Page 75 of The Forbidden Wolf King
Callen looked over at the elf king and swallowed hard. “I’m … sorry for what my mother has done to your families and your people.”
An apology?I hadn’t expected that. These types of takeovers were usually fraught with tension.
“Were you close with her?” I asked, trying to gauge how this normal and seemingly kind human came from her.
He barked out a laugh. “She wasn’t capable of closeness. Or love. No, me and my brothers each stayed with her until we were seven. Then we were sent away to live elsewhere and raised by a nanny. None of us share a father. She just wanted heirs to continue her bloodline. My eldest brother was the only one she was close with and he’s dead.”
My heart tightened then. Only with his mother until seven and then on his own? It was horrible and I thought of Oslo in that moment and how young and sweet he was at seven. He’d needed so much love and reassurance then.
“Will your other brothers try to take over?” Raife asked. I could sense the concern in his voice now too.
Callen let out a shaky breath. “I … honestly don’t know. We aren’t close. She kept us apart. I doubt anyone wants the responsibility. We all have our own lands to manage and are all independently wealthy. We have no desire to rule a kingdom.”
The burden of one’s lineage was something I knew Axil could relate to and in that moment he slipped his hand into mine.
“Are you married? Children?” Drae asked him.
He shook his head. “I run a profitable ore mine, no time for a wife.”
Arwen chuckled at that. “Well, you’re king now, that means taking a wife and having children.”
We’d suddenly all taken to giving this young man counsel on how to rule.
He looked stunned then. “I guess so.”
He appeared so overwhelmed and I felt for him, but we needed to make sure that this was a smooth transition so that Nightfall never rose to power again.
“I have an idea,” I proposed and everyone looked at me. “King Callen, this is your chance to change things, make them better than they were before,” I told him and he nodded his head in agreement. “What if, along with signing the peace treaty, you agreed to take a wife from one of our realms?”
The entire room fell into a stunned silence. His mother had been a purist, humans against those of us with magic. And then when she couldn’t naturally have what we had, she stole it.
“It would send a message to your people that the new Nightfall kingdom is one of inclusion. Not just an empty peace treaty with our kind, but one married into with generations of heirs,” Drae added, seemingly delighted with my idea.
Callen swallowed hard, as if the very idea of marrying a woman who shifted into an animal terrified him. “Please forgive my ignorance, as I live on a mountain and do not travel often. Could I … have healthy children with someone who is not my kind?”
Kailani chuckled at that. “Of course! Your children will be half human, half whatever your wife is. They would have some of her abilities, whatever those might be. I’m half elf.”
He relaxed after hearing that and I had to remind myself that this man had been sheltered away in the mountains and probably fed lies about our people his entire life.
“It was just a suggestion,” Drae said. “But it might be too much of a leap from—”
“No, I think it’s a good idea. A marriage to bridge our kingdoms. I would be honored to choose a wife from any of your realms,” he said diplomatically but I could hear the nerves in his voice. I wondered if it was because he’d just agreed to choose a wife who carried magic, or that he’d have to get married at all. He was very handsome and young and had just admitted he was rich. I was betting he could have any woman he wanted where he lived. He’d have to give that up, become king and change his entire life overnight. It was a lot to process.
Drae pulled the prewritten treaty out and spread it across his desk. “Alright, well if you sign here, we can announce your desire to take a wife while our men are still posted here just in case there is backlash.”
He grasped his quill and ink. “I appreciate that,” he told Drae. “I can’t imagine that news will be taken well.”
“You might be surprised,” Kailani offered. “I grew up here and many of the people just did what your mother said because they were scared of her, not because they agreed.”
Drae held out a hand over the treaty, blocking Callen from signing. “Don’t you want to read it first?” he asked. “It also requires the destruction of all of your mother’s magic-stealing machines.”
Callen shivered. “I hated that invention. Good riddance. I just want peace upon our lands.”
Drae moved his hand and Callen signed easily as each one of us sighed in relief.
It was done and by my account it looked like Callen was already shaping up to be a decent king.
One by one we shook his hand and I had to admit he’d earned my respect. It would be hard for him from here on out but he seemed up to the task with a little help.
