71: Ada's POV

I emerged from the shadows that Finn had shrouded us in as Alpha King Everett Ashford’s body fell to the ground. I stepped up beside Darius, staring at the corpse of his father as the room stayed silent. As many issues as I had with Darius, he had just executed his father— and ultimately, it had been his first act as King. The mark of what could be a bloody reign. I linked my fingers through his, keeping my eyes on the body of his father.

Darius broke his gaze from his father’s body and looked down at me. Grape hyacinth eyes brimmed with tears. Tears that I didn’t have a chance to acknowledge before all hell seemed to break loose.

The room erupted in shouts and screams, flurries of movement. I whirled around to see my father, Francine, and Georgina slipping out of the room. For now, we could let them go. Adrian stayed behind, and I felt a pang of guilt for not noticing him before this moment. Lilith stayed still, eyebrow cocked at me. As High Fae, this was nothing more than a little bit of family drama. She’d seen worse, done worse. But the members of the court were a mess.

And Lady Elizabeth Jane came flying at me. She lunged at me, a ball of heavy satin, sharp claws. I stumbled back, releasing Darius’s hand. He moved to interfere, but I shook my head. I wouldn’t dare transition into Sahara right now, but I had other tools at my disposal. I made a ball of fire in my hand and held it up. Lady Elizabeth froze.

Her wedding ring glinted in the candlelight of the ballroom, and I dropped my hand. I watched as her hand rested on her stomach and tears welled in her eyes, “Please. Please don’t hurt my pup.”

I blinked, looking first at Darius, then at her, then back at Darius. Phoenix and Nik came up on either side of me. The room had gone completely still and quiet again as everyone watched the interaction. Darius’s eyes were the pinnacle of shock and dismay. His face had gone pale, his mouth contorting in what looked like pain. He furrowed his eyebrows as he stared at Elizabeth’s hand. With his father’s admission, I knew the question all of us were having: was the pup his or his father’s?

Either way, I wouldn’t harm her. Not while she was pregnant. Not even when she outright attacked me.

Darius cleared his throat, choosing not to acknowledge her confession, and asked the room, “Do you swear fealty to me? Will you accept me as your Alpha King and trust me to uphold the laws of our people?” His words were met with silence. He ordered, “Then kneel.”

As a collective, all of the members of the court dropped to their knees. I watched with awe at first, then realized I needed to follow suit. I lowered myself to the ground, bowing my head in front of Darius. Elizabeth did the same, tears streaming down her face as her hand rested on Everett’s body. Nik and Phoenix knelt on either side of me.

Darius reached down to me, his fingers brushing my chin. I looked up at him, meeting his gaze. His voice was soft, “Stand up, Ada.” Without hesitation, I complied. He smirked, speaking slowly, “I don’t know what my father said to you tonight,” I squeezed my eyes shut as I replayed the scene while I was dancing with Everett, a memory I hoped none of the Alpha Princes would ever know, “You are my mate. You are the mate of each of my brothers,” his voice was loud enough again to echo through the whole ballroom, “Despite my father’s prior feelings on the situation, I believe there is a reason for that. And so,” Darius got down on his knees and bowed his head, “I will follow in my brother’s footsteps and swear fealty to you, my mate.”

I blinked, stunned. Nik smirked as he kept his eyes downcast. I whirled around, taking in the entire ballroom. What the hell was happening? What was Darius doing? I thought he hated me. This wasn’t supposed to happen. His father had made it known I wasn’t fit to be queen. And I wasn’t. I didn’t know the first thing about leading a group of people, about being an example.

That bond between the three of us that I’d kept open had a low chuckle filter into my mind. Phoenix stated, *You have to release us, Ada.*

Right. I cleared my throat, doing my best to make my voice unwavering, “Rise.”

The room climbed to their feet, with Darius rising last. A small smile played on his lips. With a quick sweep of his eyes over the room, he ordered, “You are all welcome to stay until the coronation, which will be held in 7 days, as our law states.” I watched as he made eye contact with both Lilith and Finn and motioned toward the ballroom door, “For now, please make your way to your quarters for the night.”

Lilith and Finn moved to the entrance of the room, waiting by the door. The three Princes, Elizabeth, and I stayed by King Everett’s body. Elizabeth had thrown herself over his body and was weeping quietly. I felt a small pang in my chest as I realized that, as cold and calculating as she was, she seemed to be feeling genuine emotion for him. The pang was short-lived as she glared up at me from where she was.

Her voice was bitter, “You’re still married to me, Darius. Our laws are clear about what that means.”

He grinned down at her, “Oh, believe me, I’ll figure out a way to deal with this marriage, Elizabeth. Don’t you worry about that,” he nodded at someone in the now nearly-empty room, “Your maid will escort you back to your individual quarters tonight.

“I know you feel something for me,” she spat, clawing at her maid as she tried to help her off of Everett’s body, “Whether or not she’s your mate, your cock still gets perfectly hard for me. Don’t forget that.”

I couldn’t fight my flinch from her words. She left the room, dragging Everett’s body with her. None of us bothered to stop her. We just watched. When we were the final four in the room, I looked at my three princes. We’d dealt with one major problem tonight. But something told me there was so much more to deal with now.

Phoenix sighed, running a hand through his hair, “Well, what now, brothers?”

“We obviously start by getting the book from father’s study,” Nik clucked his tongue, nodding at Darius, “Then we see how open our mate is.”

“Open to what?” I asked softly, wondering what book they were talking about.

Darius grinned, “Come now, Ada. You’ll figure it out,” he nodded at the door, “They’re waiting for us.”