Total pages in book: 140
Estimated words: 132625 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 663(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132625 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 663(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
“So what’s your solution?” Skylar says. She’s been frowning so hard Mom would say her face was going to get stuck like that. “Keep the status quo? Accept that the world is full of injustices just because change would be hard?”
Sol exchanges a look with her daughter, who came along for this meeting and informed us that she’d be taking her husband’s seat at the table. I hugged her and apologized for not being able to save Konner. Her eyes were bright when she told me I saved the thing he cared about most instead. And then she passed that squirming, giggling baby girl into my arms.
“We’re suggesting,” Tulle says, “that you don’t change the system but the people inside of it. We’ve culled the rot and the greed from the Seven, so it’s the perfect time to replace them with humans. Leaders of their own right who know better than anyone stuck in our palace exactly what their people need.”
“Humans,” Remme says, like he’s never heard the word before.
Sol steps in. “Your old monarchy was headed by a human queen—so why not a human Matriarch of the Seven? Then we don’t have to fight the people to give them what they need. We work together, elves and humans, to create a world where both can live.”
“You make it sound so easy,” Skylar says.
“It won’t be easy,” Sol admits. “Not at all. When has lasting change on a scale this big ever been easy? But would your full revolution be any easier?”
“If I could say something?” Crissa says, her small voice breaking, the first bird chirp before sunrise.
“I would love to hear your thoughts,” Sol says. She sounds sincere. About all of this.
“We have three groups of people in Elora,” Crissa says. “You’ve spoken of the first two—those who believe the Seven are their saviors and those who know the true history and want the monarchy restored—but I think you’re forgetting about everyone else.” We all wait expectantly for her to tell us, but it’s Jasalyn who speaks first.
“Those who are too busy trying to survive to have an opinion about any of it,” the shadow princess says. My brother beams at her, sappy and in love and so good for my heart.
Crissa nods. “It’s easy for you all to look down on them for failing to take a stand in a world that has been so unjust to them, but protest is a luxury. Having an agenda is a privilege. These people are focused on finding their next meal and keeping a roof over their children’s heads.” She takes a breath. “So, yes, there are those who still believe in the grace and goodness of the Seven, but there are also plenty of people out there who have either been working to help restore the monarchy or who are so jaded they don’t believe in the current system anymore. Those people need something to believe in too, but something new might be easier for them to swallow.”
“You’re proposing a new system?” Sol asks.
“I’m proposing,” Crissa says, “that we don’t choose.” She gives a small shrug. “We rebuild the Seven, as you suggested, replacing those who supported Erith and Mordeus with human leaders from Elora, but there’s no matriarch and no patriarch. The Seven worked best when they all ruled equally.”
“Hear! Hear!” Sol says.
Crissa goes on. “Then we have the Seven publicly support new monarchy. A callback to the old days. A blending of the old and the new. We work together and support each other. And most importantly, we keep each other in check.”
“You’d still be our queen,” Skylar says, stars in her eyes.
Abriella glances toward my brother. “And who would be your king? Will you ask your oracle?”
Crissa’s eyes are bright as she turns to the shadow queen. “Did you know that in the early days of the Eloran monarchy, the Chosen was simply the one who protected the queen? The markings along his forehead weren’t considered a crown but a symbol of his fate being tied to the crown. Along the way, some people decided a woman shouldn’t rule alone and insisted the Chosen marry the queen and rule beside her.”
“You’re kidding,” Skylar says.
“She’s not,” Natan says. “Those days were long ago, but you’ll find record of them in the Chronicles.”
“The oracle will give me a new protector if we request one, but I’ve realized”—she flicks her gaze to Jas and smiles—“that love isn’t something we push aside for when it’s convenient, and it’s not something that should have to hide behind a public marriage. If it’s real, it’s part of who we are, and with it we are better.
“I plan to marry the man I love—a human, for what it’s worth. We will marry and make a family, and I will lead Elora into a better day with him at my side.” She turns her smile on the shadow queen. “As you do with your love.”