Two full days passed before La’Resha burst into my office, a smile brightening her soft features. The early afternoon sun had just begun to peek around my window, adding some warmth to the otherwise cool room.
“My lady, I’ve received a message from Nasq,” she exclaimed, barely getting the door halfway open before delivering the news. “They’re inbound right now with Lady Ballenci in tow.”
I glanced up from the documents strewn across my desk and gave her a tired nod, allowing a small smile of pride. Their first task away from my protection had been a success. “Good. How fares Lady Ballenci?”
“Nasq said she suffered a few minor injuries but is otherwise fine. A bit traumatized.”
“That’s no surprise,” I replied with a slight smirk, recalling how Ethan had bulldozed through the guards during the banquet. “Tell them to wash up, eat, and meet me in the mansion’s reception room. I want to hear about their mission.”
La’Resha nodded but didn’t leave. “I also wanted to report on my hunt. My team and I have tracked down over a dozen spies and informants. Most are from Houses in Cael and Lysoria, but some hail from foreign nations. We even found one from Pandoria, though I believe there are more.”
“Alive?”
La’Resha grinned. “Of course. The interrogators are working hard to extract information. A few committed suicide, but we’ve adapted our tactics, using anti-magic stones to prevent self-implosions.”
“How are the residential sections?” I asked, gesturing toward the stack of papers I had just finished reviewing. “The military encampment seems to be progressing, but I’ve seen little about the residential efforts.”
“The residential sections were the least damaged, so the field marshals have focused on the military and commercial areas,” La’Resha explained, handing me a scroll. I set it aside and motioned for her to continue. “Marquess Sharma has also taken to his reinstatement, though there’s quite a bit of tension among the Alistar knights. Just this morning, a fight broke out between a handful of them and some of the resurrected Sharma knights.”
I groaned. It wasn’t unexpected, but I had hoped to avoid this kind of drama. After the Marquess agreed to my terms, and his daughter swore her oath, I'd resurrected a handful of his knights who had fallen in battle. Though the number of resurrected didn’t weigh heavily on my reserves, the dozen or so knights I brought back did add to the constant drain on my core. Along with Dralos, the fourteen resurrected Alistar knights, and the twelve Sharma knights, the number of Resurrected had climbed to twenty-seven. I estimated my limit to be around forty; any more and my core would be drained faster than it could replenish.
“The Marquess?”
“He handled it quickly, though witnessing his overwhelming magic probably hasn’t eased the Alistar knights' concerns,” she said, and I grumbled in agreement. “What do you want to do, my lady?”
“Nothing, for now,” I said, tapping a finger against the hardwood of my desk. “This is the Marquess’ problem. I’d like to see how he handles it.” I sifted through my scrolls, picking out the one sealed with my crescent moon. “Deliver this to Field Marshal Aargorn. Tell him to prioritize rebuilding the residential sections. We need a place for people to rest, or exhaustion and irritation will overcome us. Any signs of attacks from Cael?”
“No, my lady. Whatever movements House Alistar’s informants reported from Cael stopped when the Marquess announced his alliance with us. The Caelian nobles seem undecided on how to respond.”
“Alright. Keep me informed.”
La’Resha excused herself with a flourishing courtesy and a smirk. “As you wish, Duchess.”
The hours passed in a blur as I lost myself in the meticulous work of restructuring Sealrite. My experience as a princess candidate of Aedronir had taught me the intricacies of governance—how to balance the needs of the people with the demands of the ruling class, and how to set a city on a path to prosperity. At least, theoretically. It had cost my tutors their lives to stray away from lessons on single-ruler leadership. Now, with Sealrite under my command, those lessons had become invaluable. Though much had to be adjusted to fit Sealrite's unique situation, the core principles remained unchanged.
The long-term priority for Sealrite needed to be education reform. The peasants’ education level was appalling, even before the destruction that had ravaged the city. I knew from experience that ignorance was a weakness, one that could be exploited by enemies, both internal and external. A populace that could read, write, and think critically was harder to manipulate and more likely to remain loyal.
I drafted a decree that would mandate basic education for all, from the poorest peasants to the wealthiest merchants. Schools would be established throughout Sealrite, funded by the Alistar duchy, and open to all citizens. The initial costs would no doubt be quite high, but the long-term benefits would be immeasurable. I sent out a handful of advisories to be passed around Sealrite in search of experts in education or teachers who could fill these schools. I was under no illusion that the schools would be rebuilt quickly. It would likely take months before anyone could act on the decree. But it would be acted on.
