5 | ACT I, SCENE V

P R E V I O U S L Y

The entire room watched as Cosmo then slowly crumpled the paper in his fist, expressionless, and put it down with a cold precision. His eyes grew cold as ice. His lips opened to speak.

"Drusilla Everly of Normount."

CALCHESTER CITADEL, STEFFITH.

TRISTAN

I HAD SEEN GHOSTS BRIGHTER than her soul.

Her lips were blood red, her lids dusted with stars. My blood boiled at the sight of the woman whose family I hated. And yet, I hated how seeing her always triggered my predatory instincts, her mere sight an aphrodisiac to my senses.

I despised how badly I wanted to ravish Edwina Tremayne and shut that sweet mouth of hers with my own.

"Drusilla Everly of Normount," Cosmo had read out, crestfallen. The hall fell dead silent, completely horror struck, not a single voice to be heard. All eyes turned to the two women who I hated with my life.

Drusilla Everly, daughter to the cunning Deimos who interfered in our war and took away half the river, leaving the Tremaynes to resort to the murder of my sister.

She was gloating, her purple eyes alight and a smug smile sat atop her pink lips as she combed her hair to a side, joyful. Yet her expression fell when she looked at everyone's angry stares, and then met the livid eyes of the red haired Tremayne woman sitting beside her.

Tremayne and Everly.

Had these two families not existed, my sister, Elodie, would still be alive today.

To say that Edwina Tremayne was looking angry was an understatement. Haughty and proud, the woman looked like she had no intention of letting someone else take the crown.

Her irises were pools of teal green, bright and sharp as a knife yet hardly concealing the fire that sprung up behind them. The red lips tilted up in a cruel smirk, seeing the empty silence at the declaration of the third Monarch.

"There has been a mistake, Cosmo," the rich voice tumbled from her full lips. "That name was supposed to be mine."

"This cannot be," her killer of a father, Lucius, said. "This... cannot be. There has been a mistake."

"Just because your precious daughter didn't get her wish, doesn't mean there has been a mistake, Lucius!" Deimos spoke up. He possessed the same dark hair and violet eyes of his House, Everly.

"This is not possible!" Lucius screeched. "The third name should have been my daughter's!"

"You," Drusilla flipped back her hair, "need to accept your new Queen."

"But this is irregular-"

"-her name came out!"

"-and impossible-"

"-shut up-"

"SILENCE!" Cosmo roared.

"And now you'll try to defend your spoiled-" Alaric began.

"Deimos, you will tell your son to shut up before I do it for you!" he bellowed, as the dark haired god motioned to his evil son to be quiet with a burning glance.

"There seems to be a mistake," Titania began, cautiously looking around, then at Cosmo.

"These slips of paper cannot lie. And yet... the person we expected has not been selected," he said slowly, tensing as the paper further crumpled in his fist.

"So what, Cosmo? Just because you all expected her name would be declared, didn't mean that she surely secured a spot among the three rulers!" Deimos added angrily. "My daughter's name has been announced, meaning that she will be made Queen Regnant."

"No," the Queen of the gods said. "I will not let a woman like Drusilla Everly ascend in my place."

"Why do you have a problem, Titania?" Drusilla asked angrily. "What is the problem with me being elected Queen?"

Everything, sweetheart.

"Cosmo." Her father got up. "I thought you were loyal to your own," he spat. "My daughter's name was on that slip. Which means she will be Regnant. Pure and simple."

"Well, it isn't so pure and simple when you think about the last few years Drusilla ruled the states! Do you remember? All the fifteen cousins were allotted twenty years each to try ruling the rebel states. She almost blew them up!" Titania spoke up.

It was true. Drusilla Everly could not do in twenty years, what Edwina Tremayne did in three years for the rebel states. As much as I hated to admit it, she had done quite an admirable job, with her steam mills and sharp mind.

But then, she had observed fourteen cousins rule before her. She had almost three centuries to learn from their mistakes and avoid making the same. She had got an unfair advantage, and she had used it completely to get every last drop of benefit from it.

