Chapter 7
391 Words
Selene gestured to a seat opposite her, not waiting to see if Ava obeyed.
Ava sat.
The table between them was cluttered but orderly: maps, treaties, histories—every tool of empire laid bare. A feathered quill rested beside a scroll titled The Law of Succession.
“You know your lineage,” Selene said without looking up, already selecting a book. “But do you know his?”
Ava didn’t flinch. “I knew Kaelen before he wore a crown.”
“Then you know nothing,” Selene replied evenly. “You knew the boy. I’ll teach you the king.”
She opened a leather-bound tome and slid it forward. The pages were thick with records—Kaelen’s bloodline, his council, his conquests. Ava scanned the names and titles: advisors, warlords, nobles who once fought her father and now stood in the court, bowing.
“This is a kingdom stitched together by fear and favor,” Selene said. “He holds it in place by knowing who owes him what. Learn that web… or be caught in it.”
Ava looked up. “Is that a warning?”
“It’s an education.”
A long pause stretched between them. Ava reached for the book.
For hours, she studied—absorbing the intricacies of Kaelen’s realm. Selene tested her: border treaties, tax reforms, noble family grudges, even battle tactics. The woman had no patience for pride or nostalgia. Only facts.
But Ava didn’t falter.
She read like a woman starving—for knowledge, for leverage, for control.
When the bell tolled the hour of rest, Selene finally closed the last scroll.
“You learn quickly,” she said. “Not like the others.”
Ava raised an eyebrow. “Others?”
“Kaelen has had… candidates,” Selene replied, rising from her chair. “Suitors. Advisors. None lasted long. You might.”
Ava stood as well. “I’m not here to last. I’m here to rule.”
Selene studied her in silence, then nodded once. “Then we’ll make a queen of you yet.”
Outside, Ava stepped into the corridor. Her mind buzzed with names and secrets, but one thought stood above them all:
He built this world in fire and blood.
Now I will learn its every corner. And when the time comes…
I’ll burn it down from the inside.
- Writer
