Soul Blaze (21 page)

Phoenix and I were cursed to fall in love so that we had
a better chance of leading Lotheria to a peaceful future.
Would I ever know if I loved Phoenix for who he was or
because of a three thousand year old curse?

I straightened, finding my resolve. I accepted the
delicate scrap of lace Mum was trying to hand me and
dabbed at my eyes with it.

“Ready?” she asked.

Instead of all the sarcastic, elongated responses I
wanted to say, to sound snippy and smart and more like
myself, one word slipped through my lips.

“Yes.”

The women scurried back into the room, fussing and
tugging at the dress. But I ignored them; I had caught sight
of myself in the mirror.

The girl standing before me wore a dress of pure white
that made her seem about six feet tall. The dress was
heavy enough it pulled her back straight, and she stood
proudly, the train of the dress spread neatly behind her.
Her lips were as red as roses, her eyes outlined in black
kohl. Her dark hair had been bundled at the nape of her
neck, braided and folded as required, a few curls springing
loose to caress her pale shoulders, which were bare.

That girl was about to be crowned Queen of Lotheria
and she was one of the most powerful mages to ever live.
And that girl was me.

I was going to end the reign of slavery that this nation
had imposed against the non-magi. I would fight for their
rights no matter who opposed me. Larni’s friends would
be paid wages and would have rights to appeal against
their overlords.

I felt a surge of power flow through my veins that had
nothing to do with my magic.

My father met us at the door of the Great Hall, the
main ballroom of the palace where today’s coronation
would be held. He was dressed impeccably, but Phoenix
took my breath away.

He wore dark breeches and black leather boots that
rose to his knee, polished to a perfect gleam. His
undershirt was white, but over it he wore a black vest
with a high collar. A longsword hung from his left hip in a
black scabbard with silver trim. An orange sash hung
across his body from his right shoulder to his left hip,
signifying the colour of his magic. Someone had managed
to brush and straighten his dark, shoulder length hair,
something which had always been beyond my prowess as
a hairdresser or girlfriend.

I was rendered speechless. When I did manage to
fumble for some words, I said:
“Why don’t I get a sword?”
He laughed, the tension that had been falling over the
small group melting away. He reached for my hand.
“I think it would ruin the dress,” he lifted my hand to
his lips, brushing my knuckles with his lips. “My Queen.”

Jett coughed and I blushed furiously. Phoenix ignored
him and held my hand for a second longer, but I tugged
away.

Music started behind the doors, and the burble of
voices died down. My hands began to sweat again.

We were about to be crowned.
The doors opened slowly, and as they did so, I rested
my hand lightly on Phoenix’s arm, drawing comfort from

the contact. He nodded at me, as though reassuring me,
and together we stepped forward through the doors.

We entered the hall, the soft golden light hitting us.
The hall was magnificent, with golden drapes hung over
the windows and towers of candles lining the walls. A roll
of rich red velvet had been laid upon the stone floor for us
to walk on, and I was unimaginably glad that no one had
taken it upon themselves to scatter rose petals across the
carpet, as Ispin had threatened. What I was unprepared
for, however, was how many faces I would see when I
opened my eyes.

A thousand. At least. Where did all these people come
from? Surely they couldn’t all be nobles from the other
states? I suddenly felt the weight of Queen hit my
shoulders with something unpleasantly like reality as I
looked upon the people I was about to be crowned in front
of.

The attendees were dressed in various colours, and as
the majority of them were nobles and therefore mages, I
knew that the colours they wore were symbolic of their
magic.

About halfway down the aisle, I spotted Lord Hugh and
Lady Matilda, with baby Sky in her arms. I couldn’t help
but grin as the chubby infant recognised me and reached
for me to hold her. I brushed her chin with my finger as I
passed her and was rewarded with a toothy baby grin and
giggle.

Phoenix and I were slowly making our way down the
aisle that had been set down the middle of the hall,
towards a dais. I moved slowly, the heavy dress weighing
me down; I think I would’ve sprinted to the end of the
hall if I could’ve just to get this over and done with.

