Julie straightened and met the elf’s eyes. “I know you do.” Ilsa’s parents had been violently killed several months ago, abruptly catapulting her into the role of queen.

  “I’m with you.” Ilsa squeezed her arm. “If I can do it, I know that you can.”

  Julie touched her breastbone above the pulsing heat of her geas. “By Luna’s strength.”

  “By Luna alone, Your Majesty.” The matriarch of the griffins inclined her magnificent head. “She shines in you. You are her chosen. Let it be known that the griffins will stand beside you every moment of your life.”

  “A great star has fallen from the heavens,” Pereletok warbled in the low, rumbling yeti language. Hat translated telepathically. “A star that brought its greatest light to your life, you who fears not the sound of thunder. You must rise as you grieve. It is a pain we all know.”

  Julie swallowed her tears and held out her hands. Ilsa and Eglantine gripped them. “Thank you all for coming.”

  “You have a wise king by your side, Your Majesty.” The matriarch smiled, baring yellow fangs. “Blessed are you both. Do not underestimate his power in your life and in the health of your queendom. He does not bear the Eternity Crown, but he supports its bearer.” Her tone softened to a purr. “The patriarch has been my greatest comfort and also the only thing stopping me from disemboweling the more irritating nobles.”

  Julie glanced at the matriarch’s talons. Each was as thick as her wrist and curved to a deadly point. She realized that the griffin was not joking.

  “The one who roars speaks wisely,” Pereletok rumbled. “Your king called us here to lend listening ears, kind words, and helping hands.”

  Julie looked around for Taylor, but he’d quietly vanished.

  “I know your heart is in turmoil right now.” The matriarch sat and wrapped her tail, fringed with feathers, around her talons. “You barely know where to begin, but if you have questions, we are here to discuss them.”

  Julie’s wings lifted, and her chest opened up with the relief of being heard. “I am lost at sea,” she admitted. She disentangled her hands and turned to the rail again, gazing at the beauty of Avalon Town with cloud shadows scudding over the rooftops. No, not clouds, she realized. Dragons circling on a thermal above the city. “All this is my responsibility now. I don’t know where to start.”

  “I know the change is frightening, Julie.” Eglantine leaned on the rail beside her. “Remember, matters of state are nothing new to you.”

  “Not at all.” Ilsa nodded. “You’ve been the head of the council for months, and most of us know that since your appointment as crown princess, the majority of the queenly responsibilities have been on your shoulders.”

  Julie’s hands tightened on the cold metal. “It’s not the same.”

  “Of course it isn’t. She was your parachute, and now you feel like you’re freefalling.” Ilsa smiled. “Don’t forget that you can fly.”

  “We have watched you transform our world since the day you set foot in our palace,” the matriarch added. “We met you as a plucky human recruiter for the OPMA, venturing where orcs and vampires dared not go.”

  Pereletok chuckled, a Wookie-like sound. “We had heard little from the land of smoke and sound until you came—you who fears not the sound of thunder. For too long, the yetis knew nothing but smoke and ice, and our stories were as cold as the frozen sea. Now we know light and community because of you.” Her brown eyes were steady. “You were a queen long before you knew about your title.”

  Eglantine tucked herself against Julie’s side. “You’re a Pendragon, the heir of Arthur. You were born for this.”

  “You’ve been changing our world since you came into it.” Ilsa grinned. “Don’t see this as an enormous new burden, Julie. We all know you’ve been caring for the hearts of paras since you realized they existed. Taylor tells me he saw it in your eyes the day you went to fight Darragh in the drow lands.

  “It’s who you are. No title can change that. Being queen only gives you the authority to carry out the quest you’ve been on all your life.”

  Julie squared her shoulders and raised her chin. The throb of her geas beneath her sternum reminded her that Ilsa’s words were true.

  “My mother is dead,” she murmured. “I know she’s in Luna’s arms, but nothing can fix my grief.”

  “We all have dead moms, Julie,” Eglantine told her. “It’s a prerequisite of being queen.”

  “Eggy!” Ilsa protested.

  Pereletok snorted.

