Chapter 169: The Coronation
The Grand Hall of Dravengard had been transformed into something out of a fairy tale.
Kira had not expected anything like it. She had braced herself for something formal, something stiff and ceremonial, but not this. The great hall had been transformed entirely.
Banners in the deep colours of House Wolfe hung the full length of the walls. Flowers spilt from every surface.
Hundreds of guests filled the rows, Alphas and Lunas and high-ranking Lycans from across the territories, all of them dressed in their finest, all of them turned toward the front of the hall in anticipation.
She felt a flutter of nerves in her stomach as she stood just outside the massive double doors with Derek.
She let out a long, shaky breath. This is really happening, she thought. I’m about to become a queen. A real, actual queen.
"All Hail His Grace, King Derek Wolfe, and Her Highness, Queen Kira Wolfe!"
The announcer’s voice boomed across the hall as the double doors swung open. As one, every soul in the room rose to their feet and bowed.
Maya led them in, looking adorable in her flower girl dress, scattering soft white and pink petals along the long red carpet from a basket with grace.
Kira walked beside Derek, her arm tucked into his, and she tried very hard not to think about the photographs under her mattress in the main mansion, about the note, and about Ward 45.
She tried, and she mostly succeeded, because Derek was beside her and his arm under hers was rock solid, and for a brief, glorious stretch of red carpet, she let herself simply walk.
They reached the dais and turned to face the hall. The crowd straightened and settled back into their seats. Then, they turned to face each other.
An elder wolf stepped forward, robed and white-haired, and raised his hands. He read out the prayers for the land first
"Beloved sons and daughters of Dravengard," he began. "We gather today under the watchful eye of the goddess, beneath the canopy of our ancestors, to witness the joining of crown to the head."
People nodded collectively.
"May the goddess bless this kingdom with strength in its roots and peace in its borders. May its rivers run clear and its people run free. May those who lead it lead with wisdom, and those who follow it follow with honour."
"So shall it be," the hall echoed.
The elder wolf turned to Derek and Kira.
"You will now recite the traditional Lycan coronation vows. Repeat after me."
"I swear, by the moon and the marrow of my bones," the elder began.
"I swear, by the moon and the marrow of my bones," they repeated together. Derek’s voice was deep and even. Kira’s came out a quarter pitch higher than usual, and trembling slightly.
"To give myself to this land and its people. I will guard them with my body and my breath. I will not turn from them in hardship, nor abandon them in fear. What threatens them, I will stand against. What heals them, I will nurture. From this day, their fate is my fate, and their blood is my charge."
As Kira recited the words, her hands would not stop shaking. She tried to clasp them together in front of her. It only made it worse because now she could feel both of them shaking against each other.
Derek noticed.
Without a word, or breaking from the vow, he reached over and took both of her trembling hands into his own, steadying them, holding them firm.
He looked directly into her eyes as he spoke the rest of the words, and she found herself looking back, and somehow, with his hands wrapped around hers, the shaking eased.
When the vows were finished, two attendants came forward, one a tall woman in dark blue robes carrying a velvet cushion, and one a broad-shouldered man in the same robes carrying another. On each cushion rested a crown. They came to stand beside Derek and Kira.
Nana rose from her seat and stepped up onto the dais, moving to stand behind Kira.
The elder wolf raised his hands.
"Goddess of the moon, mother of the wolves, keeper of the Western lands, look upon your son Derek Aldric Wolfe today and bless his rule. Let his judgement be sharp. Let his mercy be true. Let his enemies find him quickly and regret it deeply."
A small ripple of approving chuckles ran through the hall.
"Before the goddess and this gathering, I ask," the elder called. "If any soul here holds reason why Derek Aldric Wolfe should not be crowned King of Dravengard, let them speak now, or hold their peace for the rest of their natural days."
Guests glanced at one another. Heads turned. A low hush settled over the rows.
Derek did not look around. He did not so much as glance at the crowd. His eyes stayed on Kira the entire time, steady and unbothered, as though the rest of the room did not exist at all.
No one spoke.
The elder gave a small nod and lifted the first crown from its cushion with both hands.
"Then as the eldest wolf of the Wolfe clan, and by the power vested in me by the goddess herself, I, Alaric Wolfe, do hereby crown you, Derek Aldric Wolfe, as the official and undisputed King of Dravengard."
Derek bowed his head and the elder set the crown upon it.
The hall erupted.
Applause crashed through the room, cheers rising over it, and many of the Lycans in human form tipped their heads back and gave long, ringing howls that echoed off the high ceiling.
Kira’s eyes filled with tears and she blinked them back as she looked at Derek straighten, looking every bit the king he was meant to be. He turned back to her, and his lips curled up in an easy smile.
The sound rolled on and on, a kingdom celebrating its king, until at last it began to settle and quiet returned.
Nana cleared her throat.
"My turn, then." She gave Kira a small wink before reading out her own prayers.
"Kira Wolfe. May you rule with a soft heart and a strong spine. May you be fierce where fierceness is needed and gentle where gentleness heals."
Kira drew in a long breath.
Nana turned to the crowd. "And so I ask," she called. "If any soul here holds reason why Kira Serene Wolfe should not be crowned Queen of Dravengard, let them speak now, or hold their peace for the rest of their natural days."
The hall went silent again.
Total, complete silence. The kind in which a dropped pin would have rung out like a bell. Kira held her breath. Just a few more seconds. Just a few more seconds and the crown would be on her head, and she could deal with everything else.
Just as Nana was about to continue, the double doors at the back of the hall swung open.
Every head turned at once. A ripple of surprise moved through the rows, guests craning to see who would dare arrive at such a moment.
Kira’s heart dropped straight through the floor.
Brian strolled in through the open doors, unhurried, a smug smile sitting on his face, his eyes finding hers across the length of the hall and holding them.
