Phoenix’s mind was still churning the entire way back to their temporary home. She wasn’t sure what to ask first or what exactly to get mad about considering that according to Dazien the whole thing had gone fairly well. Luckily, the others had just as many questions as she did.

  “You can’t seriously be considering marrying some stranger,” Rayna said as they arrived at the icy fort turned cabin. “Unless you specifically marry either the queen or crown prince, it’ll ruin your plans to become a king and even if you did marry one of them, do you really want to be the King of Serenydi?”

  “I’m not sure why you seem to imply that’s a bad thing,” Dazien replied as he collapsed onto one of the larger pillows in the meditation area. “It’s one of the wealthiest nations in the world and has a pantheon that actually aligns with a majority of my own values.”

  “A majority is not all,” Saiya softly stated as she nudged a pillow closer to Dazien to sit beside him and slip a hand into his. “I thought you wanted to found your own so that you could help direct how it grew without fighting against pre-established biases fighting against change.”

  He gave a sigh and sat up slightly to look at her instead of the ceiling. “I did, but maybe this would be even more impactful? It’s already fairly open-minded to immigrants—”

  “It didn’t feel very welcoming,” Phoenix replied, taking her own pillow to sit directly across from him. “I was basically told that if I didn’t wear a torc or dress like this, then I would be seen as an outsider and not trusted at all.”

  “I said immigrant,” Dazien interjected. “As in someone wanting to move in, live here permanently, and become a part of the unified culture that they are more than willing to share. You weren’t tossed out of the city because you’re a Wayfarer or a Saint to other deities. If you respect and participate in their culture, then you won’t experience what I did in Tulimeir.”

  Phoenix frowned at that but didn’t argue as she thought back to the discrimination he had described back at the AOA. Had he dealt with that everywhere?

  Dazien sighed again and addressed the group as a whole, “Look, I didn’t tell you earlier because I didn’t think she would consider me, Patric, or Padma as viable options. None of us currently have anything to offer except the name of Wayland. Until Paul can abdicate to Patricia or dies and lets Phoenix do so, Patric and Padma will never inherit the House. And while I’m technically the Heir under Phoenix, we’re so young that it’s more likely Phoenix would have children that would be the inheritors instead of me. It’s probably why the queen asked and hoped that she would be considered as well.”

  “So you don’t think she’ll consider you just because you only have the name and not the actual control of the House she might want?” Phoenix clarified.

  “Exactly, but now I’m not so sure if she’s willing to ask about us as alternatives. I honestly have no idea why she wanted Paul in the first place. I was vaguely hoping she was simply infatuated by the man himself, the famous Blade of Pure Wrath who had already made a name for himself as an Emerald Caster. His House alone was too minor at that time for me to believe that was what she was after. They didn’t hold any land, and while they have produced notable Adventurers like Paul, they are not a widespread force like some other Houses that focus on unified might.”

  “The House is worth more now,” Saiya pointed out thoughtfully. “It controls the Sacred City and will soon be Emerald as a baseline and will likely hit Ruby within five years according to estimates before we left.”

  “Emrys mentioned he thought I might become an actual princess and that both of us might become his equals soon,” Phoenix injected. She scrunched her nose as she recalled the conversation with the unfamiliar word he had said, and asked, “You said House Wayland didn’t plan for su—sess—what was that word?”

  “Secession. Breaking off into our own nation and claiming independence from Blomsterang would indeed make you a princess and Paul a king with me as a prince.”

  “Huh,” Phoenix said as her brow furrowed. “I could have sworn I knew that word. It’s not often I come across a word I’m sure we have on Earth that I don’t know.”

  Rayna shrugged and said, “I used to forget words all the time. Not so much after hitting Sapphire, but maybe I’m just not remembering the ones I forgot.” She grinned and shifted the topic back by adding, “It’ll be pretty badass if you become an actual princess, though.”

  Dazien shook his head. “That is not something I expect will happen unless something really wrong occurs with the royals in Blomstra or Duke Tul in Tulimeir. That would also likely lead to a very bloody civil war that I sincerely doubt we could win without Paul being awake.”

  Phoenix raised an eyebrow as she asked, “You think we could if he was?”

  Dazien thoughtfully hummed for a moment, and glanced over at Uriel who had silently sat between him and Phoenix and been merely listening. “I think if he was awake because all of us were Ruby as well, meaning enough time has passed for others loyal to House Wayland to grow stronger, we may very well have a strong enough force to stand against Blomsterang, but even then I don’t think it will be a peaceful negotiation. From the rumors I’ve heard, Queen Mairea has a greedy streak that wouldn’t stand for it.”

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  The group fell silent for a few moments as they processed that potential future.

  “If Queen Emilia and Emrys’ information network have been able to make this kind of prediction as well, do you think she might be considering you for her daughter simply to align with a House that may very well become powerful royals in a couple of decades?” Uriel quietly asked.

  Dazien frowned but slowly nodded. “I am now.”

