Chapter 1 Another Chance

[Naveah’s POV]

“All rise for the entrance of the queen!”

The voice booms around us, drawing everyone to attention and silencing any and all talking.

When the room grows quiet, I straighten out, my head held high as the doors in front of me open and my time to shine appears.

“My queen,” Rupert, my loyal guard announces, bowing. “Please.”

Smiling, I give a nod while fixing my gaze ahead on the room in front of me and after taking a single calming breath, I start to move forward. As I do, my heels click on the floor, filling the silence around me, keeping tempo with my heart that beats steadily despite what will be taking place this evening.

As I move, all eyes come to rest on me and instead of being wary of them, I’m ill-at-ease.

It’s going to be fine. I tell myself as I continue to move. This time will be different. It won’t be the same as that time.

I reach my thrown and when I do, I turn and take in all those who are gathered before me.

They’re all here for one reason and one alone, and that is to witness my choosing of the next king.

Of course, this wasn’t the first time that I did this. It wasn’t the second either, but it would certainly be the last.

The king of the dragons would not be someone unworthy this time.

Smiling, I continue to look around and as all those before me start dropping to their knees, I finally take a seat and straighten out my puffy golden dress.

Keeping my smile in place, I start to look around, taking in all that are present until my gaze comes to rest on one man.

Caspian.

He stares up at me, his lips in a smile, his expression calm and ready for what I’m certain he expects to happen.

I smile back, not giving way to what will actually be happening and when I’m certain he is satisfied, I continue scanning the crowd until my gaze comes to rest on another man.

He’s knelt like the others, his head down so that I can’t see his face, but when he feels me watching him, he slowly lifts his gaze.

Instantly, our eyes meet, my icy blue meeting his crimson red and when that happens, I can almost see the look of confusion on his handsome face.

Allaric, Caspian’s son and the head of the royal guard.

As the last descendent of the shadow dragons, he is big a deal and everyone knows of him and many want to get close to him.

Despite that, he doesn’t give in to the advances that come his way and he doesn’t go around fucking any woman who puts out with him.

He’s stubborn, modest, and a bit of a loner, but to me he is the perfect pick.

Smiling, I wait while he continues to stare at me, his thick dark brows furrowed, his face filled with questioning and I guess I can’t blame him since what I was about to do wouldn’t make any sense to him.

“My queen,” Rupert murmurs, drawing my attention back to him. “Are you ready?”

“Yes,” I tell him, getting comfortable and then raising a hand so that all who are still bowing can rise to their feet and then drop into their seats.

“Welcome,” I bellow, drawing the crowd’s attention to myself. “Thank you all for attending this evenings choosing!”

The choosing.

Who knew that I would end up holding not one, but two of these.

As the only daughter of the previous king, I was destined from birth to be the one responsible for naming the next king of the dragon race.

Because that was my destiny, from a young age, I prepared to become the perfect queen. The perfect partner. The perfect mother. And most of all, the perfect obedient doormat for the king to use as he saw fit.

It was a miserable destiny to say the least, but in the end, the man who was first chosen to be the next king treated me fairly.

He was a kind husband. A kind ruler. And he would have been a kind father had he not died before we had the chance to breed.

It was devastating to lose him to say the least and even now, the thought of him, his voice, his eyes, everything caused my heart to squeeze painfully and a hollow feeling to form in me.

Honestly, I didn’t think I would ever get over him and move on to be happy, but then, I wanted to believe.

That’s why, I went forward with this choosing, but the one who I was certain expected me to choose him, wouldn’t be chosen this evening.

Instead, the man I would be choosing would be the man who least expected it. The one who was actually destined to become my family in another way. He would be the one that I would be choosing this evening.

“I’m sure all of you are eager to hear who your next king will be.” I continue now, getting straight to the point. “And because of that, I won’t keep you waiting. This evening is a special one, but who knew that it would be happening again so soon.”

Growing quiet, I wait while everyone murmurs, giving their condolences for the loss of the previous king and my husband.

As they speak, my heart squeezes while his kind face appears in my mind, but before I can let myself drift into a world of pain and regret, I lift my hand, calling attention once again.

“Now,” I say, shifting my gaze around the room once more until it comes to rest on Allaric. “Your new king is someone whose loyalty and kindness knows no bounds. Neither does his bravery and his willingness to lay down his life for not only this kingdom, but for me as well. I have put great thought into this choice and I truly believe that this person will help lead this kingdom and this realm into peace and that is why, I have decided that your next king will be Allaric Shadownborn.”

I’m sorry, Allaric. I think silently as shock flashes in the man in question's eyes. I know that this was not what you were expecting, but I hope that you will come to understand that this is the best choice for everyone.