"Edwina's Trials came last," Lucius interrupted. "All her idiot cousins drained the states by the time she came to rule, even then, my daughter did the best job anyone could have done in any circumstances. And Drusilla? She made mistake after mistake in her time," he tutted.

"Mistakes happen," Deimos piped up, huffing.

"Edwina, on the other hand, restored the states to full glory in three years and spent the next seventeen nurturing them. I refuse to believe that she hasn't been chosen! She is the only woman capable of handling this post," Titania said, shaking her head. "No, no, no... this position will not go to Drusilla Everly."

"We need strong, enduring women. Sensible women. Patient women. Edwina Tremayne is neither of these things," Deimos hissed brusquely. "She is reckless and stubborn. She snubs advice more than she takes it!"

"Oh, really? You bastard!" she got up from a corner, furious and cutting. "Everyone wants a pretty woman until she stops stops being pretty, stops sitting in a corner and opens her mouth to point out the truth! You love us as dreamy fairy tales, not as actual goddesses threatening to be better than fuckers like you!"

"COSMO! ENOUGH OF YOUR LENIENCY AND PARTIALITY! WE ALL KNOW HOW YOU ADORE YOUR LITTLE PET, BUT THIS WILL NOT BE DONE! MY DAUGHTER'S NAME WAS ON THE SLIP!" Deimos lost his temper, and the purple eyes bulged out of their sockets, vessels popping. He was god of terror, and dark tendrils of horror began to creep out of his pale form, slowly taking shape.

Deimos's powers worked in the most horrible ways, taking the shape of what scared each person the most. And to face them was one of the few things in the world that actually terrified me.

Every time he let his horrors loose around me, the only thing I saw was my dead sister with her dead eyes.

"And who knows, Edwina might have not performed as well in her tests. They count for thirty five percent," Alaric supported his sister's claim.

"I know for a fact how well she did in her tests," Cosmo got up. "I myself was the chief examiner in her practical, and the paper she wrote was set by my sister Justaline. She passed both tests competently with flying colours."

"And you, grandson," Titania got up, nodding to Deimos, patting him as he turned a shade of purple, "keep your powers to yourself. Else you will force me to arrest you."

Very slowly, the black tendrils crept back into his palms.

"Now," Cosmo ordered, "get me the official result. The one formed after going through the Ballot. There has to be a printing mistake somewhere. Get it. At once," he added.

"You cannot read the official result, Cosmo-" Deimos cut him off, shaking his fists.

"Give me a reason why?" he challenged, moss green eyes meeting angry purple. A minute passed and the god of terror relaxed slightly in his seat. "Get it," he muttered with a distracted wave.

"It will not show anything, brother," Emerick argued from opposite his seat. He was Cosmo's younger brother, a Rotavelle, jealous and vehement.

"There has been a mistake, Emerick," Cosmo said indignantly. " I suspect that someone has deliberately pulled off a trick and copied the wrong name on the slip. I will catch that person, I swear."

The room was full of insecure nods and whispers. Finally, an attendant came back with a tightly bound scroll in her hand, passing it wordlessly to Cosmo, her lips pressed into a thin line.

• • • • •

COSMO

The Result was compiled after the votes were counted. It would be in a descending order of votes, showing the top three at the very beginning. The names would have been then copied onto the slips of paper, which I had not read before opening them.

Now we would know the truth.

I opened the scroll, impatiently scanning past the legal crap and looking for the first three names on the ranked list.

Tristan Valmont.

Edwina Tremayne.

Eric LeVane.

So there she was. I was not surprised at the neck to neck numbers. All three were sensible rulers.

These three were all Endollon needed in their rulers. And they would make the perfect ascendants for my vacant throne and crown when Titania and I left our immortality behind.

"Who did this?" I spat. Someone had pulled off a trick. But this Result was not lying. The person who truly deserved it did get the post.

