“Roisin, you look . . .”
“Sweaty?” She dashed a hand at her brow, then relocated her braid from where it fell down her spine to across her right shoulder.
“I can assure you that you are nowhere near as sweaty as I am.” Probably not the most polite of compliments, but it made her giggle. I tugged on the front of my buttoned coat in an attempt to flush some air against my skin. “You’d think with all the gold in the kingdom’s coffers we’d be able to afford some appropriate clothing.”
Her eyes lit up like sparklers when she grinned. “You’d think.”
The priest announced us in a booming baritone that echoed off the vaulted ceilings.
I held out a hand, stunned when she took it without hesitation and waited for me to lead her into the chapel. Red roses embellished the arched windows, and garlands surrounded the door frames. Candelabras flickered at even intervals on either side of the rectangular room.
The entire congregation stood and remained standing until we reached the stretch of red carpet beneath the rosette windows. Lord Devon and the rest of the advisory committee filled the front pews, along with Roisin’s mother and Lowri. The rest of the faces became a hazy blur.
When Roisin let my hand fall, I resisted the urge to cling to her—to cling to anything but the heavy air hanging over me.
On the altar next to the priest sat the tools for today’s coronation. There’d be the usual festivities afterward, banquets and balls and eventually a tour around the country.
All of it felt contrived.
These people didn’t know me the way they’d known Alrec.
And they certainly didn’t care for me.
I’d been crowned by default. A runner-up.
Always the second choice.
The priest held out his hands, bringing them down in a fluid motion. The congregation sat in unison. “Lords and ladies gathered here today, I present to you Caiman Joseph Howard I, your undoubted king. From this day forward, do you swear homage and fealty to him as your ruler?”
Echoes of agreement lifted around us.
The priest turned to me, offering no hint of a smile. “Will you solemnly swear to govern the peoples of Vellana, Airren, Alba, and any future territories according to their respective laws and customs?”
I heard the words. Understood their meaning. But my tongue had swollen, and I couldn’t form a response.
Until Roisin’s fingers brushed against mine.
I wasn’t on my own in this. She would be by my side.
“I solemnly swear so to do.”
He gave a slight nod of approval. “Will you solemnly swear to keep law and justice, in mercy, in making all your judgements?”
This time I didn’t hesitate. “I will.”
I may not have been the first choice as king, just as I hadn’t been Roisin’s first choice for a husband, but I would do my best to serve and protect my citizens and my queen.
My eyes met Roisin’s, and I swore she glowed.
The priest climbed atop a small wooden stool to place another mantle across my shoulders, fastening the front with yet another gold brooch. Sweat ran like a river down my spine.
On my right ring finger, he placed a thick golden ring inlaid with rubies that my father had worn for as long as I could remember. The symbol of my “marriage” to this country and the neighboring islands. He handed me a scepter to symbolize my authority and a golden orb to represent our world. One trinket for each hand.
Now for the last and final step.
The crown.
One my father had worn, and his father before him, and his father before that. Forged of gold with pearl-lined arches bisecting in the center beneath a ruby-studded fleur-de-lis. The band at its base was inlaid with precious gems of all colors, finishing off at a line of white and black fur.