The Devil's Rose

28.

Typically I would be complaining and feel terrible about being stuck in a cell for days, but this time I couldn't. I didn't have Valda popping up to talk about people plotting to kill me, I wasn't be starved, I didn't have a guard outside my door 24/7. I had people checking in on me periodically, I was getting three meals a day, and all I had to do was ask for water if I needed it. The only real downsides were the uncomfortable bed and the no so private toilet off to one side of the cell. 

There had been no word from King Lucifer and what was going through his head. I had tried asking for updates from the guards and all I was told that he was still thinking. A few days ago, though, things had changed to he was now consulting with his daughters on the best way to handle the situation. This made me a bit more nervous because if he couldn't make a decision on his own, then I felt like there had to be something larger happening. 

Had he not been able to find proof of what I'd said? Was killing Deimos and Cainen still a larger problem then he had made it seem? Did his daughters think that I deserved a more severe punishment? Were his daughters going against him? Was he against me or were his daughters against me? Had they contacted my family? Did they know anything about what was happening right now? Did they know anything about what I'd been dealing with?

I had all of these questions flooding my head. What made it worse was that I didn't know when I would get an answer to any of them. All I could do was sit and wait or anxiously pace through the small cell. 

It wasn't until the end of the week that I was summoned back into the throne room to have the dreaded conversation. Going through the portal this time didn't feel as intimidating, but it was just as nervewracking. I had no idea what was going to happen at the end of this conversation. I could be executed, I could be locked away forever, or I could be set free to live my life as I pleased. There were too many options and too many unknowns which didn't make me feel as safe as I thought I would feel right now. 

"Ah, Nesryn. Thank you for coming so quick." He said setting the file aside. 

"Well, this is my life you have hanging on a string." I said playing with the end of my shirt. 

"I apologize for taking so long, my daughters and I had a lot to go over. All of which I'm going to go over with you."

He snapped his fingers and chair appeared right under me forcing me to sit. He opened the file again and started talking. 

"So your blood test came back confirming what you said, you're a Goddess. Therefore, you're too special to kill so you don't have to worry about execution." 

"I'm assuming you checked into the rest of my story." 

"I did." He nodded. "That's part of why it took so long. I read over Valda's autopsy and I was able to get ahold of your mother's medical records too. It confirmed your mother and her family tree has Goddess blood written all over it, so it's no surprise that it was passed onto you."

"What did you find out about Valda?" I asked. 

I knew it would be harder to prove any part of my story as far as Valda was involved, so I was worried. 

"We did a lot of digging and found the man who performed the autopsy, after a not so pleasent interrogation we were able to get the true autopsy report. Apparently he knew nothing of the truth at first and did the autopsy as normal and found various poisons in her system. Once he confronted Cainen about it all, he was quickly threatened to come out with an autopsy saying there was nothing wrong with her and it was a simple, natural death. He couldn't go against his King so he did as he was told and that was the autopsy that was put into the world."

"So she was poisoned?" 

He nodded, "She was. The poor woman went through a lot based on what I saw."

Things got quiet between us for a bit. I knew that Valda had been murdered and had gone through a lot, but to hear it confirmed made me feel worse. She had done nothing but try to help me and get me out of the situation before I got hurt. 

"What's going to happen now?" I asked quietly. 

I knew I wasn't going to be killed, but that didn't take shoving me into my own personal hell off the table. Or just a simple jail cell. 

"This is where my daughters helped me. I wasn't sure what the best course of action would be since you are guilty of murdering not just two people, but the two remaining members of the family that I left my earthly kingdom in charge of. I can't kill you and I don't feel like locking you away forever would do anyone any good. My daughters thought it would be best to pass Xavaria down to you since you are technically Queen, which I agree with. You're a powerful girl whether you understand it or not and Xavaria needs a powerful ruler."

I tooked at King Lucifer with wide eyes. I rule Xavaria? That wasn't something that I thought was remotely going to be an option. I was a killer and I had no doubt in my mind that they would have no problem locking me away somewhere. 

"Why would you trust me with that?" 

"It is yours. You married Deimos making you Queen and just because he's dead doesn't mean that you are stripped of that title."

"Do you think the citizens of Xavaria would be okay with that?" 

"This decision isn't up to them. Yes, this is not an everyday situation but my daughters and I believe that this is the best thing to do."

"I'm not even trained properly, I barely survived that fight with Deimos so what am I-"

My anxious rambling was cut off, "While you're here we can provide training for you and when you return to Xavaria we can send a personal trainer with you to continue working on things. If you need assistance dealing with the work that comes with running the kingdom then I have no problem giving you an assisant."

"You really want me to  run this kingdom." I said mostly to myself. 

"You're the only one that seems like the correct choice. You got through all of that abuse and while it ended in bloodshed, you survived and came out stonger and better. You're perfect."

I had to think for a moment. I wasn't even sure if I had to choice to reject him, but if I did what would happen? He was offering to help me in any way possible and seemingly believed in me. Other than the backlash I was sure I'd recieve for becoming Queen, I felt like I couldn't say no. 

I took a deep breath and blocked out any negative thoughts, "What do we need to do?"