The apartments of the Queen Mother were the most lavish in the Grand Palace. By tradition, they belonged to the reigning queen, but since there was no such thing, Cage had not forced his mother to move out of the place she'd considered home for the past thirty years.

As he approached them, he wondered if that was not a mistake. His mother hadn't done anything to make this transition any easier for him or Edmund, so why should he bend over backwards to appease her? He stopped in front of the door and swallowed his bitterness.

The guards were almost as stiff as those guarding Edmund's chambers and Cage gave them an appraising look and made a mental note to ask Humphrey about how they came to be in the palace. It made sense for them to be fiercely loyal to Fherras, and Cage suspected that the only reason they weren't driving their swords through him was the crown on his head.

Biting back a groan, he knocked on the door. There was no answer from inside. He waited a few moments then knocked again. Still no sound from inside. With a confused frown, he turned to the guards.

"Is the Queen Mother out?" That would be news. She'd refused to leave her rooms ever since her husband had died. Or better said, since Cage had killed her husband.

The guards shifted uncomfortably, obviously not wanting to answer but unable to deny their king.

"No, your Majesty," one of them finally said, his voice so low it appeared he didn't want Cage to actually hear.

"Thank you, whatever your name is," Cage mumbled and banged his fist against the door this time. "I'm not going away, Mother. You knew this was coming."

The guards jumped at the sudden noise and stepped away from the door as if expecting Cage to blast it off its hinges. That wasn't a bad idea, but he'd rather not cause more animosity than necessary. So without any flourish, he opened the door. It was locked, but his physical strength was enough to break the lock without causing much of a fuss.

His mother was in the middle of her sitting chamber, on the sofa, a book open in her lap. There was a string of crystal beads between her fingers and she appeared to be in deep prayer. Cage felt bad for the second it took him to notice that the book on her lap was not one filled with prayers.

"Interesting read, mother," he said, closing the door behind him.

The Queen Mother startled out of her pretend trance and glanced at him with large pale-green eyes, so much like Edmund's. Even if her hair was dark, there was almost no resemblance between her and her eldest son. As he'd come to learn by reading books on lineages and ethnicity much like the one in his mother's lap, the first born of the rightful ruler of Iride took after his father almost completely. Cage had too. Only after reading on the matter did he realize why Fherras had banned all books on the subject. Even if they would have been another reason for suspicion and discrimination against Endir, it would have made it painfully obvious that he did not belong on the throne. As such, the previous king chose to save his own neck rather than disseminate more hatred and bigotry.

"Are you trying to confirm that this cursed crown belongs on my head?"

She lowered the beads with shaking hands and placed them on the table. Cage didn't recognize their pattern or colors so he assumed she'd been fake-praying to some Annorian deity.

"It is on your head," she answered, her voice barely a breath. "It makes little difference how it got there."

"That's what you and Edmund fail to understand. It makes all the difference in the world." He walked deeper inside the room and sat on the armchair across from the sofa. He was close enough to reach over and take her hands. A part of him wanted to, but he knew she'd just draw away and he didn't need that kind of pain. "Is this what you told yourself when Fherras killed my father and claimed the throne?"

His mother didn't answer, but he wasn't expecting her to.

"I do care that I had to kill the former king, even if he was a usurper. Even if by the laws of our kingdom, I was to inherit the crown the moment my father fell, I never wanted the crown and you know that, Mother."

There was steel in her eyes now. "And yet, it rests on your brow."

"Would you rather it rested on Ed's?" Silence greeted his question. "I know that, just like me, you couldn't wait to see Ferdinand take over. He was fit to rule. But he is dead and Fherras didn't heed my warning. I had little choice in the matter."

"There was still choice."

"He would have had me executed." Cage narrowed his eyes. "But then again, what would you care when you've long decided that I am no son of yours?"

"It was to keep the peace."

"Your peace, not mine."

"Those are very cruel words, Kale."

At least she'd used his name and not his title which was an improvement from Edmund. "And my fate wasn't cruel? Treated like a bastard child when I knew who I was. When you knew."

