Chapter 10

Karina was muttering curses under her breath. Men were idiots. Their constant need for fighting, competition, like stupid children. Seriously, how much better would it be if the world was ruled by women? Her hand touched the necklace Hayden gave her. His mother's necklace. That's why it seemed so important to him. But why did he give it to Karina? He spent most of their time together either hurting or humiliating or at least insulting her. Sure, he agreed to marry her, but because it was the logical thing to do, not because he cared about her or anything. Or did he? Uh, this was all so confusing.

She sat the matter aside for now because they were closing in on Vantia, the capital of the kingdom of Levanta. The city was conveniently located on a spot where a large river met the sea, making it a natural trade hub. The normally busy port was mostly empty now. War was not good for business, at least not for the normal kind of business, and the merchants hurried to empty their warehouses and move their goods elsewhere at the mere notion of an impending invasion. Even if the matter was resolved peacefully, it was going to take weeks or even months for the trade to return to its previous state. With the profits flowing to the Orellian treasury.

It felt strange to return home, especially after her meeting with Hayden and with what she was about to do. Will they hate her? Some of them were definitely going to, she could already tell a few names that were going to be on the top of the list. It was going to be tricky. From a political point of view, she had no actual power. She was not a queen, couldn't even be because there was a stupid law stating she would have to get married first. Technically, the country right now was to be led by the council of her father's advisors, until a suitable husband for her is found, they get married, and he is pronounced the king. Seriously, these laws were so damn primitive it made her grit her teeth.

Fortunately, she had the loyalty of several important lords, the palace guard, and, hopefully, the remains of the Levantian army. If necessary, she was ready to take the throne by force, just so those idiots who gave her father advice that got them into this mess in the first place didn't have another chance of screwing her country over. Again.

She had to pause and take a deep breath upon exiting the carriage, her body still way too sore. What an asshole Hayden was, now she had to lead political meetings without being able to sit properly. "Captain Markos?" Karina summoned the guard captain before entering the palace. He rushed over, saluting her, but kept his head down and she felt a pinch of guilt for the way she treated him. "Please make sure that some overly eager guard doesn't stab our Orellian guest, I would hate to explain that to king Hayden."

"Of course, my lady," he nodded respectfully, but still wouldn't look her in the eyes. "I will not disappoint you again, my lady and… I apologize for what happened this morning. It was stupid of me and it will not happen again."

Karina sighed and put a finger under his chin, forcing him to look at her. "Captain, you have never disappointed me. And I'm truly glad that you and Lamar are on such a good note that you are able to fight without actually trying to murder each other. I would just prefer it if you waited for a more convenient time to do it."

Markos bowed his head in respect and turned to leave, but Karina put a hand on his shoulder and stopped him. "I…," she hesitated for a moment, thinking on how to best put it, "I wanted to apologize for what I said to you and the way I said it." She was not used to yelling at her people and scolding them like she did last night and this morning, but this whole situation had her on edge. "You are one of my most loyal and trusted people. And right now, I'm not just trusting you with my life, but with the fate of this entire kingdom."

It was the raw and somewhat inconvenient truth. She needed him. If he and his men didn't back her in what was about to come, there was absolutely nothing she could do. The council could have her confined to her quarters like an unruly child and all hopes of achieving peace with Orellia would be lost. There were some lords who she knew were going to support her, but political support is worthless when there are big men with big swords ready to strike down whoever opposes them.

"Princess Karina, I would never betray you." He stood up straight, giving her an intense look. "I might not be happy about this situation, but I understand the necessity. And even if I didn't, I'm ready to follow your orders, no matter what they are."

A sigh of relief escaped her lips and she closed her eyes for a moment. "Even if it means drawing the blood of a few Levantians to save Levanta? Are you ready to kill our own people, captain?"

"My lady, I'm a soldier," Marcos scoffed. "I'm ready to kill anyone." As he walked away, he turned his head to her once more. "Are you?" he added quietly and left to give orders to his men without waiting for her answer. Good thing, because she didn't have one.

The courtroom grew quiet when she entered, all gazes fixed on her as she walked to the large table in the center of the room. There were quiet whispers and disapproving looks, but, to be honest, most of that attention was drawn to captain Lamar, who had been closely following her, proudly wearing his red and black uniform.

"Princess Karina," a tall blonde man stood in her way, not even trying to cover the contemptuous smirk twisting his lips. "What a pleasure to have you here." His voice suggested otherwise. "May I ask why did you bring this Orellian scum into the palace?" There was an approving mumbling and nodding from the men around him.

Yes, this was exactly what she meant when she wanted to refuse Hayden's escort. Fortunately, Lamar seemed to ignore the insult, keeping a stone-cold face. "Lord Dalton, Captain Lamar is here as my guest and protector, you don't have to worry about his presence." Several eyebrows rose up, bemusement settling in most expressions. Not all though, there were two lords who knew where she had gone and what the presence of an Orellian soldier at her side meant. Karina took a deep breath before continuing. "He shall remain at my side until king Hayden arrives in Vantia ten days from today."

It took them a few moments to figure out exactly what she said and then chaos ensued. Karina waited patiently for the shouting to subside, Lamar and Markos standing close next to her, hands resting on the hilts of their swords.

