"Kabir has accepted our offer for trade," Islo said and showed me the documents.

"Alright, that means we'll be sending fish their way and they'll be sending us fruit."

"They promised chocolate as well, as a treat." Islo smirked a little. He loved chocolate.

"So, what else is on today's schedule?" Jura asked and flipped through his own binder. "Or was that it?"

"You have a hot date?" Saal asked and winked at Jura. His cheeks darkened and I had never seen him so flustered. "Or would you like a hot date? I'd like to try out that new Bursaaq restaurant that just opened up. Good thing I already called ahead and reserved a table for us. In an hour."

Islo and I shared a glance. "I guess that means this meeting has come to an end. Tell me if the food is any good. Maybe Islo and I could go there too sometime."

Saal and Jura rose immediately and hurried out of the council room, almost like a pair of unruly kids. I couldn't help but laugh a little. It was funny how Saal had just decided they were going on a date. Finally. Jura had for a long time been awkward around Saal, given her compliments through stutters. Seeing the otherwise so poised man go from being completely cool-headed to an almost stuttering fool had been interesting to observe. Everyone had just waited for this to happen.

"About time," Halla said and rose to her feet too. "If those two hadn't figured it out soon I would've reserved a table for them myself."

"Honestly I would've paid," Islo said. "Jura is even older than me. I thought he'd have more... Game."

"Age has nothing to do with it. Some people never find the right footing until they find the right person." Halla shrugged a little and picked up her binder.

"Have you found someone?" I asked and stood up too.

"I had someone. They died in the war." She clenched her jaw. "Islo. My king." She bowed her head at both of us and took her leave.

Islo sighed and rose too, grabbing his cane. I offered him my arm for additional support, and he smiled as he took it.

"Maybe we should find someone for Halla. Maybe it'd cheer her up a little," Islo said with a low voice as we entered the halls.

"To be completely honest, I think she's more than capable to find someone if she truly wanted someone. Besides, there's more to life than finding love."

"What else is there?" My husband chuckled and I couldn't hold back a snort.

"You have a one-track mind, my love."

"You love that one-track mind though."

"Gods save me, I do."

There were still unanswered questions. About who'd actually rule this country. I had called Al in for a meeting. Islo squeezed my shoulder.

I watched her from across the sofa. We were occupying one of the formal sitting rooms and I was holding my son in my arms. Islo stood behind me as Al's girlfriend stood behind her. She was quite scary-looking, Dy. I hadn't expected Al to go for someone like that, but it was very clear they both cared for each other.

I took a deep breath. "I'm not stepping down from the throne."

Al was about to say something, but I held my hand up, stopping her.

"I'm the rightful heir. I am older than you, and our father legitimised me before his death. The throne is rightfully mine. I've been a king for longer than you were a reigning queen too."

Al snorted and leaned back, looking back at Dy. "Well," she said and met my gaze again. "Alright."

I frowned. "What?"

"She said: alright," Dy chimed in.

"Maybe you shouldn't talk right now," Islo bit back.

I rose to my feet and faced Islo. "Both of you can leave us."

Islo didn't look very pleased with being dismissed and neither did Dy, but I didn't really care. I needed to talk to my sister alone.

They left and I sat back down again. "Right, so... Alright?"

"Alright," she repeated and nodded. "I don't want it, Quinn. You can have it."

My eyes widened. I had hyped myself up for this conversation for months. While we had been rebuilding the nation and the city it had been a constant question: who's the monarch? But now, Al was just handing it over?

"I don't get it," I admitted.

"I... Don't wanna give birth." She shrugged and ran a hand through her short hair. "I don't wanna rule. I don't even know if I wanna live here in Andahavn. I wanna see the world. I wanna learn everything there is to know about tattoos." She shrugged a little again. "I wanna be selfish for a bit."

I could understand that. I could understand it so well. All of it. If it hadn't been for Dreki I wasn't sure if I'd even have a child now.

"So, you'll just let me be king?" I arched a brow at her.

"I mean, I would hope I could be some kind of support for you. If not on your council, then as an ambassador. I'm good with the politics."

"I'm horrific with the politics," I said and chuckled a little, leaning forward to take a sip of my coffee. Àlvar fussed, not liking how I was moving, apparently, and started crying. I had maybe woken him from his little nap.

"I'm sorry, my love," I murmured and put him against my chest, so he could feel my heartbeat.

"He's so small," Al said and looked very curiously at my son.

I jerked my head at her, inviting her to come and sit by me. She didn't hesitate to sit down next to me, smiling at my son. He had his head turned towards her and he laughed loudly, kicking his legs.

"And easy to please it seems."

I snorted. "He can turn on a dime, I swear. One minute he's crying, the next he's laughing his head off." I brought him back and helped him balance on my legs. His little legs weren't quite used to standing yet, but he loved feeling like he was jumping. He'd kick and I'd lift him up a little. He'd laugh and I'd melt. He could pull himself up and stay up if he held on to something. He had yet to take his first step without help, but the fact that he was standing already, made me so proud.

"He looks like Àlvar did when he was little," Al noted. "But at the same time, he looks so much like you. But you and Àlvar always looked so much alike."

I frowned and glanced at my sister. "Àlvar and I looked nothing alike."

"You did," she said and grabbed my son's hand. He curled his little fat fingers around hers. "You have the same eyes and brows. Also, the same cheekbones. You both look a lot like Dad."

"Why didn't you tell me that?" I blurted out before I could stop myself.

"What do you mean?" She took Àlvar from me as he started reaching out for her. He laughed as she sat him down in her lap. He liked tapping her metal arm, probably revelling in the very odd sound that an arm really shouldn't make.

