Rise of the Dark Queen

Chapter 5

I swallowed. Whatever he wanted to discuss must have been important or private enough he wanted no one to disrupt us. There were maps of all the different territories hanging on the walls, there were no windows and the only light was several lamps that were lit around the room. A large desk sat against the back, it was covered with neatly stacked letters and scrolls. He moved to the desk and sat in the chair that was behind it, motioning with his arm to the chairs that were in front of it for us to sit. We both sat as he watched us with a tracking gaze. Tiberius sat ramrod straight, his hands gripped the arms of the chair tightly, tension radiated off of him. I sat stiffly in my chair, apprehension swirling inside of me. I’ve never seen him so tense. This must be serious.

“Tiberius told me the story of what transpired between you and my men. He is an old and trustworthy friend, he has vouched for your honesty and I believe your version of events that you conveyed to him. Let me start by offering a formal apology on behalf of the royal army of the King. The actions of those men was vile and is not tolerated in my regime. Their punishment will be execution. As for the men who were killed by your companion and the one you killed by your own hand, I must say no punishment is necessary in light of the circumstances.”

Some of the tension eased out of my body at his words. So I wasn’t in trouble, but there was more to this, something he was building to. I nodded, unsure of what to say.

He continued, “I was surprised to learn of your survival when I heard your story. Not many people could best an entire squad of soldiers and survive two days alone in the dark wilds.” He leveled me with an expectant look, waiting for me to elaborate, no doubt. I’m sure Tiberius didn’t fill him into every detail, seems he wanted not to just know how I survived but understand it.

I chanced a quick glance to Tiberius, his jaw flexed and he gripped the chair tighter. I cleared my throat and looked back to the general. “Ah, yes.. Well, most people aren’t trained in self defense by an old war hero. Tiberius has trained me for the last five years.” I steeled myself to reveal this next part, surely this is the part he really wanted an explanation for. “And as far as surviving in the wilds, I know parts of those woods well, I uh, sometimes like to go in them for time alone with my thoughts.” He arched a brow. Yes, only the mad would go into those woods alone. But as long as I didn’t linger to long, I never felt the fear that seemed to keep all others away. I had enough sense never to go as deep as I had when the soldiers were chasing me, but most people avoided the wilds at all costs. I pushed on, not wanting to answer why I was drawn to those dark woods, “and to be honest, I owe a great deal of my survival to Vindex. He is the one that took care of most of the soldiers and kept me alive those two days.”

“Vindex… champion, defender.” He stated with mirth. “You named a shadow wolf as if he were your pet. He seems to obey your command and also seems quite loyal to you. Tell me, how were you able to tame such a wild and dangerous beast?”

I wrung my hands in my lap, my palms were starting to sweat. I broke away from his gaze, looking down to my lap. This was the part I was nervous about. How did I explain the instant connection we had? I looked back to Tiberius, his demeanor hadn’t changed, I swallowed hard. I looked up, resolving myself not to be meek in the face of this man and his questions.

“After killing one of your men and injuring three others, one of them retuned the favor in kind with his sword. I was bleeding heavily, I was growing tired and I knew my blood would make me easy to track. I had lost my only weapon, so I did the only thing I could think of… I hid in the shadows and prayed for help… Only moments later is when Vindex emerged. I felt a buzzing in my head when we locked eyes and I felt a connection form. I don’t know how or why but that is why he protected me and continues to stay by my side. He is bound to me.” I stated looking into his eyes. He held my gaze as I held my breath. My pulse beat hard in my veins.

“Tell me, where are your parents?” I let out a long breath. What the name of the gods did my parents have to do with anything? My brows drew together in confusion.

“Sir? I don’t understand, I mean no disrespect but what does that have to do with what happened?”

His face grew deathly serious as he breathed out, “Everything.” The air filled with growing tension.

“My mother went missing five years ago, it’s why I’ve been living and working with Tiberius. When she went missing he took me in, they were old friends. She told me if anything ever happened to her that he would take care of me. So one day when I came home from market and found our cabin had been wrecked and no sign of my mother, I went to him for help. We never found a trace of her. I’ve been with him ever since. As for my father I never knew him. My mother never spoke of him or who he was or where he was.”

“What was your mother’s name?”

“Adelaide.” I stated

I looked again to Tiberius, what was going on? He had a guilty look on his face and wouldn’t meet my eyes. There was pain in his expression. The general looked to him, sorrow and slight anger in his gaze.

“Don’t look at me like that,” he said with a rough voice. “She made me swear to watch over her girl if anythin ever happened to her, she swore me to secrecy. What was I supposed to do, eh?” He said defensively. “I gave her my word Stryker, you know I take my vows seriously.” His voice was growing thick with emotion.

The general’s face went smooth, whatever emotion he was feeling he was hiding it behind a calm mask. “I know old friend, but you should have contacted me, she was my friend too. Did you know who her father was when you took her in?”

Shock slammed into me as he casually dropped that fact into the room. This man had been friends with my mother, and he seemed to know who my father was. Is that why he was asking all these weird questions? I was looking back and forth between the both of them. I felt irritation rising inside of me. It was as if I wasn’t in the room anymore while they sat cryptically discussing me and my parentage. What the f**k.

Tiberius shook his head as he replied, “no, but I had my suspicions… I wasn’t sure until we walked into those woods yesterday and I watched that beast protect her and obey her command.”