I turned my attention to the city’s armed forces. During Aedronir’s height, I had seen firsthand the dangers of a military force too deeply intertwined with law enforcement. Soldiers were trained for war, for the violent resolution of conflicts. They were not suited for maintaining peace and order among the citizenry. Sealrite needed a clear distinction between its military and its law enforcement, a division that would prevent abuses of power and ensure that each branch functioned effectively.
I restructured the city’s forces, establishing a separate, dedicated law enforcement unit. These men and women would be trained not in the art of war, but in diplomacy, conflict resolution, and community engagement. They would act as protectors of the people, while the city’s soldiers and knights focused on external threats. I set about drafting plans for recruitment and training, as well as the organizational hierarchy for both groups. It would be a delicate balance, ensuring that each branch respected the other’s authority without overstepping. But if done right, it would provide the stability Sealrite desperately needed. If I entwined it with my paragons, even better.
Even just the surface-level issues of the political landscape took me well into the late afternoon. Sealrite, like many cities in the aftermath of chaos, had a power imbalance. Even before my untimely arrival, Marquess Sharma had wielded too much influence, often overriding the city council and stifling voices that should be heard. This imbalance had clawed at Aedronir from the inside for decades, where unchecked power bred corruption and eventually betrayal. Here, I would not make the same mistake.
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I drafted reforms that redistributed authority, giving the city council more say in day-to-day governance while still allowing the city lord to oversee military and strategic decisions. The council would be composed of representatives from different sectors of society—merchants, scholars, laborers, and even peasants—ensuring that every class had a voice. It was a gamble, of course. Too much power in the hands of the people, and they might rebel against me. Too little, and they might lose faith in the new order I was trying to build. But if I could strike the right balance, Sealrite could thrive. Hopefully, my position as Saintess would provide me with substantial leeway in patching whatever issues came up in the restructure.
Economics, unfortunately, was not my strongest suit. My tutors in Aedronir may have even considered the subject my single largest weakness. The city’s economy was in ruins, and while I had a general understanding of trade and finance, this was an area where expertise was essential. I sent out an advisory to be posted around the city, calling for scholars trained in economics to join my administration. Their knowledge would help me rebuild Sealrite’s financial infrastructure, from trade agreements to taxation systems. Without a solid economic foundation, all the other reforms would falter.
Similar advisories were drafted for other fields where I lacked expertise: agriculture, infrastructure, and urban planning. Sealrite needed experienced workers—men and women who had lived through the city’s darkest days and could offer practical solutions to its problems. I wasn’t naive enough to think I could do this all on my own. My father's greatest mistake in his reign had been his attempt to do it all himself. The day he'd taken the throne, he'd massacred every council member, every advisor in the palace.
In hindsight, not fixing my father's mistake and reinstating a council had been my single largest mistake as Queen. It had allowed my attention to wander. Killing my way to the top, and then staying on the war front for two decades instead of returning to the palace had likely led to my downfall and betrayal by the duchies. A good ruler, I knew, surrounded themselves with those who knew what they did not. That was not a mistake I intended to repeat.
I stood and stretched, trying to shake off the stiffness. An itch for battle began to pound in the back of my mind, bringing a headache with it.
“A ruler never rests,” my father had scolded me and my sister candidates as we’d lazed about one morning. He was supposed to have been absent on business. We'd all known what was coming the instant his voice echoed along the palace halls. “What if there’d been an assassin? What if one of your sister candidates decided this was the moment to kill her challengers? Think, you fools. You must always be sharpening your steel, always on guard, always ready and wanting the death of those that threaten you.” He glared at us for a split moment before the room erupted into screams of blood and fire. His steel blades twisted and sliced into all of our bodies in rage, scarring deep lines of scarlet into us like a mad painter.
I winced at the memory. My left hand trembled slightly, and I grasped it with my other, breathing deeply until the tremors subsided. I knew he was dead—I’d killed him myself. I had torn his still-beating heart from his chest with the same ease he had used to teach us his cruel lessons.
It didn’t help the trembling fear that originated from my memories, deep within my bones. I closed my eyes and released a heavy breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding and tried to compartmentalize, pushing the memories to the darkest recesses of my mind. It worked for only a moment.