"What happened, grandfather?" Deimos angrily said. "Not what you expected?"

"On the contrary," I said, my tone acid, "they are exactly what I expected. We have three clear winners. And your daughter is not one of them. What has Drusilla done?"

A wave of my hand duplicated the sheet into multiple copies, each drifted to each god and goddess who read it, eyes open with surprise, but mostly with unconcealed knowing expressions. After all, everyone knew Edwina would make it to the top three.

Deimos read it, eyes wide, finally slamming it is to the floor. Darkness surrounded him once more.

"That sheet lies."

Yet the color had rushed to his cheeks, indicating the truth - the Result could never lie. He was barely defending himself.

"That is one sheet which can never lie, Deimos. Accept it."

I was about to say something when he saw Edwina, fire flaring in his eyes.

"You keep your mouth shut, Edwina! Else this goes badly for you," he barked, yet his tone was weaker this time. He knew he was in the wrong.

"On the contrary, Lord Everly, if you keep your mouth shut, this just might go well for you," she dryly said, crumbling her sheet into ash with a flick of her fingers after we all watched the sheet burst into flame.

Half the table chuckled good naturedly at the attempt to show Deimos to his place.

"That one bites, father!" Alaric sneered lewdly, his fingers making gestures that were wildly inappropriate.

"Well, well, well... Alaric. That would have been slightly more believable had it not come from the lips of a bitch," Edwina countered without batting an eyelid.

"You-" he said angrily. "That is-"

"As much as I'd like this colorful conversation to continue, I'm afraid to say there will be no further argument," I said. "Your daughter might have pulled some trick to get her name on the slip, but she has marvelously failed to-"

"A retrial! I demand a retrial!" Deimos said.

"It would have been Edwina, obviously," Titania rolled her eyes. "She was just, fair and merciful when she ruled, and she took just three years to restore the states to their former glory."

"Drusilla, on the other hand, made a mess of what good she had managed to do in the last five years of her rule," Amphitrite agreed.

"But-" I continued, rolling up the scroll. "For your sake, Deimos, and for that of your daughter, yes, I will give you another chance. We cannot have a retrial on such short notice, but we shall re vote," I said producing several pieces of paper and and inked quills from thin air. "Can the twelve representatives of the mortal races come here to join the gods for the re voting?"

The whole of Endollon had partaken in the voting, every mortal of age, every god and goddess as well. I gave my people all the freedom they could get. I was a just and peaceful King of gods, and I would have it no other way.

Twelve people silently made their way out of the crowd, joining us.

"Twelve of them, and thirty eight of us, excluding Drusilla and Edwina - a total of fifty people - will vote again. Right here," I said. "And the winner shall be Regnant."

"That seems fair," Deimos said.

"Because it is," I said dryly. "Edwina, Drusilla, if you could leave the room for a minute?"

• • • • •

EDWINA

The door had hardly closed behind us when her hand was around my neck, ice freezing her fingers and my skin, as she began to choke me.

Not that.

Dying by strangulation was my biggest nightmare.

Her hands twisted, holding mine behind my back. My skin glowed bright hot and she took her hands off me, hissing. The molten ice dripped onto my sleeve and her necklace.

"Aww," I pouted merrily, "how much did that necklace cost?"

She glared at me, and tried again. Ready this time, I slapped aside her wrist as she tried to bend it back, and in a minute my dagger was out and at her throat.

"Take your hands off that knife," Drusilla ordered. "The gold trimming on my dress probably costs more than the revenue collected in your Kingdom in a century."

"Don't you dare insult Dracnesse," I crooned, twisting the blade so she could see the handle. "And I won't withdraw my blade. Not before you tell me why you are so hell bent on harming me."

"Edwina," she purred sweetly. "Put down that knife. We both know you aren't going to use it. Quite the coward, aren't you?" she asked, now trying a different note.

