Page 88 of A Whisper of Claws
Izzy gasped as Luka sucked in a shocked breath.Knight of the realm. It was the highest honor the queen could give, recognizing his courage, his skill, and his loyalty.
Luka brought his hands together in an Infinite Circle over his heart. His fingers trembled as he bowed. “Thank you.”
Danikha spread her hands to encompass them all. “You will be the Steel Vanguard. Luka will lead, Iona will negotiate, Izzy is your healer. Aiden and Kai, I promote you both to full captain.” She dipped her chin in acknowledgement. “Please stay safe.”
Aiden and Kai both rose and bowed, but Kai’s scales glittered especially fiercely as he swore to do everything in his power to bring their small company home unharmed.
Danikha returned to her seat. “Ryland, I’m promoting you to knight commander of the castle. Please work closely with Captain Lydia.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.” Ryland bowed deeply.
“Together, we will make sure the clinics run. Nolan can help.” Danikha’s lips twitched into a smile. “Melo and Sarwin are going to be very busy with the chores we’ve set them… starting with cleaning both clinics, here and in the city. But they can add their skills too.” She sobered. “There is much to do.”
“Tell them all of it, Mother,” Iona said softly. “They need to know.”
The queen looked around the room, her gaze searching, as if she was looking into each of their hearts. Eventually, she seemed to reach a decision. “We are a small kingdom, but we have bountiful fields and oceans, our steel, and our mountain with its sacred heart. We have the drakes that live inside us, and our own personal strength.” She lifted her chin. “But we have lived too long with a growing separation between us. Between castle and city. Between those with plenty and those with little. I had planned—once the treaty was signed and the threat of war lifted—to begin to hand power to the people. Now, I think waiting was a mistake.” She leaned forward, eyes sparkling with her beast’s fire. “Each district in the city will nominate a speaker to attend a weekly Circle of Fire. They will raise issues, make suggestions,and choose a leader to sit on the new Council of Voices. The council will meet monthly, here in the Burnished Hall. We’ll work together to make the right decisions for our people.”
Gods. This was a fundamental shift in the way their entire country was run. There’d been signs. Danikha had initiated programs to uplift the most disadvantaged people in the kingdom since the moment she became queen, and when the king died, she’d worked hard to change the rigid hierarchies and elitism that he’d favored, but this was a whole new level.
“There’ll be those who hate everything about this,” Shane admitted. “Our neighboring kingdoms may see this as a threat—especially Kwanam with its centuries of imperial rule—and there will be some of our own people who blame us for the reduction in their power.” He met each of their eyes. “But we believe this is the right thing to do.”
“You were going to marry Kaliska andthentell her?” Kai muttered. “You were going to lie to the woman you’re supposed to love?”
Shane glared at him. “I never lov—” He stopped, cleared his throat, and started again. “I never lied to her. We were friendly, and I told her we would be making sweeping changes… just not exactly what those were, not if she was going to report them back to her father.”
The queen stood, ending the discussion and saving Shane. “We’ve all made mistakes. It’s time to move forward. Time to start setting things right.”
Cori should be here. She would have stood by his side and helped make this real,Izzy’s beast muttered.
Cori would have been the best person in the world to help Shane. She was honorable, authentic, and deeply committed to every single person in Hugaeb. Wealth and power meant nothing to her. But he’d made his decisions. He was going to have to face the consequences alone.
“It’s time to move forward,” Iona agreed. She tucked a loose strand of silvery hair behind her ear and went to stand beside her mother. “We need to prepare. We leave at sunset. Steel Vanguard, are you ready?”
“We’re ready,” Izzy confirmed, standing.
Luka stood at her side, his hand still gripping hers. Their beasts hummed together as their claws made tiny pinpricks on each other’s hands. They were united. They loved each other. And they were ready.
It was time to change the world.
