“Father, I’ve spent the last year touring the kingdom, and I can tell you that most people have more worries than just Tolsten. They also care about their livelihoods, earning enough money to survive the winter, and keeping their crops from failing. If people vote based on those things, I might not win the election. What happens to the alliance then?”
His father leaned back in his chair. “If you don’t win the election, the terms of the alliance won’t be honored. Albion will lose everything.”
There was a lot riding on Trev—on him becoming king. If he somehow messed up the election, his kingdom would suffer. He alone held the future of Albion in his hands. When he really thought about it, the pressure suffocated him.
“Of course, if you lose the election, we wouldn’t be giving up all chance at a crown. You’d have to go to New Hope and gain support there. Though, King Bryant still has thirteen more years to his reign, which isn’t ideal.” His father rubbed his chin. “Unless we usurped him somehow.”
Trev dropped his head into his hands. “You’re unbelievable! Do you even hear yourself?”
“What?” The king shrugged.
“I can’t believe you would suggest usurping King Bryant just so I could become a king. It’s despicable and I won’t be a part of it.”
“Don’t lose the election and you won’t have to be.”
Trev gave him a pointed look. “You’re not helping my chances. Did you know that Oakefor’s main water source is contaminated?”
“I heard something about that.”
“Why didn’t you send help? They’re desperate.”
His father rolled his eyes. “It’s good for people to feel desperate. It helps them realize how much they depend on us. Now they’ll be grateful when we do help.”
“No, they’re grateful to Joniss Doman for personally delivering barrels of water when their king ignored them. If you want me to win this election, you’re going to have to start listening to the people and helping them because that is exactly what Joniss is doing.”
The king’s face colored with sudden rage. He picked up a book on his desk and threw it at the tray of food on the table next to Trev. The plate toppled to the ground, flinging fruit and cheeses everywhere. “Don’t tell me how to run my kingdom!” The king pounded his fist against the desk. “I am the one who has kept Oakefor and everywhere else safe from Tolsten for the last thirty years. Without me, people would be under Tolsten’s rule!”
“Our people need more than protection. They need a king who listens,” Trev shot back.
Carver let out an exasperated sigh and calmed his voice. “You think you know it all, don’t you?” His father glared at him. “That you know exactly what this kingdom needs. Did you know there was an attack on the province of Axville? On our border with Tolsten?”
“What?” A burst of air escaped Trev’s chest.
Carver looked oddly pleased, as though the news of the attack cheered him. “We received reports of a group of Tolsten soldiers ransacking the city and kidnapping eight young women from the town. As far as we can tell, they took the girls back to Tolsten. There’s no more information on their whereabouts, but the reports say the land on our side of the border is still overrun with Tolsten soldiers.”
“When did this happen?”
“A few days ago, while you were busy shaking hands with peasants.” His father leveled a condescending smile at him. “As you can see, Oakefor’s water problem is the least of my worries. Right now, Tolsten is my only concern.”
“When will you let go of this obsession with Tolsten?” Trev asked.
“You couldn’t possibly understand.” His father huffed. “They think I killed her—my own wife.”
“I know.” Trev’s stomach tightened. He had loved Queen Avina from Tolsten. His father had married her a year after his own mother had died during childbirth. Queen Avina was the only mother he’d ever known and Trev vividly remembered the day he’d heard her ragged scream outside his window, only to look down and see her sprawled and broken on the hard ground below, her body contorted in ways that even a seven-year-old boy knew were wrong. Servants quickly ushered him away, but not before he saw his father barrel across the courtyard toward her, bellowing orders and demanding to know how this could have happened.
His father was many less-than-honorable things, but he hadn’t killed his wife. Even as a boy, Trev had sensed that Avina was sad. He had often taken her poppies and roses from the palace garden to cheer her up, but it had never been enough. Now a grown man, Trev understood the signs more clearly. Avina had been fighting a battle in her mind, one he couldn’t hope to understand. His father’s brash and unsentimental manner likely hadn’t helped, especially when partnered with Avina’s inability to bear children for the king. Over time, she retreated further and further into herself. Before long, she was a shell of a person.
Tolsten used her death as a reason to start a war, blaming King Carver, saying he’d murdered her. Avina’s brother, King Adler of Tolsten, wouldn’t accept any other explanation.
“With New Hope’s military, we will finally be able to defend our kingdom against Tolsten and win,” Trev’s father said, a satisfied gleam in his eye. “Joniss doesn’t have that. He is nothing more than an act. The wedding will take attention away from him and put it back on you. You and the princess will visit some cities. If you want to personally address some of their needs, then fine, but let’s remind them who the real enemy is. The fear of Tolsten is the surest way to make people vote for us.”
Trev hated it when his father used the word us when talking about the election, as if he planned to run the kingdom in Trev’s stead. Unfortunately for his father, his thirty years were up. His reign was over.
“Charm the princess,” the king continued. “Give the people of Albion a fairytale wedding, and I’ll take care of Tolsten.” He swiveled in his chair, turning his back on Trev. “You are dismissed.”
Trev couldn’t recall a time when he had ever left his father’s office not feeling frustrated. Winning the election had consumed his father for the last few years, almost as much as his obsessive rivalry with Tolsten. The people of Albion had suffered because of it.
A few more months. That’s it. Then I can help the people the way they deserve with Renna by my side.
9
Renna
The nerves were really starting to get to Renna. Or maybe it was just excitement. It was hard to tell. They had been traveling for a day and a half, stopping often for bathroom breaks and to rest. They would arrive at the Albion Ruler’s Palace today. For most of the ride, Renna stayed quiet as her mother and Seran chatted about government gossip back at New Hope.
She was used to the close relationship between her mother and Seran. Used to being the third wheel. Her mother and Seran just understood each other.
Rather than try to keep up with them, Renna passed the time by looking out the window and watching the scenery change. She had never been to another country before. The rolling hills of New Hope abruptly changed into rising peaks with patches of evergreen trees and rocky edges. At the summit of the tallest mountain, Renna saw the remains of clean, white snow where the summer sun hadn’t yet melted it away.