Cinders [Completed]

Chapter 30: Royal Blood

The Queen's name is Nokomis. She was the Chief Alpha's daughter and in line to become the ruler of the most powerful pack in both Americas. When her and King Alaric met, a unity of the strongest bloodlines led to the biggest peace agreement in history, eventually turning into the nationwide pack system that we have. It all leads back to her. Her name, I chant to myself, is Nokomis.

I'm suddenly horrified that I'll forget some piece of this information, like there will be an exam on American history and if I fail then I'll be booted out of the Palace. Nokomis, Nokomis, Nokomis.

"Okay, we're rushing into this," Orion says next to me, probably seeing the greenish tint in my cheeks, "Why don't we just reschedule and go on an extended tour of the palace instead?"

Since last night, I feel a kind of embarrassment when I look at him. I cried - cried - in front of him. It makes it even harder to clear my throat and say, "Is it okay if we do it today?"

We're already halfway to his parents - well, specifically, his mother. I'll be introduced to them separately, because they both have strict schedules to keep and I know that if I push this until I have time, I'm going to lose courage. Unlike last night, Orion's guard is with us, three gammas dressed formally that trail behind at a respectable distance. Neither Orion nor I say anything about is being mates. He talks around it with such careful precision that I wonder what they've been told.

Orion pauses when I say this. I take a glance at his face and see a familiar calculating look in his eyes. I worry that he's analyzing what I've said and found something deeper than I meant to show. Was I polite enough? Am I becoming too familiar with him? Is he angry with me?

"Of course," he says softly, and we continue down the hall. I have to chant truths to myself to calm down - he will not hurt me, he will not hurt me, Nokomis, Nokomis, Nokomis. I run my hands over my knuckles, 1 2 3 4 5.

The Queen meets us in the hallway. I can tell by the way Orion's frame tenses that this is unexpected.

I'd never seen her this close before. She's as tall as me, but there is much more substance to her frame, all beauty and strength. Up close, there is less grey in her hair than I thought there would be. She wears it up in a simple bun, but matched with her formal clothes she looks much fancier than me. I had put on the fanciest clothes that I own, but that means I'm still wearing flats with a scrape on the top.

"You must be Ashlee," she says as a greeting, not unkind, but her voice isn't exactly bursting with enthusiasm and I immediately feel nerves explode in my stomach.

"Yes," I say, at the same time that Orion says, "It's Lee, Mother."

She raises a thick eyebrow at her son.

"I also go by Lee," I correct myself quickly.

Her eyebrow slowly lowers back into neutrality. I swallow a wince.

"I've heard of your experiences, of course," she says, her voice softer. She reaches out and touches my shoulder. The contact is so unexpected and foreign that my body freezes. "You were very brave to testify at the trial."

"Thank you," I reply quickly, suddenly blinking fast. Her eyes are lighter than Orion's, brown and warm despite the edge in her tone.

"And your siblings, Lucy and . . . " she trails off, looking at me expectantly.

"Jonah," Orion says before I open my mouth.

"Orion," she says sharply, "Lee and I are going to go to my office. Why don't you go find Cooper and approve the training schedules for next month?"