  “It’s true!” Eglantine held up her hands. “Fight me. All I’m trying to say is that it’s horrible and painful, but we understand, and we’re here to help her.”

  “I hear you, moondrop.” Julie smiled. “Thank you.”

  “Tell us what we can do for you,” the matriarch rumbled.

  Julie bit the inside of her lip. Her thoughts came slowly, as though her brain had rusted, and she wanted to push them back and cling to her grief.

  Ilsa touched her shoulder. “I know that grief is the only thing that feels safe right now,” she murmured. “It feels like the only loyalty you have left to show Esmerelda. However, your mother wanted her queendom to be ruled well. Show your loyalty by doing that.”

  Julie’s shoulders rose, and her jaw tightened. “The peace summit,” she managed. “It’s scheduled for a few weeks from now in New Camelot. The war with Mordred might be over, but we have a lot more work to do when it comes to unifying all paras. The peace summit has to be our main focus now.”

  “Of course.” Pereletok beamed. “All the species that have been forgotten, like mine, await that day and the joy of knowing that our voices will also ring in the halls of the new Eternity Queendom.”

  “I agree. The summit is vital.” The matriarch nodded. “There is still ample time to arrange your coronation before then.”

  “Yes. You’ll need that authority for the summit.” Ilsa raised her chin. “It’s crucial that we get the coronation out of the way in the next day or two before any organized opposition rises against you.”

  Julie leaned on the rail, studying the city before her. Mordred was no longer alive to terrorize these paras.

  “You must hurry, Your Majesty,” the matriarch chipped in. “Not so long ago, Lunar Fae were unpopular, and you still have critics. They might attempt to prevent you from ascending to the throne.”

  “Act fast, and they won’t have time to argue against you,” Ilsa agreed.

  Julie tilted her head to one side. “Actually, that’s not my style.”

  Ilsa groaned and face-palmed. “She’s got that look in her eyes again.”

  Eglantine giggled. “I like it!”

  Muffled voices reached Julie in the hallway outside the throne room, where she stood sweating in a ceremonial Lunar Fae outfit. The silver dress, its fabric as sturdy as carbon fiber, was split down the front for easy movement. Excalibur rested in its scabbard on her back, and she held her crown princess circlet in her hands.

  The old band had been pulled out of the treasury and dusted off for her to wear to a victory banquet and coronation that was not taking place in the form she’d thought it would. Rosa had mentioned that Dylan was planning something the day after Mordred fell. Julie had no idea where the brownie had found this circlet since it had been centuries since there had been a crown princess of the Lunar Fae. The simple band was made of selenite, rising to a V-shape at the front. She kept turning it over in her hands.

  “You don’t have to wear that, you know,” Taylor murmured. “You’re the queen now.”

  “I don’t know what I am, except that I’m going to do whatever it takes to care for these paras,” Julie told him firmly. She set the crown on a plinth near the door, next to a statue of some old guy, then straightened Hat on her head. He was a steel helmet inlaid with selenite. Its glow reflected on the polished wood of the door.

  “Ready?” Taylor asked quietly.

  Julie’s shoulders stiffened. “It’s going to be a feeding frenzy in there, isn’t it?”

  Taylor grimaced. “Sorry.”

  “It’s okay. Occupational hazard, I guess.” Julie raised her chin. “Let’s jump into the piranha tank.”

  Taylor squeezed her hand. “Babe, you recently killed the most powerful evil being in the world. I think you can handle the media.”

  Julie grinned. “Thanks for the reminder.”

  Taylor nodded at the two griffins guarding the door, in addition to the honor guard spread throughout the hallway and throne room, and they pushed the panels open. Sound poured through as the milling crowd of reporters thronged the line of griffins holding them back from the dais on which the throne rested. The new Eternity King strode into the throne room, announcing Julie loudly enough that his words cut through the yammering.

  “Her Royal Majesty Queen Julia Pendragon!” he called.

  It’s time, Hat whispered. Go out and address your people.

