CHAPTER 3: Shadows of The Throne

Earlene

My legs still burned from the effort of standing upright in the courtyard. When the Alpha finally walked in, the crushing weight of his aura followed him inside, leaving the garrison gasping for air behind him.

I navigated the servant corridors quickly. I needed to hear the negotiations. My father was desperate, and his advisors were entirely incompetent.

If I wanted to know whether we had three weeks or three days left to live, I had to listen to the Alpha’s verdict myself.

I turned the corner toward the eastern stairwell and stopped. Lecia and Leith blocked the narrow hallway. They wore bright crimson dresses and heavy jeweled necklaces.

Two young maids hovered around them, pinning their blonde hair into elaborate braids. My half-sisters never used the servant passages, but they were clearly waiting in the shadows to make a timed, dramatic entrance into the throne room.

Lecia narrowed her eyes the moment she saw me. "What are you doing back here?"

"Walking," I said. I didn't stop moving, intending to bypass them.

Leith stepped to the side, blocking my path. She sneered at my ash-stained dress and. "You look feral, Lene. Go back to your room. We cannot have the Alpha seeing the bastard today."

"He isn't going to look in the servant corridors," I replied flatly. "And you are standing in my way."

Lecia stepped forward, shoulder to shoulder with her sister and blocking the stairs. She pointed down at the bottom of her gown. "The stitching on my hem is loose. The maid's hands are shaking too much to fix it. Do it."

I stared at her. We were having a big problem and she cared about a loose thread on a dress.

I could have argued. I could have pushed past them. But arguing with Lecia was always a waste of time. I needed to be in the upper shaft before the doors opened.

It was faster to comply.

I dropped to one knee on the stone floor. I snatched the needle from the trembling maid and pushed the thick thread through the fabric, locking the seam into place.

"Do you think he will choose me?" Lecia asked Leith, talking directly over my head as if I wasn't there.

"Father said he will choose one of us," Leith said. Her voice wavered. "He is a warlord. He is probably violent, but he rules the largest territory in all the kingdoms. I can endure a brute if it makes me a Queen."

"I will be the Queen," Lecia corrected her instantly. "I am the eldest, and I have the stronger lineage. You will just marry a lord next season."

I tied the knot, snapped the thick thread with my fingers, and stood up. I tossed the needle back into the maid's basket. "Done."

Lecia didn't even look down to check the work. She waved her hand at me. "Go back to your room."

I didn't bother replying. I stepped around her and took the stairs two at a time.

The upper shaft was cramped and smelled like old dust. I crawled silently across the wooden floorboards until I reached the slatted grate. I knelt and looked down into the grand hall.

My father sat on his elevated throne. His knuckles were bone-white against the armrests. My brother, Eliott, stood on the marble steps just below him, holding a ledger.

Eliott looked sick. He knew the numbers in that book better than anyone, and he knew we were bankrupt.

Thorne stood in the center of the room. He only brought the tall guard who had stood beside him in the courtyard. Thorne didn't bow or offer a greeting.

"We welcome the Alpha of the North to our home," my father said. His voice echoed across the marble floor, but it visibly wavered.

The Alpha cut him off. "Your warding stone is dead. You are out of time. Tell me what you have to offer, or I will leave."

My father swallowed hard. He looked down at Eliott, silently begging for an answer, but my brother just stared at the leather cover of his ledger.

"I have gold," the King offered quickly. He leaned forward. "Unrestricted access to our royal vaults. I will also grant your merchants safe passage through our eastern trade routes without tolls. Just provide the military force to secure our borders and fix the shield."

Thorne stood perfectly still. "My vaults are full. Furthermore, bandits currently control your eastern roads because your soldiers are entirely useless. I don't need your gold, and I have no use for broken roads."

"Land," my father countered immediately. Sweat dripped down the side of his face. "A third of my sovereign territory. We can sign the deeds today. You will have fertile soil in the south."

The tall guard standing next to the Alpha let out a chuckle.

"Your land is rotting," Thorne simply stated “If I want your land, I do not need a treaty. I will wait three weeks for the feral beasts to slaughter your people, and I will take all of it for free."

My father sank back against his throne. Eliott closed his ledger. They had absolutely nothing of value to offer a man who already cotrolled nations.

"I have one final offer," my father said quietly. "An alliance of blood."

He signaled the door guards. The doors swung open, and Lecia and Leith walked into the throne room.

They moved stiffly, keeping their eyes focused on the floor. They stopped a few feet away from Thorne and stood shoulder to shoulder.

"My daughters," my father announced, forcing his voice to sound strong. "Healthy, and born from a strong Luna lineage. Choose one of them as your bride today. Bind our packs together, and use your strength to anchor our shield as a member of our family."

Up in the shaft, I watched from the grate and felt a sharp spike of relief. My illegitimacy made me worthless in southern politics. I lacked a title, which meant I was invisible.

I didn't envy my sisters right now. Being traded away to a tyrant for basic survival was a terrible fate, and I was grateful to avoid it.

Thorne looked at Lecia and Leith. He didn't step closer. He didn't inspect them or ask about their lineage.

"No," he uttered.

My father blinked in shock. "What do you mean? They are royal princesses."

"They are weak," Thorne retorted.

Then, the air in the room changed. That same heavy weight from the courtyard slammed into the throne room. It rushed up the stone walls and my throats tightened.

Thorne stopped looking at the princesses. He turned his head and stared straight up at the wooden grate.

The shaft was completely dark. He couldn't possibly see me. But his dark eyes locked exactly on mine. The sheer pressure of his gaze pinned me against the floorboards.

"I do not want them," Thorne said. His voice rang loudly through the silent hall, vibrating against the wood beneath my knees. "Bring me the girl hiding in the walls.”