family has interests that would benefit from an alliance with yours."

"There it is."

Elias remained calm.

"I never said this was charity."

"What interests?"

"Access."

"To what?"

"The Draven Empire."

Her expression immediately hardened.

"You want access to my territory."

"I want access to what the Wells family was once connected to."

"That's not the same thing."

"No."

Elias paused.

"But they're connected."

Viktoria stared at him.

"And marriage gives you that access."

"Yes."

"So this benefits you too."

"Of course."

At least he was honest.

She appreciated that more than she wanted to admit.

Viktoria walked toward the windows.

The city stretched before her.

Four years ago, the council had taken half of her inheritance and handed it to her father.

Since then, she had built her territory into something powerful.

She had proven them wrong.

But Marcus still possessed what she believed belonged to her.

She had tried diplomacy.

She had tried pressure.

She had tried patience.

None had been enough.

Now Elias was offering another path.

A dangerous one.

A marriage.

She turned toward him.

"Why me?"

"You're the heir."

"That's not enough."

"No."

His expression became more serious.

"Your grandfather trusted your judgment."

Viktoria's eyes narrowed.

"You keep mentioning my grandfather."

"Because he was the reason this conversation was possible."

"What exactly did he tell your family?"

Elias was quiet.

Then he said,

"That if the empire was ever divided, you would eventually need us."

Viktoria felt a chill move through her.

The words sounded too much like her grandfather.

"You knew this would happen?"

"Not exactly."

"But you expected it."

"I knew there was a possibility."

"And now?"

"Now you're standing in front of me."

Viktoria looked at the marriage document.

"I don't trust you."

"You don't have to."

"I don't know you."

"Then get to know me."

She almost laughed.

"This is a marriage proposal, not a business meeting."

Elias's expression remained calm.

"To me, they're both negotiations."

Viktoria shook her head.

"You make marriage sound remarkably simple."

"I didn't say it would be simple."

"Then what are you saying?"

"I'm saying neither of us has to pretend this is something it isn't."

He stepped closer.

"If we agree, we enter the marriage knowing exactly what we want."

"And what do you want?"

"The Wells family's position strengthened."

He paused.

"And you want your empire whole again."

Viktoria looked at him.

"And if I refuse?"

"Then nothing changes."

The answer was simple.

"The empire remains divided."

Her eyes hardened.

"And if I accept?"

"You gain access to what your father has spent four years protecting."

"Through you."

"Through the alliance."

She looked down at the document.

For four years, she had fought alone.

Perhaps that was the problem.

Her grandfather had never intended for her to fight alone.

He had left Alexander beside her.

He had left the mysterious file.

And now, somehow, he had left Elias Wells waiting at the end of a road Viktoria hadn't known she was walking.

She closed the document.

"I need time."

Elias nodded.

"Of course."

He turned toward the doors.

"Elias."

He stopped.

Viktoria looked at him.

"If I agree to this, I will not become your puppet."

"I wouldn't expect you to."

"I will not surrender my authority."

"I know."

"And the Wells family will not control the Draven Empire through me."

A faint smile appeared on his face.

"That's exactly why I came to you."

He walked toward the doors.

Viktoria watched him leave.

When the doors finally closed behind him, Alexander came to stand beside her.

"You've met him."

"Yes."

"And?"

Viktoria looked down at the document.

"I don't know yet."

Alexander nodded.

"But you know he may be the key."

She looked toward the closed doors.

"That's what worries me."

Alexander was silent.

Viktoria looked back at the old map still lying on her desk.

The empire was divided.

Her father held half.

She held the other.

And now Elias Wells had appeared with an offer that could change everything.

She picked up the marriage proposal.

"Find everything you can about the Wells family."

Alexander nodded.

"Immediately."

"And Alexander?"

"Yes?"

"Find everything Grandfather knew about them too."

His expression became serious.

"I will."

Viktoria looked toward the window.

Four years ago, she had believed the council was her greatest obstacle.

Now she understood that the division of the empire had roots far deeper than she had imagined.

And Elias Wells had just stepped directly into the middle of it.

For the first time since her grandfather's death, Viktoria felt that she was standing at the beginning of something rather than the end.

She looked down at the marriage proposal once more.

Then quietly said,

"Elias Wells."

The name no longer felt like a clue.

It felt like a beginning.