"I've... Never felt like..." I sighed and took a sip of my coffee. "I didn't look like you guys, Al. I always felt like an outsider."

"You always looked like my brother to me. Both of my brothers looked like my father," she said seriously and looked down at my son.

"But I'm so much darker than you all."

"Sure, you are. But your features are the same as some of Dad's. Your hair is of course nothing like his."

"No, my mother gave me that," I chuckled and handed Àlvar a biscuit he could bite into. He was growing in teeth and loved biting on stuff to deal with the itch. "She'll be coming to visit soon. And she'll bring my other siblings as well. She wants to meet you too." I glanced up at her, but she was impossible to read. Something I had never mastered as well as she had. "I know it must be weird..."

"I'm not gonna lie, it's a little weird. But it's not like I can deny you have another family as well. One that essentially has nothing to do with me."

"You're not going to be any less of a sister to me, Al. We did grow up together after all. We're more like twins than anything else." I took a deep breath and hesitated a little before continuing. "But you've always had a mum. A whole family, you know? And while Dad tried to include me, I was always a bastard. Quinn makes things so much easier. She's my mum, and honestly, I need her. Just like I need you. You're both my family."

She nodded but her mask was still in place. She was feeling something, but she was showing nothing at all.

Àlvar looked up at her and smiled, showing off the two teeth he was growing in. Al's mask finally broke and she smiled back.

"I'm your aunt, Àlvar," she said softly and ran her hand over his head.

"He's your nephew," I said and handed him his cloth when he started fussing a bit. And then he reached out for me and I took him back, putting him against my chest again. He stuffed the cloth in his mouth and sucked on it contently, closing his eyes. "I'm a fucking dad," I whispered and grimaced at my sister.

She snorted and nodded. "You're a fucking dad."

"It's so weird! But like, at the same time? He's the most important person in the world. Like, obviously you and Islo and Isla mean a lot to me too? And my mum, obviously. But no one compares to him."

"As it should be." She leaned back, rubbing her arm where the skin met metal. "People become absolute lunatics when they become parents, don't they?"

"Oh yeah, I've lost my mind to this little thing." I patted his back and smiled. "If you ever get one, you'll feel the same way. Like, this is yours. And it's a little person. A tiny person you'll raise, and watch grow up. It's still crazy to think about."

"Isn't it intimidating as well?" she asked hesitantly.

"It was at first, but Islo has already been through this once and Isla turned out great. So, I'm not alone with this. And he's such a great father, Al. Like, he's so socially inept with everyone but me and his kids."

"Yeah, he's not exactly... Loveable, is he." She laughed a bit. "As long as he treats you and the kids well, then that's all that matters."

"He's been amazing. He's ridiculously strong. And he's so smart." I cringed a little and widened my eyes. "Like, he knows so much!"

Al laughed and poured herself a cup of coffee. "He's infuriatingly smart. He was my least favourite member of the council back in the day."

"I do think you'd like each other if you both got over yourselves though," I murmured.

"That would require us both to let down our pride. Would your dear husband do that?" She smirked at me.

I snorted. "No."

"Would your beloved sister?"

"I believe not, no."

"Then, my king, I believe we've come to a standstill."

"He needs to be put to death," Rakuul almost growled, reminding me of Barr's dragon.

"We are not reinstating the death penalty," I said coolly. "A progressive nation doesn't kill."

"He committed mass-murder in the name of the Bursaaq tribe. Our reputation will be tainted for years to come. We need to put things right."
"And more killing is the way?" I countered. I could feel Islo's eyes on me and I knew why he was staring so intently. He had been trying to convince me to let the Bursaaq tribe deal with Dreki.

Rakuul looked like she bit her tongue, stopping herself from saying anything she might regret.

"What Dreki did," I said and swallowed. My voice shook and I looked down at my hands. They were shaking too. Islo's hand snuck into one of mine, giving it a squeeze. "What he did was inhumane. To the nation. To the Bursaaq tribe. To me." I whispered the last part. "But we can't sink to his level. We have to be better. I have to be better."

"I agree," Jura said. "Our king has spoken, and I believe we should respect his wishes on this one. No one has been more personally affected than he. I urge you all to read his recounts of the events that unfolded in this stronghold during the siege. Carefully. And remember the person who experienced this, is the man who sits at this very table."

Rakuul sighed and leaned back in her chair. "Sorry Quinn. I keep thinking about my tribe. I only want what's best for it, when I should be thinking about the whole nation. I know you're trying to gather us all under one government. It takes time to get used to."

"I understand. I don't want the Bursaaq voices to be drowned out either. But we have to remember some important facts here. Over twenty thousand Aatskina people lost their lives in this. We still don't have exact numbers, but that's the estimate. This wasn't just a war. It was genocide." I took a deep breath to steady my emotions. "What I went through is nothing compared to those who lost their lives. Who were hung from poles in the square. Dreki needs a proper punishment for his crime and death will make him a martyr. I don't want that. So, I will hand over the rebels and Dreki to your custody. The icy dungeons you have in the glaciers sounds like a good compromise."

"Total isolation, they'll always be cold..." Rakuul bopped her head from side to side. "It's not what I imagined but sure. We'll take them there."

"Thank you. To be perfectly honest, I want them out of here as well. I want them out of my home. This should be the last time they see the inside of the stronghold."

"We'll have them transferred today, then," Rakuul said and wrote something down.

"Onto the next subject," Jura said and sent me a quick smile.

I was very fortunate to have him on my council.