My eyes narrowed, I had had enough of this. “Hello? Yes, it’s me, the girl you two are rudely talking about as if she isn’t here. What is with the cryptic questions and what in all the realms is going on? And why are you both talking as if you know who my father is?” All politeness and formality was forgotten in my growing anger.

Tiberius swallowed and looked away from me guiltily. Stryker met my gaze. “How many people have you heard of that have the ability to bond with and command wild beasts?” He asked me with a steady firm voice.

My brows furrowed, another cryptic question rather than answers. I was well and truly angry now. What did any of this have to do with my father? I knew no one personally that possessed the ability. I never even heard of anyone that did other than the… No… no no no, it couldn’t be. I went rigid and my breath stalled. My head started to pound as realization swept through me. Only one man possessed the same ability as me. King Cyrus, the Tamer of Beasts. It couldn’t be. I felt the blood drain from my face as I met the general’s eyes.

“Yes Coralleigha, I can see you have realized it, King Cyrus is your father.”

His words rang through me. A king, and not just any king, the Tamer of Beasts, was my father. It couldn’t be. Why did my mother not tell me? Why would she hide this from me? More importantly, why did it seem she had been hiding my very existence? No, no… this had to be a mistake, a misunderstanding. My mother never spoke of knowing the king, let alone of having an intimate relationship with him.

“He can’t be,” I protested weakly, “why would my mother hide that from me? Wouldn’t the king know if he had a wayward daughter?”

Tiberius looked pained as he met my gaze. But it was Stryker who spoke. “Your mother met your father during the war. They were in love but the king had obligations, he was already betrothed to a noble woman who’s family held great influence in Lorscos. Their union is what secured them as allies during the war. After they were married and the war ended your mother left the capital. Your mother was a close friend to Tiberius and me, we knew of the relationship between her and the king because of it. But I did not know of your existence until now.” He looked pointedly to Tiberius.

He had the decency to look ashamed. I could hear the blood pumping in my ears. My head swam the the implications of what all this meant. Betrayal stabbed me in my heart. My own mother hid this from me, and the man I had come to see as my surrogate father had spoken nothing of his own suspicions as to who he thought I may be. The daughter of the king of Sarendotha. And as it stood, the only child born to him. The late queen died of illness 4 years ago, she had been barren, they never had children together.

Tiberius cleared his throat. “I know ya are upset girl but what your mom hid from ya was to protect ya. If the late queen had found out about your existence she woulda been furious. It woulda caused a scandal that coulda jeopardized our relations with Lorscos. Likely the queen woulda sent assassins from her home kingdom to get rid of ya, she was a spiteful and bitter woman, that one.”

I swallowed hard. He was probably right but in this moment I couldn’t help what I was feeling. Reason and rationale was not making me reign in the sudden shock and hurt of these revelations.

“Coralleigha,” the general called my name softly. His voice held a hint of sympathy. “Your mother was a good friend, I am saddened to learn of her disappearance and I am sorry for all you have endured and for having to learn the truth of who you are in this way. But the fact is that the queen is dead. The king has sired no other offspring, and you are his one and only child and you posses his power.” He paused drawing in a deep breath, looking me directly into my eyes he continued, “The laws are clear, if no heir is born to the king and queen, the crown passes to the closest living relative possessing the royal power. The king has no other blood but you. You are the daughter to the king, a princess, and the heir to the throne.”

I sucked in a sharp breath. This was too much, I needed air. I stood suddenly, I couldn’t take any more life altering revelations being dropped on me with the force of a boulder. My skin felt tight and my breathing was shallow. I felt adrift in my panic, I was drowning. I couldn’t be the crowned princess, I knew nothing of politics or how to rule a kingdom. What the f**k was I going to do? This couldn’t be happening to me. I strode towards the door.

“Coralleigha wait,” Tiberius called as he stood to his feet.

“Please, please just leave me alone, I need air, this is too much. You should have told me Tiberius, you could have, my mother is gone and the queen is dead, you could have told me.” I said with a quivering voice and tears stinging my eyes.

“Let her go.” I heard Stryker tell him. I unlocked the door and hurried out, walking fast through the streets making my way to the stables. When I got close I broke into a run, bypassing the two guards who let me by with looks of confusion as tears streamed down my face. I ran to the last stall and yanked open the gate. Vindex stood with a whimper and I threw myself into his side hugging his big body to mine as I sobbed into his fur.

I don’t know how long I stayed like that, holding Vindex for comfort and crying into his soft fur. After what felt like an age I took in a deep shuddered breath and wiped away my tears. I stood back and looked into the eyes of my wolf. His eyes looked sad, I reached up to stroke his head, he let out a whine and leaned into my touch. Shadows gathered around me and danced across my skin. I closed my eyes and reveled in their cool, comforting caress. After a long moment I opened my eyes and watched the shadows retreat.

It was time for me to find Tiberius and general Stryker. I couldn’t run from these new truths, couldn’t hide in this stable forever. Come what may, I would face my fate head on, what other choice did I have? I was terrified but I am no coward, my mother raised me to be strong. I felt a pang at the thought of her, why didn’t you tell me the truth, was all I could think. Her disappearance now seemed even more sinister given these new realm shattering revelations into my lineage. Could it all be connected in some way? I shook my head, I couldn’t delve into that darkness yet, first I had to find out what was going to happen to me now.