Shadow's Throne

Chapter One

Mare's Pov

We sit in silence for a few minutes. Eventually, Farley extends her hand to me.

"We should probably head back in. We need to figure out if they still want our help in this mess," she says softly, noticing the hurt and betrayal in my eyes.

I nod and let her pull me up. I walk behind Farley and Davidson as we make our way back inside the tower and to the meeting room. When we reach the doors, Farley looks back at me checking to see if I'm okay. I nod and push open the doors and we walk inside.

All conversation immediately stops as we enter the room. I can feel Cal's eyes burning into my back as I make my way to a chair on the opposite side of the table. Davidson returns to his seat and Farley grabs the chair next to me.

"How nice of you to join us," Volo says in his icy voice. "We were just discussing Tiberias's return to the throne."

I risk a glance towards Cal and find him already staring at me regret obviously shown in his eyes. He's never been as skilled as Maven when it came to hiding his emotions. I quickly look away and focus on Evangeline instead. She's glancing between Cal and her father giving them both glares. She must notice me staring, because she breaks her glares and turns to look at me. Her gaze softens a bit, but not much. I glare back before turning away to look at Cal's grandmother as she begins speaking.

"Yes," she says expounding on Volo's statement. "I believe we were talking about the wedding arrangements."

The temperature in the room slowly rises and I hear Cal shift in his seat. I don't dare look up at him. I already know he's still looking at me. Evangeline signals a maid over who brings her another glass of wine which she quickly downs. Her brother watches her with concern as her mother scolds her with her gaze.

"Ah yes," Volo replies resting his hands on his throne.

I hear Davidson clear his throat and we all turn our gaze to him. "I believe we have more pressing matters to discuss. There's a war we have to win before Tiberias has any kingdom to unite with yours King Volo," Davidson states simply with no expression.

Volo frowns but nods his head. "Of course Premier. I believe you might want to tell us if you're fighting with or against us before we get into any of those interesting details.

Davidson allows himself a small smile. "Montfort will happily support your efforts."

I snap my head to look at Davidson. Why is he allying with them? They're defeating our whole purpose of creating equal rights for all silvers and reds. Davidson gives me an 'I'll explain later' look as Farley cuts in.

"So will the Scarlet Guard," she says not sounding too happy about her decision.

Cal's grandmother gives us a false smile before saying, "Wonderful. With your red and Newblood armies combined with our Silver ones, we'll be almost unstoppable."

Everyone sits in silence for a few minutes and I risk a glance at Cal. He's no longer looking at me and is instead looking out the window at the gardens and trees outside. I can easily see the anger and sadness outlining his face. It hurts me to look at him when I know that I could be sitting at his side. But that would go against everything I've dedicated my life to. That would make me a queen. A red one, but a queen just the same. I've lived the life of a Silver once, and I never want to go back.

I look to Farley giving her a look that hopefully tells her that I need to get out of here. She nods in understanding.

She whispers something to Davidson before standing. "As much fun as this has been, we've got other important business to attend to."

With that, Davidson rises and Farley motions for me to follow them out the door. I feel Cal's gaze on my back as I leave the room. I guess I shouldn't call him Cal anymore. His mother gave him that nickname and he loved her. Like he once loved me. I don't have the right to call him it if there's nothing between us anymore.

I follow Davidson and Farley to Davidson's rooms. We gather in his salon and I walk over to the window as they sit.

"Is someone gonna explain to me what's going on?" I ask without looking back.

Davidson's clear voice answers my question. "Having the Lakelands allied with Norta makes Maven's forces twice as strong. The Scarlet Guard and Monfort's armies together might be strong, but it wouldn't be enough."

"But, if we ally with Tiberias, we have more of a chance of taking Maven off his throne. And once that's finished, and Tiberias is king, Norta will be too weak to fight back after a war and we can knock Tiberias off his throne," Farley finishes.

It makes perfect sense. I nod in understanding but can't help the feeling of betrayal creeping throughout me. I turn away from the window and excuse myself. Farley and Davidson nod in understanding and I make my way to my rooms. I barely make it through the doors before the tears come. That fact that we're betraying Tiberias shouldn't bother me as much as it does. After all, that's exactly what he did to me. I flop down on my bed and stare at the ceiling as the tears run down my cheeks. I can't believe I fell for it again. The Calore brothers are more similar than they'd like to admit. They both tricked me into believing that they loved me. Both left me for a crown.

First chapter done!!! I really hope you guys liked it and please leave me comments. They're so helpful to figure out what you guys like or don't so that I can make this story even better. I hope you guys stick with me these next chapters and thank you so much for at least giving this a shot!