"Really, Drusilla?" I asked, twisting the tip ever so slightly. It pierced the white skin, drawing a drop of blood, crimson on snow, and I loosened my hold on her throat, letting her go as Drusilla massaged her neck, gasping for air. "Think again, cousin," I whispered.

"You wounded me," she protested, as the skin closed over and in two seconds, the mark of my knife was gone.

"Excuse me? That's barely a scar. And it's already healed. And I suppose it's alright if you strangle me but it's wrong if I hurt you?" I asked, sliding the dagger back into its sheath.

"It's... not alright-"

"Stop being such a hypocrite, Drusilla."

Her eyes filled with anger. "One day, Edwina. One day - you will see. The throne is mine. Remember that. The moment you set a foot on it, remember..." she came closer, "...your days will be numbered."

An amused smile played on my lips as I watched her smugly.

"You have done something, haven't you?"

"Let go of me!" she demanded, knocking me away from her as the door opened and the announcer looked at us with disbelief written in his eyes.

"They're calling for you," the man stuttered, unable to speak, taking in the scene. Drusilla gave him a nod and me a look of loathing, stepping in first. But she caught hold of the mortal before going in.

"You better pay me back my hundred thousand coins for ruining my dress," she said shrewdly, then walked away. I knew she wouldn't leave him alone. I passed by the man and he looked at me, scared.

"If she troubles you about the money, come to me," I said, nodding to him and stepping aside.

It was time.

We both reached our seats, every one of the thousands of eyes on us. Our families looked at us both with curiosity and anticipation, as the votes around the table got collected, and a man carried them away.

"We shall get the result in a minute," Cosmo smiled. He rubbed his palms, as I straightened the sleeves of my dress. Beside me, Drusilla sighed, tilting up her head to look at the heavy velvet drapes as the man came back with a piece of paper.

"And now," Titania took it. "We shall see."

Cosmo unfolded the piece of paper.

"Fourteen votes for Drusilla Everly. Thirty six for Edwina Tremayne."

He looked up, smiling, as the crowd broke out in a tremendous cheerful uproar. People shouting my name. People congratulating me. Drusilla was crestfallen, her black hair drawn over like curtains, from which her eyes peeked. Now she snarled, leaning closer to me as I smiled sweetly at her.

"I do wonder how many times I've thought about killing you today," she whispered. "Four, I think. Or five-"

"Very well, then, if there's no other objection-" Cosmo began, but a sharp voice cut him off mid sentence.

"But I do, Cosmo. I object."

It was Emerick Rotavelle.

"I object," he said again.

"What is your objection?" Cosmo coolly asked.

"What is my objection? What is my objection?! Cosmo, I am your younger brother, and you never saw fit to pass on the throne to me - nor to any of my descendants - it seems." His lips pulled back into a sneer. "Eric, Tristan and Edwina are all your great grandchildren! Where is the place for my offsprings?"

"The selection has been done on basis of merit, brother," Titania asserted. "There are no feelings involved."

"What are you suggesting?" Cosmo asked, voice ringing in the hall.

"I am not just suggesting. I am saying that there is a ploy. Another one of your ploys, to make sure that the throne doesn't pass to me-"

"-Emerick, I never-"

"-wait, Cosmo! I am not finished!" He held up a hand angrily, crossing his arms. "I am your younger brother. By rights your place should have passed on to me, yet I allowed you to go ahead with the Monarch Trials-"

"Oh really, Emerick? Might I ask you where you were when we fought against the Titans? Our very own brothers? I had six children, six! Six children and two siblings - you and Justaline! And how many helped me defeat the Titans when they came? Only two - my son Helios and my daughter Nyx! You, my coward brother, ditched me! By what right do you demand the throne when you have done nothing to earn it?"

"By the right of blood!" Emerick bellowed. "Blood is thicker than water!"

"The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb," Cosmo corrected him with a quiet chortle. "Nothing has been done to deliberately spite you, but these three have been chosen by the people."

"Drusilla-" Deimos started to speak, but Emerick shut them both off.

