The gossip spread through Thornfield like wildfire, faster than any official announcent could have. By the ti Lyanna and Azrael returned, everyone in the Thornfield seed to know that the queen couldn’t conceive.
Lyanna heard the whispers in the hallways and observed the pitiful and calculating stares. She noticed how few nobles changed their tone when they spoke to her. She was now the barren queen who had failed in her most basic duty.
But thanks to her lack of emotions, she couldn’t feel much. She was only upset because she really wanted to have a child. She was upset because she thought she had failed Azrael. Azrael had been supportive of her throughout and tried to divert her attention to other things.
But ignoring it beca impossible when Lord Cassius formally requested an ergency council eting.
"Your Majesties and assembled nobles, we’ve gathered today to address a very critical matter." Lord Cassius said as he addressed the council. "The question of succession has beco urgent given the...recent developnts. We all know the personal difficulty of this situation."
"Queen Lyanna has proven herself an exceptional ruler in many ways. Her diplomatic skills and her strategic thinking are noteworthy.
However, Thornfield needs an heir. We need a formal succession plan that reassures both our people and our allies that Thornfield’s future is safe."
"We understand your concern, Lord Cassius. Stop talking in riddles and co to the point directly." Azrael said coldly.
Cassius presented a formal docunt prepared in advance.
"Few options have been discussed among the nobles. We will present them for your consideration." He began reading.
"Option one is adoption. You choose an heir from among Thornfield’s noble families, raise them as your own, and officially na them as crown prince or princess."
"The problem with adoption is deciding which family to honour with that role. Every major house will see itself as a worthy choice. Selecting one will lead to resentnt among the others." Lady Morgana added.
"Option two is a more traditional approach." He paused for a second. "Your Majesty, we suggest a political courtship. This wouldn’t replace Queen Lyanna, but it would show that you are exploring all options for producing an heir."
The room went very quiet.
"Several noble vampire families have already offered their daughters for formal courtship." Cassius said. "These would just be political arrangents to reassure everyone that we are actively working on the succession issue. You would court these candidates publicly while staying married to Queen Lyanna . This is an ancient vampire tradition, used in exactly these types of circumstances."
"You’re asking the king to court other won while married to the queen?" Victor interjected.
The council erupted into debate. So nobles supported Cassius’s proposal while others objected.
Throughout it all, Azrael and Lyanna remained silent. Finally, after what felt like hours, Azrael raised his hand and the room fell silent.
"No." He announced.
"Your Majesty, if we could discuss the practical benefits..."
"No." Azrael repeated. "I won’t court other won while married to Lyanna. I won’t consider political arrangents that would publicly belittle my wife’s position."
"With respect, Your Majesty, personal feelings cannot override political necessity. The stability of Thornfield..."
"Is not dependent on publicly humiliating my wife." Azrael didn’t let him finish. "If that’s the council’s advice, then the council needs to do better."
He stood up and Lyanna followed him instantly.
"We’ll solve the succession issue. We’ll choose an heir through adoption or whatever thod we find best for Thornfield but it won’t be through political courtship or any other tradition that treats my marriage as expendable."
"Lord Cassius and assembled nobles, I appreciate your concern for Thornfield’s future. But I won’t allow my husband to court other won any more than he’d allow to court other n." Lyanna finally spoke.
Lady Morgana, surprisingly, spoke up in their support.
"Our king and queen are right. Let them find a solution that they think is suitable rather than forcing them to conform to traditions they’ve outgrown."
Cassius looked like he wanted to argue further but realized he had lost this battle when he saw a lot of council mbers agreeing with Lady Morgana. He bowed stiffly.
"As you wish, Your Majesties. We’ll await your decision on succession."
The council was dismissed. Nobles left, already gossiping and speculating about what would happen next.
"That was a disaster." Lyanna said as soon as they were alone.
"That was a test." Azrael replied. "Cassius wanted to see if we could be pressured into compromising our relationship for political convenience."
"But he’s not wrong about the succession being a problem." Lyanna said. "The nobles are genuinely concerned. The confederacy partners might start questioning our stability soon."
"I know." He pulled her into his arms. "We’ll find another way. Don’t worry."
Two days after the disastrous council eting, Lyanna was walking casually through Thornfield’s east wing when she heard multiple voices coming from an unused eting room.
She paused and with her vampire hearing could hear everything clearly despite the closed door.
"It can’t continue like this." Lord Cassius was saying. "Two years of marriage and no prospects for an heir, just delays while they think the problem will solve itself."
"The king has made his stance clear." Soone said. "He won’t consider political courtship or anything else of that sort."
"Then I’m sorry to say he’s failing as a king." Cassius said. "Personal feelings aren’t more important than the kingdom."
"You’re right. We can’t accept a king who has no plans for succession."
"Absolutely. A king who prioritizes his marriage over the kingdom’s stability is unfit to rule. There are a lot of other vampires who are more worthy of Thornfield’s throne. Vampires who understand that leadership requires sacrifice."
"You want to dethrone him?"
"If King Azrael continues choosing his human-turned-vampire wife over Thornfield’s future, then we may need to think whether he’s the right leader for Thornfield."
Lyanna felt anger building in her body, despite her lack of emotions. Lord Cassius and how faction were plotting to remove Azrael as king.
She wanted to burst through the door and confront them directly. She wanted to use her authority as queen to shut down this treasonous conversation imdiately.
But she also knew doing so would only alert them and force the conspiracy underground, where she couldn’t monitor it. She needed to be smarter than them.
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