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  “It isn’t just about the kingdom,” I said. “He was angry at me for refusing him. He’s a jealous man. He couldn’t stand the fact I had a man as a bodyguard.”

  “Even if he was your cousin?”

  “This was before Jai. Shander was the one who hired the attack that killed Carl.” I still felt guilty about Carl’s death.

  “Shander had someone attack you?”

  I shook my head. “They never even looked at me. Their main purpose was to dispose of Carl.”

  Marcus shook his head. “I don’t understand.”

  “Shander thought I had feelings for my guard. He had him killed.”

  “Did you have feelings for Carl?”

  “Of course not. I trusted him. I was comfortable with him. I liked him as a person, but because he was a man and I was a woman, Shander thought there must be something between us. He only allowed Jai to be my bodyguard because he was my cousin. Even then, I think he had his doubts.”

  “Why did the king allow this to happen?”

  “Shander has the gift of persuasion.” It had been so hard to convince my father that Shander was not as trustworthy as he had led everyone to believe.

  Marcus nodded. “It makes sense. As soon as he was gone, the Grand Council got right to work presenting me to the people. I believe they’d been working on this for a long time, but unable to put it into action until he was no longer here.”

  “That is the only redeeming quality I can see about this current council.”

  “They aren’t all bad.” Marcus rubbed at his pant leg. “What are we going to do then?”

  “We?”

  “You and I.” Marcus smiled.

  “I will go before the people and see if they will accept me as their queen. You are going to abdicate your claim to the throne and go quietly back to where you came from.”

  “Ahh, I see how you are. Just as power hungry as Shander.”

  “I am not power hungry. I am the heir. My father passed on the mantle of authority before he died. I am the true ruler.”

  “I am the legal ruler. There was a clause written into the documents. You were gone and declared unfit to rule. You have been absent from Rommader for nearly a year and with the king on his death bed, they didn’t want to risk the mess that would follow if no ruler was selected.”

  “But I am here now. Only one day after your coronation.”

  “It is still one day. Things are written as they are for a reason.” Marcus’s gaze trailed to the desk. He stared at it for a moment then looked up at me. “You cannot take my crown from me without upsetting the people.”

  “But you have taken my crown from me. What will the people have to say about that?”

  “I am sure they will thank God someone was man enough to take charge of the kingdom.”

  I scowled at him. “Are you saying I’m not fit to rule because I am a woman?”

  Marcus shook his head. “No. Not because you are a woman. But because you were not here.”

  “Stop throwing that in my face. I was not here because I followed the instructions my father gave me. My father, the king.”

  “Amira.” Marcus stood and moved over to the desk. He placed his hands on the dark cherry wood and looked down at me. I could feel his authority and power as he stood over me. “I am not trying to upset you. I am trying to get you to understand that coming back from your…time away and taking over where you left off, will not happen. If you want this kingdom, then you will have to earn it back.

  “The lies Shander spread, as well as some of the truths of your absence, do not sit well with your people. If you want this kingdom, you can’t just barge in and take it. They are upset enough with the idea that Shander tried to. When the Grand Council offered them the option of voting in a new king, they also gave them more authority and the ability to enact laws by popular vote. If you take that away from them, they will fight you tooth and nail.”

  I blinked at him, awed by the way his words made sense even though I didn’t want to accept them.

  “You will ruin your world,” Marcus said softly. “Is that what you want?”

  I bowed my head. “No.”

  “Good.”

  The royal bell, only used to announce the death of a ruler, began to chime. The traditional twelve hours had passed and it was official. Tears sprang to my eyes when I felt the finality of it once more. The people now knew my father was dead. They believed they had a new king in Marcus, and I had missed my opportunity to go before the people and show them I had returned.

  Chapter Three

  Ryad

  I sat silent, trying to figure Marcus out. He hadn’t spoken after the chimes, but had called for a servant to bring some food. I appreciated him giving me time to control my emotions. I missed my father and wished I could have had more time with him.

  Marcus took a drink from the tray just delivered and offered me one. I waved it away as I stared at the wall across from my father’s desk. The council members in the group portrait seemed to be glaring at me. Would I ever earn their approval?

  He returned to his spot on the sofa and watched me as I stared at the portrait. Eventually he spoke. “The council has been meeting in secret for months looking for a way to prevent Shander from reaching his goal. I’m actually quite impressed with them for daring to go against him.”

  “So when they found you on the family tree, they picked you to rule?”

  “They could have picked my father, but his health isn’t the best. I suppose they didn’t want to run the risk of Shander trying again.”

  “That was wise of them. Someone with your knowledge would have a better chance at ousting Shander for good.”

  Marcus nodded. “He was so busy searching for you, he didn’t do anything about my arrival.”

  “I heard Shander sent messages to the closest planets my father could have hidden me on. How could Shander be so careless as to practically announce to the other planets that ours was in a bit of turmoil?” I asked. “If any of them had any interest in exploiting us during our stressful time of transition, things could get messy pretty quickly.”