"Neither Edwina nor Drusilla will be selected!" Emerick bellowed. "The last throne will go to my offspring. To Favian. Or his Rotavelle sisters."

"But that doesn't count, does it? You ditched me when I needed you the most!" Cosmo rounded on his brother.

"You have to listen to me!"

"And what does that entail?"

Emerick took a deep breath as he calmed down.

"Replace one of the Monarchs with my great grandson. Favian is the first of my descendants. Crown him."

My father shouted angrily, "and I suppose that one Monarch will be Edwina Tremayne? You leave my daughter out of this, Emerick!"

"She is a woman. Women are supposed to sit and sing, cook and sew. Not rule. Or go around brandishing swords. Three Kings will serve the realm better than two Kings and one woman. The throne is not fit for a woman - especially one like you, Edwina Tremayne!"

Something snapped inside me.

"You are a god awfully incorrigible-"

"You are a woman!" he sneered.

"A woman? A woman?" I taunted. "Is that meant to insult me, Lord Emerick? You consider me fragile but I've never seen anything as easily wounded as your ego!"

He stopped for a moment, fumbling, as the hall fell dead silent.

"You spawn of the devil-"

"-you will not insult my daughter, Emerick, stay within your filthy limits!" my father roared, now vehement with rage.

"A woman," I hissed, "comes from a man's rib. Not from his feet to be walked upon!"

"Perhaps you forget that the kitchen is where the knives are, Lord Emerick. That is why women live longer than men," Eric added with a chuckle, grey eyes wild as he winked at me.

His retort had caught Emerick off guard as the hall erupted in laughter. Cosmo guffawed, my sister tinkled, I heard my father laugh as Deimos and Alaric seethed in anger.

"Women are sentimental, deep flawed, and they don't understand politics!" Emerick continued. "Women are slaves to their emotions."

"Oh, really. You don't want a woman in a place of power because they are slaves to their emotions, is it?"

"Yes," he growled.

"Tell me one thing, Lord Emerick. How many women have you had... intimate relations with?"

"How is that relevant?" he demanded, face turning red. "I am a god. I take what I want. I have intimate relations with who I want. All gods do that. I don't see what it has to do with this."

"Well," I said, trying to maintain a semblance of courteousness, "forgive me. Let me rephrase. How many of those women have been willing? In other words, how many women have you raped, Lord Emerick?"

His face turned purple as everyone around looked at me questioningly.

"Who gave you this information?" he growled, now his voice was dead solemn and serious, and I knew my spies were doing their jobs well.

"That is of no consequence."

"Where are you going with this?" Cosmo asked curiously, resting his chin on his fingers.

"What I am saying is that you seem to have forgotten the number of women that get raped in Endollon everyday, your Grace," I said politely.

"I don't see what that has to do with this," he said coolly.

"Do you know what is the first defense given by men when they are charged with raping a woman? Do you know what they say? Do you know what others say? It was hardly his fault, others say. It was hardly his fault. Look at what she was wearing. How could you expect him to control himself?"

Emerick's face turned redder. If that was even possible at this point.

"And so, Lord Emerick," I continued with a vengeance to admiring looks. "Don't you dare talk to me about a woman's emotions. The next time you feel like opening your mouth, look around you first. Or get a bloody mirror."

"You over speak, and do so without thought," he spat.

"Perhaps the reason it angers you so, my Lord, is because it's true," Eric said from his seat.

"It is," said Titania. "The bitterer the truth is, the lesser is it diluted by lies. I hate fools who glide about whispering honeyed lies, preferring the sharper sting of truth."

"A quality found in few, lacking in many, but admired by all," Cosmo said.

"She makes an absolutely valid point," someone pointed out.

"Your objection is invalid, brother," Cosmo finally concluded. "The people have chosen the ones they want, and it is not our right to change it."

"I'm not satisfied!" Emerick said.

"Well... you aren't the one who's going to be working with her, are you?" Cosmo taunted.

"Why not ask the ones working with her, then?" Emerick angrily suggested.