  “And you would accept that?” Rayna reiterated her initial question. “Become trapped as a prince of Serenydi and whatever nation the Sacred City became.”

  He gave a heavy sigh. “I don’t know. Maybe? I believe I could still do a lot of good in a position like that. Make a lot of lives better.” He glanced over at Phoenix again before asking, “Do you remember when we talked about Fate and destiny long ago?”

  She slowly nodded. “You thought it didn’t really exist but that it wasn’t a coincidence I met you or Paul. You thought the gods manipulated things so our paths would cross.”

  “I thought it might have been to save Tulim, by piquing my interest to get Murinah to reveal herself to you which then got Paul involved… but what if they thought even further than that? What if I’m meant to do this for you? Paul was your mentor and a powerful protector both in Caste and social hierarchy. The only value I can offer you is as a pretty bargaining piece—”

  “That’s not true at all!” Phoenix immediately retorted at the same time that everyone else yelled their own protests at those words.

  “That’s a lie, King,” Rayna shouted.

  “You’re wrong,” Uriel interjected.

  Saiya had clung closer to him, wrapping a tail around his leg and waist as she said, “You’re more than that.”

  Dazien looked at all of them in surprise for a moment before chuckling and shaking his head, but didn’t argue or agree. Phoenix felt Saiya’s aura engulf all of them then, and the Healer simply added, “None of us want you sacrificing your happiness because you’re starting to doubt your own worth, Dazien. If you think this is for the best and you wouldn’t be miserable with the outcome that’s one thing, but just thinking it’s all you’re good for is not something any of us will support.”

  He sighed again, rubbing his eyes this time as he nodded. “You’re right. Sorry. I’m probably just needing more sleep. I didn’t get much this morning. I’ll try to think through my own reasons more, but it won’t matter much until Queen Emilia summons us back to actually make a decision on which route she wants to go.

  “Like I told her, even if she did want me for her daughter, there will be a mandatory courting period that either of us could back out of should Princess Emina or I think it wouldn’t work out between us. I told Patricia back when I first joined House Wayland that I wasn’t completely against a political marriage so long as we were amenable to each other’s wishes,” he explained then leaned back on his giant pillow seat again to look at the icy ceiling.

  “Maybe Princess Emina will be a lovely woman that I get along fantastically with,” he added as though thinking aloud. “I won’t really know until I get to know her, if that’s even given as an option. Emrys seemed nice enough. That torc he gave me is insanely expensive.”

  “Why not go for him? Become the king while he gains the title of High King once the queen passes or steps down,” Rayna asked, begrudgingly seeming to want to support Dazien instead of arguing more.

  “He wore green, not blue or orange,” Dazien replied with a shrug. “I’m not a woman, so I don’t think he’d go for it unless he decided to change his torc color. Princess Emina was wearing blue and silver, though, so at least in that regard we’re compatible. It comes to personality and life goals at that point. During the courtship period we would explore those along with fairly long discussions of boundaries and expectations and even longer negotiations of noble responsibilities and our future together.”

  “Exactly how long would this courtship be?” Phoenix asked with a scrunch of her nose at the idea of taking weeks to basically bargain an arranged marriage.

  Dazien frowned but still stared vacantly at the ceiling as he quietly admitted, “A year. I’d be stuck here with her for at least that long… which might mean you all will need to continue Phoenix’s quest without me.”

  Before they could argue again he added, “The upside is that if we’re officially courting, I believe we’ll be granted permission to enter the Royal Library of Night, which was our goal to begin with. I might be stuck here for a year, but I can always decline in the end and we’ll have gotten what we wanted. It might actually be better that way than Paul being forced to wed.”

  Phoenix frowned at that, realizing her brother might actually be right about that. Some mandatory dating time might be worth getting the information they needed, without condemning anyone’s entire future.

  “If you do end up courting her, we’re going to wait for you,” she firmly said. “Even if we find the missing artifact here, we can keep training and fighting monsters nearby, right? It won’t be a complete waste of time.”

  Dazien finally smiled and looked toward her. “That’s a good point. Tyrand is a Ruby zone with a formidable military. We’ll need to be much stronger by the time we reach there. This might actually work out better for us.”

  She returned his smile, but that was ruined a moment later when Uriel asked, “What if the queen wants to marry you instead? You assume the princess, but it didn’t sound like there was anything stopping her from choosing you for herself.”

  Dazien looked confused for a moment. “Why would she want me over Paul? Like I said, I won’t inherit anything.”

  “Paul may never wake up, and she may believe Phoenix will die childless with her wearing the white torc and not knowing about her Talent… plus, you’re young and beautiful, Daze,” he softly pointed out. “Serenydi prizes works of art… who better to be the king by her side?”

  Dazien frowned but didn’t argue the point. Instead, he simply replied, “The mandatory courtship would still apply. If she and I aren’t compatible, then I can still walk away.”

  “Will you walk away if you are compatible?” Saiya quietly asked.

  He looked at her for a moment, his brow creased in thought, before admitting, “I don’t know.”