Page 35 of The Crown of the Dark Prince
There it was - the question I had been truly dreading.
The question was simple for other Council members. There were dozens, if not hundreds, of other family members that could step in and fill their shoes should they be unable. Swearing to this on behalf of their Houses was an easy promise to make, perhaps the easiest of the ceremony. For me, it was more. For me, I was swearing to create another Descendant of Hyrax.
There was no one else to fill this seat unless I continued the family line. That was the burden that had haunted me since the day I first arrived in Athenia. That was the necessity that had loomed over me while I tried to delay my engagement. That was what everyone thought was my purpose in this realm. I was the only Descendant of Hyrax, and they were asking me to swear that I wouldn’t be the last.
“I do,” I said, my voice echoing through the chamber.
“Then rise, Lady Theadora Moore, of House Hyrax, and begin your ascension to the Royal Council of Athenia.”
He extended a hand to me and pulled me to my feet. I expected some untoward comment to be whispered to me as I made my way to the golden dish that sat atop a pedestal at the center of the platform, but his eyes were deadly serious and entirely focused on the task at hand.
The other Council members joined us, and together the five of us formed a circle around the pedestal. From his jacket pocket, the Dragon pulled out a golden dagger with a ruby-encrusted handle. Without flinching, he sliced the blade across his palm and let his scarlet blood trickle into the golden bowl.
“The blood of Zion!” he announced.
“Praise Zion!” the crowd cheered.
He handed the dagger to Rosalia next, who followed his lead. The only sign of her pain at the wound was a slight purse of her lips as her blood joined his within the dish.
“The blood of Delia!” she called, bringing her eyes to the crowd, who echoed her.
Gregory was next, adding his blood to the bowl on behalf of Herea before Clara did the same on behalf of Palaemon. And then, the existing Council members turned to me.
This was it. This was the moment everyone in the world had been waiting for.
It was time to complete the Athenian Council.
Clara passed the dagger to me with an encouraging smile, and I gripped it in my fingers, ignoring the nervous energy that overwhelmed me while I raised my other hand to meet the pointed blade. The metal pierced my skin with only the smallest amount of pressure, and I hissed through my teeth against the sting. After only a moment of hesitation, I dragged the blade down my palm until my scarlet blood rose easily and fell in droplets out of my hand into the bowl. I stared at it, watching as it mingled with the bloodof the other Council members until it was impossible to tell which droplet came from who.
When I lifted my head, I was acutely aware of the attention that was on me. The air was thick with eager anticipation as the audience stared up at me with wanting smiles.
“The blood of Hyrax!” I yelled.
“The blood of Hyrax!” they called back to me. And as his name echoed in the temple around us, I could only wonder if he was in the Underworld, somehow aware that this was happening.
Chapter Nine
Ineeded to close my mouth. My jaw had been dangling open for far longer than was polite, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t seem to manage it.
I could only describe the scene in front of me as utterly perplexing. Everything I thought I knew suddenly seemed… wrong. I was witnessing something that seemed entirely contrary to every expectation I’d previously held.
“You’re staring,” Rankor chastised under his breath as he came to stand at my side.
My jaw snapped shut with an audible thunk.
“I can’t help it!” I admitted. “It’s just that I’ve never seen him—”
“Show a personality?”
Instinctively, I smacked his arm, earning a soft chuckle as he pulled me away from where I had been watching Kent play with his younger sisters.
“It’s true,” Rankor continued, tucking me into his arm as we paraded through the great hall.
The Dragon had thrown a proper ball in my honor. I had, of course, seen celebrations held in this space before, but none were quite as grand or as raucous as this one. The entire country was celebrating their Council. They danced and drank, laughed and ate. The people were happy, and thatwas what mattered. Now that I was officially a Council member, I needed to prioritize their happiness above the uneasiness that constantly filled me.
“Kent’s always been a bit reserved. The only time he’s not boring is when he’s on stage.”
“You’re so rude,” I scoffed, aware of the playfulness in his tone. Rankor loved Kent like a brother; that much was obvious to anyone with eyes.