  Julie raised her chin and strode forward. Her combat boots rang on the marble floor as she strode through the particolored sunlight that poured through the stained-glass dome on the roof. The Eternity Throne was bathed in shafts of rainbow light, an ancient stone seat roughly carved with crude tools, chipped and battered by the passage of millennia. It waited for her on the dais.

  Julie paused beside the throne, battered by the sound of the crowd like ocean waves. Her hands clenched into fists by her sides.

  Am I doing this because I’m scared? she wondered.

  Are you scared? Hat asked.

  Julie gazed at the throne, and a settled feeling spread through her stomach. No more scared than I was when I faced Qbiit, Nimue, or Mordred. I will do this if this is what my people require.

  She turned away from the throne and stopped at the edge of the dais, facing the reporters with Taylor beside her.

  The media yelled so many questions that, for a few moments, Julie couldn’t make out the words, only the cacophony and the bristling mass of microphones thrust toward her face. The floor tilted under her feet, and she spread her wings to keep her balance.

  “Mr. Buzz!” Taylor called, pointing.

  The yelling died down. Taylor’s hand was on her shoulder, and the floor firmed up.

  A Woodland Fae with dragonfly wings and huge multi-faceted eyes pushed to the front of the crowd, pursued by a weredog wielding a camera.

  “Your Majesty,” Guy called. “Tell us about⁠—”

  A willowy humanoid shoved him aside, her extravagant red dress licking like fire around her endless legs. “How did Esmerelda’s death affect you, since you only recently found out she was your real mother?” Tina Nyx barked.

  Julie froze. Rosa is my real mother too!

  Easy, Hat coached. She’s looking for sensation. Rise above it.

  Julie flexed her fingers, fighting the flames off from her hands. “No comment,” she croaked.

  “Are there measures in place to ensure that you won’t be poisoned like your mother was and reign as weakly as she did?” another reporter yelled, brandishing her notebook and pen.

  “Of course there are,” Julie snapped.

  “Your Majesty!” A vampire leaned over Tina, holding out his microphone. “When do you plan to conceive an heir? Are you fertile?”

  “Enough!” Taylor barked, stepping forward.

  The reporters had fearlessly crowded the winged lions guarding the dais, but they took a collective step back at the look in Taylor’s eyes.

  “Mr. Buzz, proceed with your question,” Taylor ordered.

  Guy cleared his throat. “Your Majesty, tell us about the situation with Mordred. Do you believe he will return?”

  Julie inhaled. “He can’t return, Guy. He’s dead, and his followers were dispersed and are being rehabilitated as we speak. The war is over.”

  When she finished speaking, the yelling recommenced, microphones jutting from the crowd. Taylor’s shoulders tensed, but Julie laid a hand on his arm. She spotted a clear-eyed troll in the crowd and pointed at her. “Your question, please.”

  “Your Majesty, many speculate that Mordred’s death and the return of a Pendragon to the throne will lead to a new Golden Age.” The troll’s stylus hovered over her tablet. “What are your thoughts on that?”

  Julie didn’t have to think to answer. “I don’t care what this age will be called. I’ll do whatever it takes to make it a peaceful one for my people.”

  A ragged cheer was quickly drowned out as more paras bellowed questions. Julie took pity on a wererabbit bouncing at the back of the crowd and pointed at him when his fluffy white ears came into view.

  “Your Majesty!” he squeaked at the apex of his leap. “Have you set a coronation date?”

  “No.” Julie spread her hands and raised her voice. “That is what I called this press conference for. I have an announcement.”

  The crowd fell silent.

  “I honor the memory of my incredible mother.” Julie kept her voice from wavering. “Queen Esmerelda ruled during one of the most challenging periods in the history of the Eternity Throne, and she did so in a way that brought us to this moment, this time of peace, despite the suffering she endured in her life.”

  She paused to swallow the lump in her throat. “I also honor all of the Eternity queens and kings who came before me, from King Arthur to the great Sylthana generations who preserved paranormal society for ten thousand years. I honor everything the Eternity Throne stands for: unity, peace, and the love of Luna. Above all, I honor what really matters.”

  The silence in the throne room was overwhelming. Julie stepped forward and spread her arms in a broad gesture.

