Page 86 of Savagely Mated


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“Everybody in Eclipse knows that you killed the king, and that you will be replacing him. Death and regency are simple things, Darcy.”

“Rafe should be king,” I say. “He’s got the parts for it.”

“We can’t play musical kings,” the cardinal sighs.

“But I’m the king. I can assign another king if I like…”

Einar wraps his hand around my mouth, as if I am a child, or unhinged person.

“Thank you,” the cardinal says. “I speak the language of politics, but this one speaks the language of a guard, and I’m afraid those tongues are worlds apart. Take your royal mate, my good men, and impress upon her what a narrow escape and great victory this is. I fear she does not understand the magnitude of this moment.”

“Thank you, your eminence,” Rafe says. “We will do that.”

“Give the palace some time to get cleaned up,” he says. “I trust you have somewhere moderately secure to stay? One of Kirin Lupine’s many homes should suffice?”

“Of course, your eminence,” Kirin says.

I am elegantly dragged out of the cardinal’s presence by my mates.

“What the hell is happening?”

“Be quiet until we get home,” Einar says, squeezing me tight. “Please.”

“We did it!”

“I don’t know how, but we did it!”

The mood back at Kirin’s house is truly jubilant. I am kissed and I am hugged and I am held by all three of my mates, as they shower me with affection and praise, so much of it I can barely comprehend it all.

“You did so well, Darcy. Somehow, you managed to complete a plan we didn’t even have,” Kirin says.

“Maybe that’s what fate is,” I say.

Rafe smiles at me. “Maybe,” he says. “Or maybe you’re the kind of force of nature nobody can resist. We’ve all been moths to your flame, including the king. And now the future of Eclipse rests in your hands.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I frown.

“Don’t worry,” Einar says. “You’re not going to be alone in this. We’re going to be here with you, by your side.”

“Didn’t you want to be king?” I turn to Rafe. “Aren’t you supposed to be the one true monarch, or whatever?”

“Something like that,” he smiles. “But the cardinal was right. Changing monarchs every few minutes is a bad look, and you earned the throne, Darcy. You’ve earned it every day of your life,whether you knew it or not. You suffered a childhood devoid of family, an adolescence of abandonment, and now, as you step into adulthood, you’ve not only found three men who will always love you, but you’ve claimed what I am starting to truly believe was always destined for you.”

There are hot tears running down my cheeks as he says those things. They are not just sweet words of affirmation; they are words that make me feel seen and tell me that I am truly understood. Rafe knows me. Einar knows me. Kirin knows me. They all know me in different ways, through their own lenses, but they each see a part of me nobody has before. They love me. I know it. I feel it. And most of all, I trust it.

EPILOGUE

Einar

“Director, the new girls are causing some difficulties in the combat classes.”

It takes a moment to remember that the instructor is talking to me, as I am now the director of the King’s Guard Academy, appointed directly by the absolute brat of a king who I love with all my heart.

Darcy loves the fact that I go to the academy every day. She loves the fact that I now train those who escaped the late king’s harem to use their wolf powers and wiles for their own ends.

My little royal mate likes to pretend she has no interest in or talent for governance, but she does what matters, over and over again. Every single child born to those in the royal harem, and every single member of that group has been compensated generously for all they suffered.

I have a lot of angry, spoiled, directionless royal blood in this academy. Darcy likes to say she likes my ire directed at theminstead of her, but I ensure my mate continues to get the discipline she needs.