As I passed people, I began recognizing them. Yasmin,
Rain, Petre, Theresa, Ispin, Dustin, and then Dena. Seeing
my friends filled me with confidence, and I lifted my chin
a little higher than before.

When I reached the man in plum robes on the dais, I
knelt on one knee, drawing my right forearm across my
chest. He began speaking as Phoenix did the same.

“Today, we gather to witness the birth of a new age.
Today, we crown a King and Queen who will lead us to
glory and salvation. Today, the world of mages is born
anew, and today, we will welcome to glorious dawn of a
new era.”

I clenched my fist to stop it from shaking. This was
more nerve racking than I thought it would be.
“Sky, do you accept the responsibility of Queen that
will henceforth be yours from this day?”
“I do,” I said, loud enough for everyone to hear.
“Do you swear to always make decisions that are in the
best interests of your people?”
“I do.”

I waited nervously as he asked Phoenix the same
questions. Phoenix answered with a voice of power and
steel. I tried not to be jealous of the sure, confident way he
responded.

“Then, by the power that I claim as Guild Master of the
Magic Testers society, I crown you as our King and
Queen.”

He slid a silver circlet onto my forehead as another
Magic Tester carefully placed a crown of obsidian on
Phoenix’s hair.

“Now rise as our monarchs!”
I turned with Phoenix to face our people. As one, they
knelt to us.
~Chapter Twenty~

Phoenix and I were guided from the hall, and as soon as
the doors were closed behind us, cutting us off from
everyone else in the room, we looked at each other and
promptly burst into laughter.

“I don’t know why I’m laughing,” I choked out.

“I think we’re hysterical,” Phoenix responded, wiping
his eyes with his thumb. “We’ve just been crowned King
and Queen of an entire country and we’re giggling away
in the closet.”

For some reason that made me laugh harder, until I
started becoming genuinely worried about our mental
health. Phoenix had described the room we were standing
in as a closet, but it was closer to a small sitting room,
though the lamps were unlit and the small table undusted. I contemplated sitting on it to soothe my aching
feet, remembered the dress I was wearing, and decided
against it.

“So what now?” I managed to ask a little while later,
once the laughter had subsided. “What do we do now?”

“We rule the country,” Phoenix said, sitting on the
table despite the dust. He patted his knee and I gingerly
sat upon it, then sighed as my feet were granted some
relief from the silver slippers I was wearing. “I think you
already have some idea of what changes you want to
implement.”

I nodded sagely, deep in thought.

“Then tomorrow we will call together a council
together and begin writing up some new laws. Together
we can change this nation for the better.”

He was so sure, so confident that I couldn’t help but
lean down and press my lips to his. I felt him respond and
smiled against his mouth. He was my Phoenix, my king.
We would and could do this, together.

He slid his hand to the back of my neck and pulled me
closer, the other hand on my waist. I ran my hand along
his and then along his arm, marvelling at the swell of his
muscles under the cloth. I lingered, caressing his arm. He
pulled me even closer on his lap, and we both grinned as
our crowns clinked together. It broke the rising tension,
and luckily so, as we both heard the approaching footsteps
and were standing dutifully when my parents, the Guild
Master and several others swarmed into the room.

“The ceremony went well,” the Guild Master told us,
bouncing on the balls of his feet. “Heralds are all over the
city proclaiming the wondrous event.”

I struggled not to roll my eyes, fearing it a very unqueen-like thing to do.

“We wish to call a council together as soon as possible
to discuss changes to the country,” Phoenix said. “Can we
rely on one of you to gather such a council?”

“I’ll gladly take the reins,” a familiar voice put in, and I
couldn’t help but smile when Lord Hugh stepped forward.
“I know the people you’ll want to talk to.”

“Excellent. We shall gather in the council room at
midday then,” Phoenix said. Everyone was nodding along
seriously.

“Tonight there will be a feast and fireworks,” the Guild
Master piped up suddenly, as though just remembering.
“As the guests of honour, you two are urged to attend.”

“We will,” I replied. “Right now I think we’d both like
some time to ourselves to organise the council meeting
and the laws we’d like to introduce. If we can be excused?”