  “Let’s hope it doesn’t lead to that.” Marcus looked me over closely. “Together we can make sure things work out.”

  I felt like he was searching for some clue of my soul and whether he could trust me. I wished it was possible to see the goodness in someone. I had felt it in my father as he passed from this life, but I doubted it could happen again with just anyone. My spine tingled again as I looked at him.

  Overcome by a strange desire, I stood up and moved over to Marcus where he still sat on the couch. I leaned in close and looked into his hazel eyes. Marcus blinked and glanced away from me as if looking for someplace to move to. I placed my hand on his face and turned it back so it was directly opposite mine.

  I tried to block out the way his skin felt under my fingers. The strength of his jaw and the hint of stubble on his chin were intriguing.

  Inside his eyes, I searched for something to indicate I could fully trust him. Something to show me his true personality. Besides the surprise, then confusion, then concern, I couldn’t see anything to make me sure. Marcus blinked again and glanced away briefly. I saw a blemish in his eye. A small dark spot in the hazel iris just off the pupil, as if the pupil had leaked into the surrounding color. I had seen this same blemish in two other eyes before.

  “Marcus?”

  “Amira?”

  “Have you ever sworn an oath?”

  Marcus pulled away from me and leaned against the back of the sofa. I straightened up and looked down at him. “Yes,” he said.

  “To whom?”

  “To your father.” Marcus still wouldn’t meet my eyes.

  “Why?” I asked.

  “He asked me to.”

  “About what?”

  Marcus shook his head. “I cannot say.”

  “When did you swear this oath?”

  Marcus looked uncomfortable for the first time since I had met him
.

  “When?” I asked again.

  “Right before I was voted in by the people.”

  “He told you to accept the kingdom, to keep it from Shander. He told you to find me. He told you to protect me and make sure I became queen, didn’t he?”

  “How could you know that?”

  “My father had Jai swear to him before. It changed him. The oath was sealed upon him with a power I don’t understand. It was only broken when I was no longer his strongest pull.” Holly was now the most important thing to him. A soul bond had the power to override any other bond.

  “What?”

  “And another has sworn an oath, but this time to me. He also has the same mark.”

  “I’m marked?” Marcus asked.

  I turned around and started pacing the room. Ryad’s eye looked the same. He had sworn to protect me and it was binding. I wished Jai would have allowed him to Travel at the same time. I could have used his help right now. I knew he was devoted to me; his oath assured that. I knew he would be someone I could trust to discuss my options. I knew he would help me learn if Marcus was genuine.

  “Amira?”

  I turned to Marcus.

  “I did swear an oath to your father. He wanted me to help you, but until I met you myself, I wasn’t going to give the kingdom to you. Not with what I’d heard about you. I wanted to know you would be a good ruler. I don’t know what it is, but I feel it in my soul you will be a good queen. It will be my honor to serve with you.”

  He knelt down, his head bowed and his neck exposed. “I swear to you, Queen Amira, that I will do everything I can in my power to make sure you are the true ruler of this world. I vow with my soul to care for you and protect you and counsel you to the best of my ability until I die.”

  Was he serious? This turn of events had me thoroughly confused.

  Marcus reached up and took my hand. I felt a vibration move from him into me and then, through no conscious effort on my part, my hand went to his head, my fingertips resting on the top of his spine, just under his skull. The same type of feeling I had when my father had passed on the mantle of authority to me crossed over my hands and sunk into Marcus.

  I pulled my hands away as if burned. “What just happened?”

  “You sealed the oath on me. Only the heir has that power.” Marcus bowed once more then stood and made the sign of respect and honor given to the ruler. “You are my true queen.”

  I stared at Marcus. “What are we going to do?”

  “We?”

  “You and I.” I used the same obnoxious answer he’d given me earlier.

  “We need to go before the people, show them you have returned and have my full support.”

  “Do you think it will be that easy?” I asked.

  “You are the queen. The people will see it and follow your law. Especially if we rule together. You as the heir and me as the elected king.”

  I looked at the portrait of the council. “Do you think they will accept me?”

  Marcus looked at the picture as well. “They do think a lot of themselves, but they have the best interest of the kingdom at heart. Speaker Plurz will be one of the main ones we’ll have to convince.”

  “He won’t like it. He seemed too excited to tell me of the way things were now. He looked the most upset that I had returned.”

  Marcus nodded. “Speaker Plurz would have the most to lose. He told me more than once to trust his judgment and things would work out well for me as the new ruler.”

  “Do we go before the people on our own? Or do we meet with the Grand Council and tell them of your willingness to let me serve alongside you?”

  Marcus paced the room. “That’s a tough question. Without the backing of the people, we can’t do anything. Without the support of the Grand Council, we’ll never get the people to agree.”

  “Do you trust any of this new council?” I looked at the picture again, trying to identify those I had seen and remember who had seemed the most hostile toward me. Kris Wrater and Jamina Coost had appeared glad to see me, but in all the confusion that followed, I hadn’t watched them closely to see what their response to my return and claim of the throne had meant to them.

