Chapter 106: The Final Truth - Part 1
ELIA
He couldn't be saying what she thought he was saying. He couldn't be. Elia's heart raced and she stared at her husband, her mate, who was watching her like he wasn't quite sure whether to answer. "Reth," she snapped. "What the hell are you talking about? When did you see ? When was I happy?"
"Why are you angry, Elia?"
"Why—because you're telling that you saw , but didn't talk to . That you just… assud things about my life without asking . And that we could have… this might have… you're saying we had a chance before! And you just… gave up? Reth, tell , please! When did this happen? Why didn't you talk to ? How the hell did you decide that I was already with soone else—I was a virgin! Who did you think—"
He raised his hands, his face down, "Just… one at a ti, please, Elia. Let … let tell you the story and if you're still angry at the end, well, I guess we'll deal with it then," he said, pulling himself back up onto the sleeping platform to sit next to her, facing the door.
"I was seventeen by your years, I think, when my father beca ill and started talking to about challenging for the throne."
"Challenging?"
"There are two ways to take the throne—if the ruler dies the heir can step in and then be challenged for it. But many heirs step in with great support from the people, so are never challenged.
"If the ruler is still alive, however, soone—anyone, including the heir—can challenge the ruler for dominance. Win the throne. That was how my father wanted to take it."
"What? Why?"
"Because the people had been through war and upheaval and then we were in a ti of peace. He knew if I would be welcod by the people, they wouldn't challenge ."
"And that's bad because?"
"Because later, if things got difficult again, if there was dissension, or war, those who felt insecure would rember that I had taken the throne without ever having to fight and prove myself. They wouldn't have evidence of my strength. They wouldn't trust —or might challenge thinking weak. My father didn't want to be challenged later, at the worst possible ti—when there was already sothing else going wrong. As he had been. When he'd been forced to send to your world. So as soon as he knew he wouldn't recover from his illness he started talking to about challenging him while he was still strong, so that I would be seen as the King in truth—and he could die in peace, knowing it." He swallowed and Elia took his hand. She was still tense, still baffled to know that he'd co for her, then left—why? But… she didn't like seeing him in pain, and clearly, talking about his father dying made him hurt.
"At first I refused to talk to him about it. Refused to believe he was really dying. Then, even after I'd accepted that, I refused to fight him. He beca… very angry. He was giving good advice and I was refusing to take it. It was a very tense ti between us."
"What happened?"
"My mother started talking to about ruling, about the responsibility of a King—and how his decisions must always, first and foremost, be for the good of his people. I thought it was just a political discussion—my life had been peppered by them since I was small. But soon it beca clear she was… aiming for sothing. She started to talk about how the King carried the people with him, in his skin. His bones. And that to die as King without certainty around who would take your place… fearing that soone might succeed you who wasn't good for the people… that was tornt. She was telling that my father wasn't just trying to set up to rule. That he was trying to protect his people from being ruled by soone else.
"But my mother… she was aware of more than the need for a solid ruler. She knew when I ascended the throne, I would stand alone. And that worried her. I had mated with females, but I hadn't found a true mate—my heart's match. I hadn't even been interested deeply by any of them, and she worried. She knew the life of a King was, by necessity, isolated. She said I needed a partner, soone who I could be myself with completely. Soone who would support even when they were angry with —she warned that they would get angry. A lot. She emphasized that." He smiled sadly. "And she asked who I knew, which females I'd known in my life that made feel safe like that. Certain of myself. Comfortable. And… I imdiately thought of you, Elia," he said. Then turned and t her eyes.
She swallowed the lump that rose in her throat.
He turned away. "It was strange. It wasn't that I'd never thought of you before—I'd always thought of you with that nostalgia. That sense of a childhood loss. I'd always wondered what happened to you and who you had beco. But… you had beco unreal in my mind. A vision. When my mother asked , I answered honestly. And she wasn't surprised. She told to go for you. To find the one that would make my heart safe, then to co back and challenge my father, so they could both see settled and happy and on the throne before… before he got weak."
He swallowed again.
"I thought she was crazy. But the idea wouldn't leave alone. For a week, I got up every morning swearing I wasn't going to do it, and as the day went on, and as my fear for my father grew, it beca almost an obsession. A compulsion. I had to find you and see if… if you were indeed the right one.
He looked at her, and Elia held her breath.
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