Torine shook his head. “It’s not safe. You’re queen now. Think what would happen if you were to be hurt, or even die here. We cannot allow it.”
Well, that sounded an awful lot like an order.
I stood straighter, a few specks of glitter flying off my arms. “I am the queen, you allow nothing. If you want me to allow you to remain on the council, you will not question me in such a manner. I am neither rash nor stupid. I consider each and every decision. The shifters need reassurance right now, not only because of the death of the Red Queen, but also all the new security measures we have had their alphas implement. They are rattled. Seeing me striding around with more security than the president of America and the queen of England combined is not a great way to reassure them that everything is okay, that we have things under control.”
Before they could utter anything more, I turned and strode off. By the time I was halfway out of the long drive, Finn, Blaine, Monica, Jen, Ben, and Victor were the only ones at my side. My declaration had been heard, and my reasons found sound, since not even Calista argued with me. It was the right decision to make. I hoped so anyway.
You’re a good queen. You put your people first. Don’t question yourself. The council has served their own purposes for too long.
I ran my hand along Finn. He already had on some of his harnesses and glittery adornments. Later he’d be saddled so I could ride him for the opening ceremony. Kade would join me, his familiar Nix by his side. This was how we maintained peace during the summer festival, by showing unity between the two leaders. I tried to remember if I’d seen Kade and the Red Queen last year.
I turned to Blaine. “We missed the opening ceremony last year, right?” Jagged snippets of memory were hitting me. Calista had blasted me because I was an heir and should have been front and center.
“Yes, Selene spiked our punch. We ended up half-naked on the south side of the Island. We were lucky we didn’t drown.”
“Crap, that’s right. I’d forgotten she did that.”
Flickers of memory were coming back to me. I’d woken up with a massive hangover the next day and Selene had been the heir of honor for the rest of the festival; the Red Queen had refused to speak to me. I hadn’t thought about that for a year, but it was one of the many reasons I hated that redheaded harpy. She’d been a pain in my butt for too many years. I couldn’t believe she was the backup queen.
It took the masses of wolf shifters many minutes before they realized I walked among them. It was only as I started to send out waves of warm mecca energy that faces turned toward me. I took my time, smiling, waving, sharing the energy of our mecca with them all. Blaine and Monica remained on point, each to one side of me. The others were a little further back, which made it seem like I was almost without security. Which is what I wanted.
My shifters looked happy; their children ran and played with abandon. There were no bears on this side of the Island yet. That would come later.
“Greetings, Your Majesty.”
“Queen Arianna.”
“The Red Queen lives again.”
Shouts and choruses of words washed across the entire area. Then a boy of ten rushed over and grabbed my hand and silence descended throughout the tree-filled field. Faces drained of joy and I could feel urgency in the air. Everyone was waiting to see how I would deal with this child who had broken one of our golden rules and grabbed the queen without permission. I knew how the Red Queen would have dealt with him, but despite being from her line, I was happy to be nothing like her.
“Craig!” The frantic voice of a mother in distress reached me as she rushed forward. She fell to her knees beside her son, who was still clutching my hand. “I am so sorry, Your Majesty. He did not mean to break protocol.”
I glanced around the crowd once, before lowering my gaze to smile at the pair before me. I then surprised everyone by dropping to my knees so I could be on the same level as them. “You need not worry for your son,” I said. “I know the difference between harm and a happy little boy.” I then kissed both of them on the cheek, before pulling my hand back and getting to my feet.
“Go!” I shouted out to the crowd. “Go, have fun, and be merry. This is the summer festival, and we will know nothing but joy!”
Noises and laughter started again, and I felt the warmth and love that I had showered out being returned to me. A true leader knows that respect and love are not given freely. You must earn the respect and love of your people, and I was determined to be a queen worthy of both.
Chapter Ten
For just one moment, time stood still.
It was opening ceremony time. Calista had spent the last thirty minutes making sure I was versed in my duties. I was already perched on Finn’s back, his strength comforting as always. My hair and makeup had been touched up, dress adjusted, mecca crown now atop my head. I was a wolf shifter queen, dressed as a faerie queen, about to stand next to a bear king. This was like the start of a bad shifter joke.
I had no idea what Kade was dressed as, or if he would even honor the tradition by dressing up at all, but I couldn’t wait to see him. I stood off to the side of a recently erected stage, two throne chairs perched upon it. Not my mecca throne from back home, just one that was used during the summer festival. I could see the crowds out there waiting for us, a veritable sea of shifters spread out across a massive cleared hill in the center of the Island. Bear and wolf together … well, sort of. There was still a divide, but the mingling energy was strong. The mecca was loving the closeness of the five boroughs, and it danced with abandon beneath my skin. It was hard to tell under the glitter and body paint I wore, but my skin had a fine purple glow about it, which seemed to be happening more and more lately. The pull of mecca from the Otherworld to Earth might have slowed, but the imbalance remained, and it was clearly starting to affect those of us closest to the power.