Page 105 of Haunted Crowns
Whatever power he once held now coiled behind his silence, waiting, not yet defeated.
Eris hadn’t asked for loyalty. She had become it.
The nobles bowed in awe, because they had seen what could no longer be denied: a queen unlike any before her. One who could command the wild.
Lord Hadrian Valcairn exhaled, his eyes sharp and unreadable. “She is not merely bound to power. She is power.”
Lord Gavriel Morayne crossed his arms, voice grudging, almost awed. “If the wild kneels for her, why should we not?”
Lady Selene Caelora whispered. “Not a ruler. A force. A will that bends the world itself.”
Lord Aedric Varynth nodded, his gaze heavy with history. “Dragov has never seen such a ruler. Perhaps it never dared to dream of one.”
Yori exhaled. He had feared they’d cast her out, that her bond to the beast would defy Firstblood law, but the court was spellbound, and in the silence, something shifted.
Maybe the old ways were breaking. Maybe Eris and Stephan would lead them into something brighter.
He didn’t smile, but something in him softened. For the first time in years, he let himself believe.
Only one rite remained.
The sanctum loomed around them, black flames flickering as if awaiting something final.
The High Priest stepped forward, crimson robes trailing like shadow. He raised his hands. “Come forth.”
Stephan and Eris moved together and knelt side by side.
The sanctum exhaled.
Then they spoke the words that would bind them forever.
"Sanguine nostro iuramus."
(By our blood, we swear.)
A pulse shuddered through the chamber.
"Corpora nostra regno servire, animas nostras hereditati ligare."
(Our bodies serve the kingdom, our souls are bound to its legacy.)
The ground thrummed, as though Dragov’s bones had heard.
"Non amor, non desiderium, sed officium nos tenet."
(Not love, not desire, but duty binds us.)
Stephan’s jaw tightened. The words tasted like iron. They were true, but incomplete, because love was there too.
"In igne, in tenebris, in aeternum."
(In fire, in darkness, for eternity.)
As the final words left their lips, the sanctum responded. The spectral fire exploded, twisting unnaturally and spiraling toward the vaulted ceiling as if reaching for something unseen.
The nobles bowed to them in a single, unified motion. Finally, the High Priest raised his arms:
"The Dragov dynasty stands renewed. Let their rule be just. Let their rule be eternal."