  “One of them is a friend of my parents. I went to school with the son of another councilman. And that councilwoman is from my hometown.” Marcus pointed at the same woman who had seemed the most upset at my return.

  Lost in my contemplation of the task ahead, the pounding on the door startled me.

  Amira, I must see you.

  I turned to the door of the office and heard a commotion outside. A glance at Marcus indicated he heard it as well. Had he heard the thought?

  Amira! I know you are in there. I feel you. Let me in. I must speak to you.

  Ryad. I knew he would come find me. I looked at the clock and realized it had been almost a full day since I had last seen him on Earth. What took him so long?

  “Let him in.” I turned to Marcus. He blinked as if surprised then went to the door slowly. A hesitant knock came and Marcus glanced back at me. I nodded and Marcus spoke his permission for the guard outside to open the door.

  I smiled when Ryad entered the room. He saw me and rushed forward past Marcus as if he weren’t there. Ryad took me by the arms and looked me over. Joy flowed through me as he examined me for any signs of injuries. His green eyes met mine and I blushed.

  A cough from behind him made Ryad turn around. I could feel the tension in Ryad’s grip. He let go of my arms and put me behind him as if to guard me with his body.

  “Ryad?” Marcus’s voice was almost a question, but more of a command for Ryad to explain himself.

  “Marcus?” Ryad responded in much the same way.

  “Do you two know each other?”

  They exchanged looks and I wondered how much more complicated my life had just become.

  Chapter Four

  Married

  Ryad turned to face me. “I’m sorry to hear about your father.”

  “Thank you.” Tears filled my eyes and Ryad reached up to my face, but pulled his hand back before touching me. Disappointment flooded my heart.

  “Are you doing all right?” Ryad asked. He turned to Marcus as if to ask something but then turned back to me without a word.

  “I am well.”

  “I searched for you the moment I got back. You weren’t in your rooms.” The accusation in his voice was obvious.

  “Jai thought it would be best if we changed locations to keep my arrival secret. We figured my rooms would be constantly watched.”

  Ryad crossed his arms over his chest. “They were. You should have told me where you were going. I could have helped you. Been with you when you went to your father.”

  Jai needed one last time to guard me.

  He still doesn’t trust me? Ryad asked. I could feel the hurt through the oath bond.

  Perhaps not, but I trust you.

  “You must let me help you from now on,” Ryad said, taking my hand in his.

  Marcus interrupted. “What gives you the right to tell her what to do?”

  “What does it matter to you, Marcus?” Ryad stared at him. The animosity in the air between them tingled like lightning preparing to strike.

  “She’s my wife.”

  “What?” Ryad’s hand tightened on mine. His head whipped around to search my face.

  I shook my head and rolled my eyes. “I’m not his wife.”

  “Actually…” Marcus took a slow breath as if readying himself for confrontation.

  “Actually what?” I asked, not liking that tone.

  Marcus’s face ran through a complex display of emotions, finally landing on embarrassment. “I wasn’t joking when I said you were my wife.”

  I took a step closer to him. “What are you talking about?”

  Marcus sidestepped me and moved over to the desk. He glanced at me, then Ryad, and opened the second drawer. He pulled an official looking document out of a folder. “It was decided by the Grand Counc
il and your father.”

  My stomach dropped and I felt myself go cold. “What was decided?”

  Marcus opened the document and flipped through a few pages. He scanned the page, then turned another finally pointing out a section about a quarter of the way down. I moved forward, a sinking feeling in my gut that my life was in his hands and there was nothing I could do about it.

  I took it and read through the section his long finger had touched, growing sicker by the moment.

  “How can they force me to marry you? I know nothing about you.” I backed up and felt Ryad’s chest against my back. He placed both his hands on my arms, gripping tightly as if fighting his own anger.

  “I told them I didn’t want to be married to you either. However, in order for this to be official and make me king with no chance of Shander doing something drastic in case he found you, they got your father to sign the marriage decree and my parents to sign it. It is still an appendage to the laws from years ago. If the parents arrange a marriage, it is official. We are married and nothing can change that fact unless our parents sign a divorce agreement…”

  “But my father is dead.” I shook my head and grabbed the document one more time. “Where is the marriage decree? I want to see it.”

  Marcus leaned down to the same drawer and pulled another folder out. He opened it and I could see the calligraphy stating it was a marriage document. My father’s signature was shaky and rough, but still his. And the royal seal next to the name was his. It was accompanied by two other signatures and a family seal.

  “I don’t accept it. I will not be forced into a marriage. That is what caused this whole thing in the first place.” I clamped my hand over my mouth realizing I had shouted.

  “I’m sorry, Amira, but it can’t be changed.”

  I shook my head. “I will not be your wife.”

  Ryad whispered in my ear. “Amira, can I escort you somewhere? Then I will come speak with him.”

  I turned to Ryad. “No.”