“Never let fear paralyze you,” my father had warned me as I stood above the corpse of my last sister candidate, the last remaining princess candidate that could oppose my rule. “You did what you needed to do to survive. Do not resist that fear, that terror you feel. Use it. Make it your fuel. Your reason to continue forward. Nothing changes unless you change it,” he said quietly, leaning over my shoulder from behind. “Soon, you will need to turn that blade on me and take your place on my throne. But first, you must know true pain.” Then I remembered only a burning, unimaginable pain searing into my back and the scream of complete terror that left my mouth.
I never did find out what he’d done to me that day. Even as I stood above him, his neck breaking in my hands, he’d just laughed. But ever since that day, something in me had broken. I understood that. I saw the world differently than others like a blanket had been laid over my mind, though no mind-attributed user had ever found so much as a hint of it in my mind.
I exited the office and roamed the halls of my mansion in a daze. I didn’t know what to do as memories assailed me and I found I couldn’t break free of them, not when so many of my decisions since I’d claimed Sealrite went against my father’s words. Against the King’s words.
“No, he isn’t the king anymore,” I hissed to the darkness around me, though no one responded except for the steady beat of my heart and the sound of my bare feet slapping against the cold stone floors. His choices had led to his death and my death. This time I would make the decisions as I saw fit.
Eventually, after wandering the mansion for what felt like hours, I found myself in the reception room where Nasq, Nida, and Ethan sat on a deep turquoise couch, deep in conversation. Their discussion ceased the moment I entered, and Nida immediately shot to her feet.
“My Queen?” She asked, panic clear in her expression. I waved her back down.
“I’m fine, Nida. Just... dealing with some old memories.”
Though she stayed standing, she didn’t come any closer. “You need to tell all three of us,” she insisted, glancing at Ethan and Nasq. “I know you said you’d start with just me, but they deserve to know too. We’ll function better if we’re all on the same page.”
I sighed, collapsing into a cushioned chair adjacent to their couch. Despite my exhaustion, I kept my posture straight, chin high, unwilling to let the weariness show. I crossed my legs, happy for the distraction. “If I tell them, they cannot leave,” I said after a pause. “The Paragon Agreement grants them freedom to come and go, but if they know this, they will be bound to me. Their desires will take a back seat to mine.”
Ethan rose, his movement so forceful it sent a gust of air rushing past me. “I agree,” he declared in his deep, resounding voice, and pounded a fist over his heart. “I believe I will fulfill my desire to destroy all forms of slavery at your side, my Queen.
I raised an eyebrow and summoned the orange slave-marking prism from my storage ring. Ethan paled slightly but didn’t avert his gaze. “I am a slaver, Ethan. Does that not mean you wish to kill me?”
“No, it does not,” he answered, his voice filled with conviction. “My lady, my Queen, my benefactor... we all face trials in our lives, and not all of them can be overcome through bloodshed. I believe you are desperate. I don’t know why, but I see it. That desperation drives you to slavery. I see anger, hate, rage, and pain in your eyes—just like in mine. That is why I believe, I know, deep in my bones, that once I help you reach where you need to go, you will let me destroy that.” He pointed at the prism, his confidence unwavering.
For a moment, I could only stare at him, dumbstruck. Then I laughed, shattering the serious mood.
“You are a better person than I am, Ethan Brooks, my Primal Berserker,” I said, amused. Nida, of course, smacked the back of his head.
“He’s just dumb,” she teased, a smirk playing at her lips.
“All brawn, no brain,” Nasq agreed and cracked a grin.
“All right, all right,” I said, motioning for them to sit. “This will take a while. When I’m done, I don’t want any questions. I’ll tell you everything you need to know. Understood?” They nodded, their expressions serious now. “Good,” I continued. “Afterward, we’ll go over your mission to retrieve Lady Ballenci. I’ll be speaking to her tomorrow morning before we leave for Alistar territory.”
“We’re leaving already?” Nasq groaned, slouching back into the couch. “I was hoping for a few peaceful nights.”
“I’ve lingered here too long,” I replied. “With Marquess Sharma in agreement and willing to retake his position as City Lord subservient to me, we can move forward.”
“Wait, what?” Nida blurted, rising from her seat again. “You're leaving the Marquess in charge? Why? How? What?”
I raised an eyebrow at her. “Would you rather hear about that, or about who I really am?”
Nida went silent and crossed her arms, her lips pinching together in a pout. Both Ethan and Nasq strained forward, eyes wide as they started to understand what Nida had wanted me to share.
I took a deep breath and leaned back in my seat. Exhaling slowly, I began. “My name is not Lilliana Silverwater. Not really. I am Lilith Reiter, Queen of Aedronir.”