“Gentlemen, while the safety of her Majesty is of the utmost importance, there is an urgent issue looming on the horizon.” The counselor in the heavy cloak speaks in a nasally voice and it isn’t lost on me that he doesn’t speak directly to me, or even look at me. “The Emperor is dead and the throne is empty.”

Prince Griffin straightens and turns to the man. “Counselor Goran. My brother was murdered in his sleep by a yet unfound perpetrator and your greatest concern is an empty throne?”

I don’t know how it works in Draconia, but the fact that Prince Griffin isn’t happy about his brother’s death when he’s most likely the one next in line for the throne drives the stake of betrayal further into my chest.

“You want to let the people live without a ruler?” Counselor Goran says.

“I want to honor my brother’s memory and mourn him properly,” Prince Griffin says.

Counselor Goran looks like a child who’s just been slapped on the wrist.

“Loathe as I am to say it, Counselor Goran has a point, Your Majesty,” a different counselor, a woman with a firm voice, says. “And to make matters worse, we still have a killer sneaking about the castle.”

“Yes, especially now that Her Majesty is next in line for the throne,” Taurus says. “Anyone targeting her will move to take her out now.”

Panic nearly jolts me out of my seat. I open my mouth to protest, but Nico catches my eye. The words die in my mouth and I slump back in my chair.

Counselor Goran turns on Taurus. “You can’t possibly mean the Queen be named Empress.”

For once, I find myself agreeing with him. I’d be a terrible fit for a throne. I’m hardly a good fit to attend meetings with our distributors most days.

Taurus steps closer to Counselor Goran and looks down at him. “I can and I do. Draconian law stipulates that the Queen be named Empress, unless you’re suggesting we break the law to suit your needs?”

Counselor Goran takes a step back. “Absolutely not. We’ll proceed as the laws say.”

“It’s settled then,” Taurus announces. “In ninety days, we will coronate our new Empress. In the meantime, we must find the Emperor’s killer and bring them to justice.”

A chill that has nothing to do with the temperature of the room creeps over me. They’re all talking over me, making decisions for me the way everyone in my life has always done. How could they possibly want to name me Empress when none of them will even look me in the eye? What about what I want?

I don’t want to be an Empress or lead a country I didn’t know existed twenty-four hours ago, but it’s unlikely that any of them would listen to me if I said that.

“Your Majesty, gentlemen,” Nico says. “This is neither the time nor the place to have this conversation. Her Majesty is still covered in…”

He lets his sentence trail off, but he doesn’t have to finish. They all turn to me like they’re seeing my state for the first time. Griffin’s eyes widen and Taurus turns away. Even Counselor Goran has the decency to look shocked.

“Your Majesty, please,” Taurus says. He motions to the guards and they all part, creating a path to the door.

I stand on shaky legs and Nico follows suit, arms still bound behind his back. Taurus pulls a knife off of his belt and cuts the rope. It hits me then. The people in this world carry real knives, real swords, real weapons. Death at the end of a blade is very real here and I just advocated for the release of the person I know for sure has no qualms driving one into someone’s heart.

“Your Majesty,” Nico says, motioning for me to walk ahead.

I have no idea where to go, or how to get back to the room I was sleeping in, but I tip my chin up and walk out like someone who does.

As it turns out, I don’t have to walk very far, because two women stand at the door waiting for me, both of them faces I recognize: Lady Helena and Lady Leela.

Helena gasps when she sees me and Leela claps a hand to her mouth. Both of them look me up and down, unable to keep their eyes off the blood staining my nightgown.

Leela is the first to recover and she holds her arm out.

“Let’s get you to the baths,” she says.

Before I can take her arm, Nico clears his throat.

“Lady Helena, Lady Leela. Good evening. A word with Her Majesty, if I may? I’ll see to it that she’s escorted back to her rooms.”

“Of course, Captain,” Leela says. She pulls Helena close and they hurry down the corridor together, leaving me at Nico’s mercy.

“Let’s take a walk, Your Majesty,” he says. “There are too many prying ears here.”

He motions me forward and I have no choice but to walk. He falls into step with me.

“Thank you for saving my skin back there.” He flashes me a smile, and for the first time all night, I’m able to notice that he’s handsome. His green eyes crinkle when he smiles and a dimple presses into his right cheek. I hate myself for thinking these thoughts and keep my eyes firmly ahead, watching the pattern shift on the carpet as we walk across it.

“Things got off to a rocky start, but it seems alright now. We have to stick together, especially during the upcoming investigation. The last thing we want is for them to suspect you, since you’re to be named Empress.”

A wave of nausea rolls through my stomach. I don’t know who Queen Messalina was before I found myself in her body, but if she was the type to murder a man just so she could be the one sitting on the throne, then I want nothing to do with it. If the throne was her and Nico’s goal, then it’s the last thing they’ll have.

I turn to Nico and do my best to stand tall and look like a queen.

“I won’t be taking the throne,” I say. “In fact, it’s the last thing I want. But I don’t want to find myself on a murder suspect list, so we’ll work to keep things under wraps until someone who knows what they’re doing can take the throne.”

Nico looks at me like I’ve grown not two, but three heads.

“What on earth are you saying?”

“I’m saying I don’t want the throne.”

“But the throne is your marriage right.”

“I’m a widow, Captain. You made sure of that for me.”