Nova
My wine sat untouched on the table.
I stared at it, fingers drumming against the glass stem of a goblet I had poured for myself. The silk robe I'd changed into whispered against my skin as I moved, each movement calculated, deliberate.
Every time I remembered the wine on Roan's table… laced with a potent aphrodisiac, it made my smile stretch a little wider.
He would drink it. They always did, eventually. Pride only lasted so long when exhaustion took its toll.
Let the little Queen cry in the gardens. Tonight was going to be all mine.
I was lounging on the velvet chaise, replaying and enjoying the sound of Arin's gasp when she walked in on us, when the door creaked open again.
I didn't bother looking up.
"I thought you would be faster," I said lazily. "Unless you came to tell me he's already asleep."
But the voice that responded wasn't Roan's guard. It was silkier. Colder.
"Nova."
I turned my head and smiled.
"Mother."
Lady Usera swept into the room like a wraith dressed in satin. Midnight blue, again—her favorite color. It made her look untouchable. Regal. Dangerous, like she was.
Her eyes scanned the room with that quiet precision she had always had, taking in the scattered pillows on the bed, the disheveled state of the sheets, and then… me. Still here in the room.
Her brows arched.
"I assumed you would be in his chambers by now," she said.
I shrugged and took a slow sip of my wine. "He got attacked with a bad case of guilty conscience before I could finish the game. But don't worry. He will come around and send for me. I left him a little surprise in the decanter. Once he drinks it, he will need a soft body beside him and i will supply that.
She didn't smile.
She never smiled when I did.
"Don't get overconfident, Nova," she said, walking toward me with that slow, assessing gaze. "A King's attention is a shifting thing. What matters isn't tonight—it's what comes from it."
I knew exactly what she meant.
An heir to the kingdom.
It was always about the heir and whoever was first to produce one.
"If you're not carrying Roan's child before that wolfless girl earns his interest," she added, voice low, "then everything we have built will crumble."
I rolled my eyes. "He doesn't even look at her, Mother. Did you not see how he treated her at the ceremony? He couldn't fake desire even if he tried. I practically had to peel her off the floor when she walked in on us. She looked broken."
I let out a satisfied sigh. "He humiliated her without lifting a finger. He won't go near her again."
Usera watched me in silence for a long beat. She never liked it when I gloated. But that was fine. I didn't need her approval, I had her strategy, and that was enough.
After a moment, I pivoted the conversation.
"Speaking of our little bride…" I set my glass down and raised a brow. "Did you take care of her?"
A flicker of a smile touched her lips then. Barely there.
"The first move has been made," she said softly. "The effects of the drug will hit her soon… everything will unfold exactly as we have planned."
I leaned forward, eyes gleaming. "You already poisoned her?"
"Yes, she did not even notice when I did it. She was so desperate for even a crumb of affection that she accepted my embrace unquestioningly."
I tilted my head, curious. "What next?"
"Her body will have a mind of its own, she will be unable to resist the men who will make use of her body and that is how shs will be found. The king will have no other choice than to banish her and then he will be free to make his own choice of a queen… You."
I grinned.
That's what I loved most about my mother… She never played just one move at a time. She wove entire wars beneath the lace of court dresses and the petals of garden smiles. She was a terrible enemy to have and I was glad to have her by my side.
Still, I could not help but press. "And what if the plan goes wrong? What if she starts to suspect and protests her innocence?"
"Have I ever failed you? Nothing will go wrong." Mother said with a scowl. "She's too proud to ask for help, and too isolated to be believed. Roan pushed her away tonight. And tomorrow, he might regret it… but it will be too late. He will reach for warmth, and who will be there?" She touched a manicured finger to my chin. "You."
I laughed quietly. "I almost feel bad for her."
"Don't." My mother's voice turned to steel. "Feel bad, and you grow soft. Grow soft, and you lose everything. This kingdom was meant for you, Nova. Not her. Never her."
I looked down at the wine again.
Roan was probably drinking it right at that moment, then he would summon me.
And when he did, I would be in his bed.
In his mind.
In his bloodline.
"I'll make sure it happens tonight," I said softly.
Usera brushed her fingers through my hair in a gesture that was almost tender. Almost, but i could feel the threat underneath.
"Make sure he remembers it tomorrow," she murmured. "Whether he wants to or not."
"We cannot afford to make any mistakes, I have worked too hard for my efforts to go to waste." Her eyes narrowed as she examined my face critically. "Have you been using the ointments i got you? Your face is not as blemish free as you should."
I could feel my face harden as she turned away in a swish of silk. I hated how critical she could get with me, but all that would change when I had all the power, when I became queen. That could not come soon enough.