The group bowed or curtsied as we left the room.
Phoenix led me to the room he’d been given whilst
waiting for the coronation, a cosy, comfortable room with
rich red carpet and cream curtains. I sat on his bed with a
sigh and kicked off my shoes.

“Did you actually want to plan the council meeting?”
Phoenix asked, watching the shoes bounce across the
carpet.

“I suppose we should,” I replied, laying on my back and
stretching. “But really I just want to chill out for a bit. I
feel like it’s all been non-stop since they started organising
the coronation.”

The bed dipped as he sat next to me. My heart rate
increased a little.

“I’m so lucky,” he murmured, running a finger down
the side of my face. I felt my skin burn where he’d
touched. “My beautiful woman. I love you, Sky. I hope
you know that.”

“’Course I do,” I said, sitting up and taking his hand in
mine. “I hope you know that I love you too.”
He smiled and my heart wobbled. I felt heat rising up
my neck; I didn’t deal with lovey-dovey stuff too well.

Phoenix spared me from any more talking by kissing
me fiercely, and suddenly I could tell that he’d been
waiting to finish our kiss from downstairs. I kissed him
back eagerly, and the world ceased to exist. We were
alone, for as long as we wanted, without interruptions.

I felt Phoenix’s fingers begin to undo the laces of my
dress and carefully pulled away. He was watching me
carefully, hoping he hadn’t crossed a line. Instead of
saying anything in fear of ruining the moment, I turned
my back to him slowly so he could see the laces better.

It took him about five minutes to undo the careful
knots. When he had finished doing so, I stood carefully,
allowing the grand dress to slide to the floor in a heap of
undignified cloth.

I stood before him in my underwear, somehow not
turning tomato red. I sought out his mirror and slowly
began to remove the clips and combs holding my hair in
place. More and more curls of hair began to fall to my
shoulders, and when Phoenix removed the last and largest
of the combs, my long dark hair tumbled free.

I turned and faced him. He’d removed the orange sash,
his tunic and undershirt but had left his sword on his left
hip. He held me carefully by my upper arms and looked at
me.

“Are you sure?” he asked quietly, and I knew he wasn’t
asking about anything to do with ruling, or laws, or
anything else that existed in our world right then. I knew
what he was asking, and I knew my answer.

“Yes.”
~

True to her word, Larni announced that she’d sent off
messengers to the noble houses in the hopes that they’d
bring their daughters to court. I waited anxiously for their
responses, but when I finally got one, it wasn’t the
messengers that brought it, but the daughters themselves.

Larni had been right; as soon as the families had heard
that monarchs again claimed the throne, they had seen it
in their best interests to send their daughters in the hopes
of gaining favours. Perched atop my throne, I watched the
girls file in, trying to ignore the itch of my new tattoo.

After the coronation night, I’d realised that I would
need to investigate and invest in birth control. I sought
out Dena, who smirked and then took me to a woman in
the city. I was dressed in a glamour, looking remarkably
unlike myself, so to this day the woman who tattooed the
symbol for pregnancy prevention above my heart doesn’t
know that she tattooed her new Queen.

I’d sworn Dena to secrecy, but it hadn't stopped my
father from seeing me emerge from Phoenix’s room early
one morning. He’d huffed and puffed and just about had
an aneurism before hauling me in front of my mother.
Mum had promptly sniggered at Jett’s reaction and then
asked me if I’d thought about the consequences. I showed
her my new tattoo and she was satisfied. Jett, however,
had left the room speedily, and I later found out he’d spent
the day in the training room beating the stuffing out of
mannequins. Griffin had later tried to recruit him to the
city guard.

The first daughter came forward, dipping into a neat
little curtsey, her pale skirts fluttering around her slim
figure.

“Your Majesty,” she began in a simpering little voice. “I
am Lady Nillia, of house Veston.”

I’d asked Lord Hugh to attend the session, though Larni
had seemed put out. As Lord of Riverdoor, he knew most
of the noble families in Lotheria, and would be able to
give me unbiased information about the houses.

Now, he leant down to whisper in my ear. Nillia looked
completely non-plussed; mayhap I’d done the right thing
by asking a mentor to attend then.