"QUIET!" Dalton's voice boomed over the others and he stood in front of Karina. "I'm sure the princess has a very reasonable explanation for this."

Karina managed to chuckle. If only. "No, gentlemen. I'm afraid it is you who owes this country an explanation. Lord Dalton, could you please tell me why we decided to directly attack the kingdom of Orellia?"

"Princess," he snorted, "no offense, but I'm afraid you wouldn't understand the situation. Why don't you take your 'guest' and go rest in your quarters and leave the war planning to men who actually know a thing or two about it?"

Did he seriously just tell her that? "Lord Dalton, I might just be a stupid girl," her voice was getting colder and more ironic with every word, "but I have been taught math. Captain Markos, how many men did our army have before the battle over that swampy shithole we needed to take so badly from Orellia?" Her voice was loud enough for everyone in the room to hear and she didn't take her eyes off Dalton for a second.

"I believe it was a little over six thousand, my lady."

"Six thousand, great. With how many left alive now? Two thousand?" Karina rolled her eyes. "Captain Lamar, how many men does king Hayden have camped at our borders, ready to cross them? I mean I'm not an experienced warrior, but from what I've seen it must have been at least ten thousand?"

Lamar shifted weight from one leg to another before answering. "Nearly twelve thousand, my lady. And that is not the full force of the Orellian military." Even without looking at him, Karina knew there was a smirk on his face and she could hardly hold it against him.

"Twelve thousand," Karina repeated. There was a wave of worried whispers throughout the room. Idiots. Did they not know that? "Tell me, Lord Dalton. Does every single one of our men have the strength of three or four Orellian soldiers? Or how exactly did you expect to resolve this conflict?"

Dalton shook his head in contempt. "Our soldiers will fight to the last man, protecting you and the whole court while we move to a safer location. Should the invasion occur."

Should the invasion occur? Was that man truly that stupid or just delusional? "That's where you are wrong, Lord Dalton. I'm not leaving my country and my people. And neither are you. Certainly, you wouldn't leave with all your riches while our people suffer and die and the Orellian army burns their way through our kingdom!"

"As I said, princess," he took a step towards her, spitting her title out like an insult, "you should return to your quarters and await our decisions." He nodded to the guards standing at the sides of the room and Karina focused on exhaling slowly, not letting fear and nervosity flash through her expression. The guards glanced at Markos who shook his head ever so slightly. That seemed to be a good enough order and the men remained still, ignoring angry Dalton. "You have no authority here!" he cried at her.

"No, Lord Dalton. It is you who have no authority here." Karina forced herself to speak slowly and as calmly as possible, making sure that everyone in the room understood her. "You fucked up this country. You poked a lion for too long and now that it finally awoke to devour us, you would force our soldiers to die just so you could run to safety? That," she leaned towards him and hissed, "is not happening. We lost this war," she spoke up, her voice booming through the room. "And every single person in this room is to blame for the fact the war even started. The Orellians are ready to destroy us once and for all. To invade Levanta, murder and enslave its citizens, burn and destroy the cities. And that is not something I can let happen!"

Alright, now to that part where she would be called a traitor. "I made a deal with king Hayden that will ensure the safety of our people and our country. Feel free to consider this a fucking royal decree if you want to. Levanta is becoming an Orellian province and all of us are becoming loyal subjects of king Hayden."

They stared at her in total silence, even otherwise eloquent lord Dalton was taken aback by those words. "To even suggest such a thing is high treason, princess," he snarled at her. "You… you were not authorized to make such deals. This woman has betrayed our beloved country!" He shouted the words out for all the room to hear, a victorious smirk slowly building on his face. There was a time when he wanted to be her husband. Now he just wanted to get rid of her. "You have signed your own death sentence. Guards! Arrest this traitor at once!"

Nothing happened. The soldiers in the room remained as still as the stone statues of the famous kings around them. Thank gods for Marcos for picking the right men for today's watch. The other lords seemed torn and indecisive, but nobody tried to rush towards her and put her in chains. Of course, the fact that Marcos and Lamar were standing behind her, angrily glaring at the noblemen in the courtroom, ready to draw their swords, helped a lot as well.

"Lord Dalton?" Karina walked closer to the man, her voice quiet with a distinct threat underlining it. The room was so silent now everybody could hear her even if she were just whispering. "I take it you do not recognize my authority as a ruler of this country?" She realized damn well that what she was doing right now was nothing more than a coup. Overthrowing the current government by force was not how she dreamed of gaining power, but there didn't seem to be any other choice.

Dalton scoffed, still way overconfident. "You are damn right I don't."

A spit landed at her feet and Karina stopped Marcos from jumping at the man and striking him down. No, this was something she had to do on her own. It was time to make a decision, a moment she dreaded for so long it almost seemed anticlimactic now. Especially since she realized she had already made that very decision when she went to see Hayden. Marcos' words resonated through her mind. Are you? he asked her. Was she?

"Very well."

***

This is the end of the excerpt. The full book is available on A m a z o n. You can follow my FB page @AuthorAnnaSvoboda for more information.