After her coronation, Milina found herself in the old meeting room deep within the castle. As she looked around, she realized she hadn’t set foot in this space since she was a child. Once, this room served as the official gathering place for all the Kings of the land, but that was over two hundred years ago. Since then, Vanura had grown in wealth and prestige, eventually building a larger, more stunning hall for official matters.

  She gazed around, remembering how she used to play with her sister in this room. They had hidden beneath the round red table and ran around it endlessly, chasing each other until they collapsed in laughter. As she took in the moment, she looked at the great paintings that adorned the walls, almost hearing the whispers of her father telling her the tales of the heroes each painting contained.

  “Do you see the seven portraits over there? They are called the Seven Sages of Salizia; each one of them was a wise and strong ruler. I admire them. When I die, I want you to place my portrait next to them! We will be the Eight Sages of Salizia! And that painting of that battle there? Our ancestors fought a great and terrible war, but our House single-handedly turned the tide of battle, allowing us to win!”

  Back then, her father had been her entire world, his every action and word something she carefully cherished. But with age came clarity. Looking back now, she could see the cracks that had already begun to form in him, his mind slowly retreating from reality.

  Making her way to the round table, she ran her hand across its smooth surface. This round table was made from an ancient red pine, the wood still giving off a light aroma of pine. Taking a deep breath, she felt her mind ease, the familiar scent bringing her to a happier, more innocent time.

  “Your Majesty!”

  Opening her eyes, she glanced up to see her uncle entering the room. Smiling gently, she gestured for him to sit before sitting herself, her hands folded neatly on the table.

  “You don't have to call me Your Majesty in private,” she said, feeling slightly embarrassed.

  “Your Majesty, the strength of our House lies in tradition. Even in private, you are the Queen of this Kingdom. It would not be appropriate for me to speak to you as I once did,” her uncle replied, taking the seat beside her.

  Knowing her uncle's stubborn nature, she let it go; she would never change his mind. Removing the crown from her head, she placed it on the table before facing her uncle.

  “What do you want to talk about?”

  “Do you know the origins of this table?” he asked, his voice solemn. Almost reverently, he placed his hand on the table.

  Surprised by his tone, Milina slowly shook her head. “I don't.”

  “When I was in Lunedale, I asked them to send me a copy of every historical event they had on our Kingdom. In one scroll, it was written that when the world was still young, humans were under the rule of the Old Terrors and were used as food and toys for their enjoyment.

  “As the ages passed and their cruelty grew worse, the Lord of the Dragons took pity on us. He waged a war that tore the world apart. The climax of that war was when the Lord of the Dragons captured twelve God-Kings of the Terrors, ripped their hearts out, and gave them to the Elvish King as a gift. The bodies of those defeated God-Kings were buried beneath a red pine.”

  “That red pine drew nourishment from the blood and flesh of the fallen God-Kings, growing to immense size and power.”

  Drawing a breath, he continued. “Three thousand years ago, the Kings of humankind united in a joint effort to find this red pine. After years of fruitless searching, they finally traced it to the edge of the world. But they didn’t find what they had hoped for. Where the mighty tree once stood, only a charred, broken husk remained. It had been destroyed long ago.

  “The stunned Kings searched and studied the area, but the burning had happened so long ago that no signs of its cause remained. Once they concluded there was nothing more to learn, they cut down the remaining trunk and crafted holy relics to symbolize the past power and glory of the Dragon Lord.

  “This red table,” he said, gently resting his hand on it, “is one of those relics.”

  Staring wide-eyed at the table, Milina slowly took her hand off it and scooted back. The thought that the wood had been nourished by the bodies of God-Kings unsettled her.

  I hope this table is safe, she thought to herself, looking at her uncle.

  “Isn’t it considered immoral to create items from a tree that grew over the bodies of gods?” she asked, her voice filled with apprehension.

  “Your Majesty, this table has been in our family for thousands of years; if anything were to happen, it would have happened by now,” he replied, laughing. “You and your sister used to climb it when you were young.”

  “I see,” she said, still not fully convinced.

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  Gingerly, she rested her arms back on the table. Pausing, she decided to place her hands on her lap instead. It’s not too late to be careful, she thought.

  “Uncle, why did you bring this up now?” she asked. “And should we do anything with the table?”

  “No, the table has been in our family for generations,” he replied. “It’s safe. But the reason I brought it up is that our House has lost too much of its history. Just recently, we discovered the truth about this table and the names of the Twelve Great Kings. Counting the note and coin in the wooden box, as well as your armor, what else have we forgotten? We must try to rediscover our past.”

  “I agree with you, Uncle. But you know as well as I do that, right now, we don’t have the time or funds to investigate this,” Milina sighed, wishing it weren’t the case. “We’d have to send multiple historians to other Kingdoms and try to piece together our history.”

  “I know, Your Majesty. But it’s something we must return to in the future. Once the situation in the capital is dealt with, we must investigate it thoroughly.”

  “You have my word,” Milina promised, understanding that if her uncle was pushing this matter, it was important. “What else is on our agenda?”

  “Your Majesty, there are three things we must discuss. The first is our whole Kingdom's future, and the other two are about your future.”