"You were never supposed to--"

"And would that have made it better for you? Hiding my destiny from me?"

Tears brimmed in her eyes. "I was trying to protect you."

"Maybe. But you were also protecting yourself. Once you birthed Ferdinand, you knew you were safe. You had secured Fherras an heir. You broke the line."

"I did no such thing! Fherras was a Pengranton, just like you."

"He wasn't just like me! Fherras was a murderer! I know your marriage to my father was political, but even you could see that what happened was wrong. What you did was fu-- Wrong!" He bit the inside of his cheeks before curse words started flying around the pristine room. That was not why he was there.

"Not like you, you say?" she asked, her eyes narrowed. "Not a murderer."

The conversation was going around in circles and he realized he didn't want it. This woman, his mother by birth, had never been a true mother to him. He wasn't sure why he was trying to change that or find a shred of affection inside her.

"I have come to seek counsel," he said, his voice much colder.

His mother seemed to approve of the shift in the conversation and his mood as she straightened her back and watched him interested. "I will do my best to aid the king."

The king. Disgusting. "Given the circumstances, there was no official coronation. Do you believe there should be one?"

"There was one when Fherras became king." Her eyes shifted to the crown on his head. "But he did not wear the crown until then." The 'like you' was heavily implied.

"I did not find it proper seeing as we are on the brink of war and..." And he'd taken the crown off a dead man's head. A coronation would feel like boasting.

His mother merely shrugged. "You are the king. You decide."

That was his issue. Without the coronation he might not have legitimacy before his people, crown or not. And he needed them as much as they needed him to protect them. He studied his mother, but she did not seem to be holding back for selfish reasons. It was who she was. A foreign princess who had never cared much about her adoptive country.

He stood. "Thank you for your counsel." The sarcasm was well hidden so he believed she did not catch it. There was no point lingering there or disturbing her in her chambers again. She was not his mother. Just a woman who happened to give birth to him.

He headed for the door and could hear her sigh of relief. It still broke a piece of his heart. He turned to face her. "I have a request."

She tilted her head in polite inquiry, but Cage saw the fear behind her eyes.

"I want you to tell Edmund that you are indeed my mother."

"Kale..."

"Why wouldn't you? You know it's true better than anyone. I need his support."

"You... Our part has ended in this story. Once you took over--"

"I didn't steal anything from you or Edmund," Cage said between his teeth, anger flaring inside him. "Your part may be over, but Edmund's is definitely not. I recognize him as my brother and since I am unwed and without an heir, he is next in line for the throne. There is war coming and I intend to lead it."

"Your relationship to Edmund is in your hands."

"The only reason he doesn't believe me is because you're silent."

"I did not deny it."

"He needs more than that! You will do this. If you do not..."

She lifted her chin in defiance. "What will you do then?"

He lifted his fist to his chest. Tendrils of lightning danced around his forearms. His mother let out a scream and shifted into the cushions of the sofa.

"I don't want to have to do anything. But you know as well as I do that I've kept you much more comfortable than you deserve... Your Highness."

He left the room and sailed past the guards. They threw him sideway glances, most likely having heard the scream inside. Cage didn't care. The conversation with his mother had not brought forth the wisdom he hoped for. All he took from it was that there might have been something Fherras had understood better than the kings before them. Marrying an Annorian princess brought no benefits to the kingdom.

Maybe Madeline Harkiss would have been much better for Ferdinand than someone like their mother.

⚜⚜⚜

Poor Cage! And that infuriating mother of his... (His mother is always infuriating). Unfortunately, he has no idea what to do now about the coronation. But, he fortunately has more friends he can talk to, and you'll be seeing them in the next chapter.

I know there's a lot of Cage PoVs, but isn't it fun not knowing just what the hell Kat is doing on her side of the world? Is she still Kat? Well, you won't know for a while! Time for more solutions to be figured out by our lovely bunch.

I hope you're still enjoying the story and don't forget to leave a vote, or maybe a comment. Feedback is very important to me.