Taiyi snapped her head in his direction, her godly aura spilling out of her. "In case you are unaware, let me remind you--I have Stourin to rule and hardly have time to come here. As for my son, he is the king of the biggest kingdom in Araniea. So shut it!"
The courtier winced and became quiet. He started looking at the others but no one paid attention to him. They were all now looking at the one person on whom it all depended--Lusitania.
Lusitania sucked in a sharp breath. She knew that she had a big decision to make and that everyone was looking forward to it. She had a talk with Eltanin last night and so she was confident. Chin up, she studied every courtier in the meeting chamber. Her eyes locked with that of Eltanin's for a moment and then she said, "I know that after my father, you all look forward to my rule, but I am very new at all this. It would be right if you all are under the able hands of a better ruler. While I will not go for the merger of two kingdoms, Draka and Pegasii, I want my husband, Eltanin, King of Draka to take over the reins of Pegasii."
There was a stunned silence in the room. No one spoke a word against her. Tania continued, "Eltanin had been a wise ruler through centuries and he had brought Draka to its current glory. Under him, Pegasii will flourish."
There was a wide smile on Lord Krail's face. Both Taiyi and Alpha Alrakis looked happy too with her decision.
"Having said that, I would like to add that no one forced me to make this decision. It was my decision alone." She gazed at Eltanin who was already looking concerned. "Pegasii has gone through a lot of upheavals from many decades. We need to put it back on the track. And for that, I want all of you to come in support of my decision."
Tania got up and put her hands at the edge of the table. "While King Eltanin will rule over Pegasii, I will keep a sharp eye on his rule, and if I feel that things are not going according to what they should have, I will take over the kingdom from him."
There was a murmur in the chamber that broke suddenly. She vaguely caught the word 'kingmaker'.
"From now onwards, King Eltanin will be addressing your issues. I would like to take care of my mother. Her health is going down..." She sat down after announcing her decision, unable to speak more.
Eltanin rose from his chair and took over. A night before he had talked to Tania about this. She had convinced him that he had to take over the Pegasii Kingdom because she was very new to all the politics. She wanted to be with him rather than be the queen of Pegasii and stay away from him.
Eltanin scanned the people in the room. "I know that Pegasii has gone under a lot of traumas recently. However, I will make sure that things become better from now on. The faes will be our new allies and they will help us in the security of the kingdom. With their help we have already sealed the borders of Hydra Kingdom and no one can escape it. This is going to give us a lot of time to recover from the damages."
"Since I will be mainly staying in Draka, I would like to appoint General Fafnir to take over the charge in my absence. Along with his wife and mate, Princess Tabit, he will be looking after the kingdom and will be directly reporting to me." Eltanin looked around the men in the room and he knew that there would be some who would not agree with him. "I will be appointing people from Pegasii under him and some from Draka as well. Together I will be forming a counsel of courtiers."
After a few more discussions the meeting ended on a bright note. In the next week, Eltanin had to stay back and form the council of ministers.
Fafnir refused to take charge of the kingdom because he wanted to stay in Draka, but Eltanin insisted that he stay back. Tabit was excited about the new role. She had seen it well in her kingdom. Rigel was proud of her and Fafnir.
"I am sure you both will be a great team together," he said as he hugged his sister and clasped Fafnir's shoulders. Rigel and Lerna were going back to Orion in a day. And this news came as a surprise.
Tania had called Lerna and Tabit that evening. She had been avoiding them but she couldn't for long. When Lerna and Tabit burst into her room, the three friends hugged each other and cried and cried happily.
"I am so happy that you took the right decision, Tania," said Lerna.
"I can't stay without Elty," she said, wiping her tears.
Lerna shook her head. "No! I am talking about Felis. I can't thank you enough that you killed him. With his death, the dark clouds of fear that were looming over the skies of Araniea have vanished. Do you know that every person in this realm is thanking you?"
Tania chuckled. She did receive a lot of letters and messages of appreciation from other kingdoms. "I am sorry..."
Lerna placed her finger on her lips. "Don't be. You have done me a big favor."
Tania let out a sigh and then she embraced Lerna once again. Tabit, who was looking at them, jumped and embraced them both.
"Now!" Tania said. "You have a great responsibility on your shoulder, Tabit!"
"And I am ready for it!" she squealed.
The girls started laughing. Soon their husbands entered. "And what is going on?" asked Rigel as he saw the three of them laughing.
"We are talking about how bad you men are!" Tabit said, giggling.
Rigel raised his eyebrow. "My wife never finds me faulty," he said with an air of confidence as Eltanin gave him a glass of wine and handed the other to Fafnir.
Lerna stared at him and then walked over to him. She grabbed the wine glass from Rigel and said, "You can have dreams, my lord. It's not a bad thing!"
All of them burst into laughter. Eltanin proudly paraded his peacock feathers to his wife. "Well, my wife is different!" He sipped some wine and then placed a kiss on her lips.
Tania shivered at the electric contact and licked her lips as she watched him enthralled. She took a deep sigh and said, "Yes, I am different. He is so perfect that I am pissed!"
Eltanin scowled at her and walked back to his friends with a defeated look.
Fafnir was hoping to the Moon Goddess that his wife didn't say a word. He glanced at her and pursed his lips. Tabit chose to remain quiet.
"Oh, I had to tell you this!" Eltanin said as the friends settled more. "We received an invitation from Ileus to visit a certain library he has at his palace."
The men snapped their heads at Eltanin with pure excitement as the women frowned.
"Oh, that's wonderful," said Lerna. "When are we going?"
Tania too looked happier than ever. She had always wanted to visit Draoidh. "Let us know two days in advance so that we may pack. Surely the library must be vast and with a lot of books!"
"Count me in too!" Tabit added.