  Having expected this, Milina felt her emotions solidify.

  “Continue,” she said.

  “First is our Kingdom, as you know, our Kingdom is composed of nine Great Houses, including ours. As long as the other eight Great Houses pay taxes to us, they are free to rule their lands as they please. Currently, many of the Great Lords do not view our family in a good light. If this continues, they may decide to leave our Kingdom and create an independent nation.

  “At present, they are not able to achieve this because the neighboring Kingdoms will attack any Great House that breaks from us and take over their lands by force. This threat will keep them from leaving for the time being. But if the Great Houses broker a deal with any of the other Kings to join their Kingdom, it will be problematic.”

  “I’ve already heard that Lord Apra has taken control of Lord Nazau’s silver mines. Is he testing us?” Milina asked.

  “Yes. If I had to guess, he broke off the engagement between his daughter and the Nazau boy, hoping the boy would do something rash. And just as he planned, the foolish boy challenged her to a duel, giving Lord Apra the excuse he needed to attack Nazau.

  “How we respond to his invasion is his true aim. He is testing our strength. The other Great Lords are also carefully watching our reaction and the outcome of this situation.” Her uncle’s lips were pressed into a tight line of frustration.

  “What do we do about this?” she asked.

  “Normally, our wealth and strength would keep the Great Houses from doing anything rash, but with the religious unrest and King Alfred selling the rights of our salt mines away, we have neither strength nor wealth. Just by losing our salt, we have lost over fifteen percent of our Kingdom’s income. Luckily for us, most of our wealth comes from trade. We do not have to worry about land cultivation or the quality of products we produce. If we work with Master Maliri, we can regain control of our trade routes. This will allow us to accumulate our wealth once more.

  “In the meantime, I suggest we stop collecting taxes from the Great Lords. In this way, we will ease their burden and strengthen their loyalty to us. Once our trade routes are secure, we can use the gold to hire additional guards to maintain peace in the capital. With this strengthened force, we can force a meeting between the two religious leaders who are on the verge of open conflict. We must prevent them from turning our capital into a battleground. If we can secure the capital, we will be able to deal with the Great Lords and their tests.”

  “Do you believe that we can convince the leaders of Gera and Alumus to meet without force?”

  “No, I do not.”

  “I see,” muttered Milina, remembering the conversation she had with Ronan. According to him, using force would be a bad idea. “Everything you said sounds reasonable, but stopping our collection of taxes from the Great Lords will slow down our ability to recover faster. Should we not penalize Lord Apra by raising his taxes while allowing the other Great Lords to pay a smaller amount?”

  “That is a reasonable proposal, Your Majesty. But if we do that, we may lose Lord Apra. And losing a Great Lord, even him, would mean more than just losing land. We will lose the buffer between the capital and the surrounding kingdoms. I hate to admit it, but no matter how flimsy the excuse, he did manage to create a seemingly reasonable justification for his attack.

  “I suggest we let Lord Nazau handle the situation—he has more than enough warriors to drive Lord Apra out. We must spend what little gold we have left to prevent the other Great Lords from turning against us and to keep the capital from falling into chaos.”

  Sighing loudly, Milina nodded. “I understand. I’ll arrange a meeting with Master Maliri regarding our trade routes. In the meantime, do what you can to keep both religious leaders believing we support them. I will send a letter to Lord Nazau stating that we support his actions and condemn the actions of Lord Apra. Oh, during the celebration, I spoke with Lord Nazau’s son, Ronan. He claimed that, if given a month, he could resolve the religious troubles without the use of force.”

  “In a month? Without the use of force?” her uncle exclaimed, his eyes wide. “If he can truly do that, he would be our Kingdom’s greatest mind. Do you believe he can?”

  “I don’t know,” Milina replied truthfully. “But I believe it is worth waiting a month.”

  “If you say so, Your Majesty.”

  “And what are the two things about my future that you wanted to talk about?”

  “Your Majesty, I believe it is time for you to learn House Salizia’s Royal Saber Forms. I will personally instruct you.”

  A surge of energy ran down Milina’s spine, causing her to almost jump up in joy. Learning her House’s Saber Forms had been a dream of hers since she had started training. Struggling to keep calm, she felt adrenaline pulse through her veins.

  “Thank you,” she finally managed to say, grateful that she didn’t squeal.

  “There is nothing to thank me for, Your Majesty. It is your birthright,” her uncle replied, the corners of his mouth lifting in a smile. “Now, onto our final matter: we must speak of your future husband.”

  Feeling her happiness sink, Milina groaned inwardly. “Prince Mayaga?” she asked.

  “After the duel between the two princes, Prince Mayaga is the clear favorite. However, I’m uneasy about allowing our Kingdom's future to be in his hands. I suggest we keep looking within our Kingdom for a suitable candidate.”

  Blinking in surprise, Milina stared at her uncle. “Do you have someone in mind?”

  “Not yet,” he admitted, his expression serious. “But if you give me some time. I promise I’ll find a better candidate.”

  “I understand, Uncle.”

  “Thank you, Your Majesty. Now, if you have time, I’d like to start teaching you our House’s Saber Forms.”

  “Right now?”

  “Right now.”