  “I honor all of you, my people,” she murmured. “The paranormals of this realm and every other realm. The ones the throne exists to protect.”

  Tina had the decency to look ashamed. Beside Julie, Taylor grew three inches, beaming.

  Julie’s words rang with certainty. “For that reason, I am changing the way the Eternity kings and queens shall ascend this throne.”

  Guy’s eyebrows shot up.

  Julie kept talking before any of the astonished reporters could interrupt. “I am ready to take this throne and serve my people with everything I am, but I will not sit on the Eternity Throne unless I know my people want me there. For that reason, none of you will see me on it until after the peace summit. As of this moment, I declare myself not the Eternity Queen but the Acting Queen.”

  The crowd erupted. Sound filled the room like smoke, and Taylor’s yells had no effect. Julie gestured for him to stop and waited until the reporters spent themselves shouting at one another and settled down.

  “Here is the plan.” Julie folded her hands. “As long as you need me to do so, I will act as your queen. You are not without a strong leader, but the title ‘Eternity Monarch’ will only be made official after the peace summit. At the summit, when all paranormal species are gathered together, I will present myself as a candidate for the Eternity Throne.”

  “A candidate?” Guy called. “Does that mean other paras can be candidates?”

  Julie didn’t hesitate. “Yes. Any para who has passed the test.”

  “How will a candidate be chosen?” the troll shouted.

  “By vote.” Julie opened her hands. “Only when representatives from every paranormal species have unanimously voted in favor of a candidate for the Eternity Throne will the coronation be held. Until that time, I will act as your queen and fulfill the duties of that position.”

  The reporters shouted more questions, but Julie stepped away. “That’s all I have time for.”

  The reporters surged forward, and the griffins opened their wings, filling Julie’s vision with tawny feathers and blocking out the reporters. The werewolves charged toward her, hackles bristling. Before they could reach her, she turned on her heel, grabbed Taylor’s arm, and dragged him bodily out of the throne room.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Julie thumped the doors to the hallway open before the griffins could move. Fire coursed through her veins, and she was grinning.

  You’ve turned the world upside down, and now you feel much better, do you? Hat inquired.

  Much, Julie confirmed.

  When the doors slammed shut behind her, the six paras clustered around the bend in the hallway whirled to face her. The high council consisted of educated nobility, all wise paranormals who cared deeply for their species, and all of them were freaking out.

  “Julie!” Malcolm Nox, who was disheveled, threw his arms in the air. “What were you thinking?”

  The other councilors crowded him. They were in similar states of shock and dismay.

  Julie raised her hands, and they fell silent. “Listen, I’m not going to fight with you guys. I know this was a bolt from the blue, and I’m sorry about that.” Julie raised her chin. “This was far too important to get bogged down in bureaucracy.”

  “Too important?” the Sylthana Elf councilor raged. “This is absurd!”

  Julie raised her eyebrows. “It’s nice to know you can still get this mad, Felix.”

  “We’ve barely escaped a devastating war, Your Majesty,” Alugon chipped in. The dragon councilor’s eyebrows were furrowed above his amber eyes. “Is this really the right time?”

  “Mordred is dead, Councilor. This is exactly the right time. The only time, perhaps.” Julie squared her shoulders. “I am a Lunar Fae. I could live for thousands of years, and that means that the paranormals would have me as their queen for a long, long time.”

  “Your Majesty, this is a good thing!” Aitken Mackintosh burst out, his red beard bouncing on his dwarven belly.

  “The people will decide that.” Julie folded her arms. “I’m not going to negotiate this with you, Councilors. As Acting Queen, you all know I have the authority to do this. I bring a new perspective to the Eternity Throne, one that could benefit all of us. I want freedom and peace for my people. I want to empower them and raise them up, and this is how I plan to do that: by giving them more say in choosing the para who will decide so much of their fate.”

  Arion Woodskin, Julie’s uncle-in-law, inclined his head. “You have certainly made a splash, Your Majesty. I am eager to see where this new journey takes us. We have seen your perspective create positive changes before.”