"Of course, what a charming suggestion, brother," Cosmo said, turning to Eric first. "Eric, do you have any objection?"

"No," the sea god answered.

"Tristan?"

My eyes turned to that cold face, with devilishly handsome dark blue eyes, glaring at me with an anger that couldn't be rivaled even from the depths of hell. Yet he said nothing, took his time to think. A muscle twitched in his marble temple. And then a deliciously rich voice, as soft as silk, tumbled from his sinful lips.

"Do I sound like I have one?" the lord of the skies muttered coolly.

"No," Cosmo beamed, clapping his hands together. "So now you see, this matter is cleared up. Emerick, the rest of your objection is declared invalid."

The hall was silent for a moment.

"No," he said. "This is a plot. Against me."

"Not to mention my daughter," Deimos added. "I demand a whole new trial. From the beginning."

"And where in hell do you suppose we have the resources to hold a new election across six kingdoms?" Titania snapped. "This election drained our treasuries! And without money, it's impossible to hold such a huge event..."

Everyone wondered for a moment. Here I was, hanging on by a thread.

"The coronation will be held in two days. Make the preparations," Cosmo said finally.

"Who is the monarch? The third monarch?" someone shouted.

"Drusilla Everly," said the Everlys, at the same time the Rotavelles said "Favian Rotavelle," and the rest of the gods said "Edwina Tremayne."

"Drusilla is out of the question," Titania hissed.

"It is Edwina. Even Favian is out of the question," Cosmo confirmed.

"Favian will be the third monarch! Not that woman!" Emerick yelled.

"A woman who fights as well as any man, Lord Emerick," my father shouted from in front me, and I shushed him with an angry glare.

"I don't believe it," Emerick spat. "Prove it. Today evening. Duel in the ground at Hewe."

"Absolutely not-" Amphitrite began from a corner, her porcelain brow crinkling in a worried frown, but I stopped her, getting up.

"I accept, Lord Emerick," I said in a clear voice. "Is it you I'll be fighting or are you too cowardly to be beaten by a woman?"

He gave me a death stare.

"No, cousin," Favian got up, raising an eyebrow and cracking his knuckles. "You will fight me."

"Wonderful," I cranked a smile.

"Edwina, you cannot be thinking of this!" Amphitrite desperately said from beside me.

"I have invested a fair amount of time in preparing myself for this role. I will not let it go to waste!" I snapped, my voice echoing in the large, filled hall which had fallen silent. "I take you up on your challenge, Favian."

"Very well then," Cosmo said. "This fight will decide who the last position goes to. If Edwina wins, well and good, and if her cousin brother Favian wins... then you get your wish, Emerick."

"I accept," Emerick said, a wicked smile curling his lips. Favian was stronger, taller, more muscular than me, which was making Emerick clearly confident of winning. "But on one condition. You will fight... to the death."

A thousand voices rose in protest, alarmed. Amphitrite was forcefully sitting me down, people were trying to talk Emerick out of his ridiculous condition.

"What-"

"-no-"

"-is he mad-"

"-will he allow Favian to beat a woman to death!"

"You need Bloodstone to kill a god," Titania declared.

"Then allow weapons of Bloodstone for the fight," Favian said eagerly.

"Absolutely not. You will be allowed metal for the fight, but you are allowed to strike and pierce your opponent's heart if you wish," Cosmo allowed, after a moment of deliberation, looking at me with a question in his eyes.

I felt oddly calm. And confident.

"I accept."

Emerick's grin widened further. Someone was pulling me, shouting, pleading in my ear. But I didn't care. I had a good feeling about this.

"Very well then," Emerick's malicious smile widened to the extreme. "It is two in the afternoon. At five, we will congregate at Hewe for the fight."

"Excellent," I said, giving him a brilliant smile, flashing my teeth. "I do hope you have prepared yourself for defeat, Favian."

• • • • •

It's the fight next week! Honestly, guys, who do you think will win?