the timid bride

# Chapter 62 – The Queen's Bargain

Zara had never sat on the throne alone. Not truly. Damon had always been beside her—his presence grounding her, reminding her that though the weight of the crown might rest heavier on one head, they bore it together. But on the morning after the public forum, she stepped into the throne room early, long before the courtiers and guards would gather. She needed the silence. She needed the truth.

The throne, carved from silver and onyx, rose from the platform like a storm-clouded mountain. Cold. Sharp. Eternal.

Zara stood before it for a long time before she slowly lowered herself onto it. She sat upright, spine straight, legs together, hands resting lightly on the armrests as if she'd been born for this place.

But she hadn't.

She was not bred for politics or power. She had not been raised to rule. She had simply refused to stay small.

Her reflection caught in the burnished silver plates lining the hall walls. And for the first time, she did not see the timid girl who had once trembled beneath a veil. She saw a queen.

The doors opened behind her.

A messenger entered, bowing low. "Your Highness, Lady Viona of House Elvryn requests audience."

Zara's eyes narrowed. Elvryn was a northern house, rich in timber and trade. Neutral in politics—but not without ambition.

"Bring her in."

Lady Viona entered wearing gray velvet dusted with snowflakes. Her expression was unreadable. Her eyes, shrewd. She bowed low. "Your Highness. Congratulations on your… triumph."

Zara's voice was calm. "Speak plainly, Lady Elvryn. You came to bargain."

Viona didn't deny it. "House Elvryn seeks an alliance. Public support. Open declaration of loyalty. In exchange, we request exclusive shipping rights for luxury fabrics through the western ports."

Zara stood. "You offer support for profit."

Viona raised an eyebrow. "Is that not how alliances work?"

Zara walked down the steps. "In the old court, yes. But in mine, loyalty is earned, not bought."

"And what," Viona asked, tilting her head, "would earn your trust?"

Zara paused. "Build me a school. In your province. One for girls. Educate them in law, language, medicine. Fund it. Endow it. Then we talk."

Viona was silent.

Then, slowly, she smiled.

"You surprise me, Your Highness."

Zara's voice was like steel wrapped in velvet. "Good. The court should stay surprised."

—

By evening, word of the meeting had spread. Nobles whispered that Zara was rewriting the rules of power, refusing bribes and forging alliances through service instead of submission.

Damon found her in the war garden, where she practiced dagger throws with Varek.

"You're making enemies," he warned gently.

Zara wiped sweat from her brow. "Then let them rise. I need something to aim at."

He chuckled. "That's not the wife I married."

She glanced over her shoulder. "No. She's long gone."

They stared at each other.

Then Damon stepped forward and gently kissed her.

And Zara knew—no matter how many enemies rose, no matter how steep the climb—she would not fall.

Not now.

Not ever.

Zara turned from the garden and walked with Damon toward the western hall. She needed to inspect the new guards' formations herself. She couldn't rely solely on others—not yet. Not when so much still hung in the balance.

They passed the newly reinforced tower corridor, where two young girls bowed at the sight of her. Zara paused.

"What are your names?"

The smaller girl glanced at her older companion, then whispered, "Mina, Your Highness."

"And yours?"

"Anya."

Zara knelt before them. "Do you know you're allowed to dream?"

The girls blinked.

"You don't have to be servants forever," Zara continued. "Soon, there will be a place where girls like you learn. Read. Speak law. Heal wounds. Solve equations."

Mina gasped. "Even us?"

Zara smiled. "Especially you."

She left them beaming, and Damon placed a quiet hand on her shoulder. "You've done more with words than armies ever could."

But even as he said it, thunder rumbled overhead.

Zara's gaze lifted.

The storm hadn't passed.

It was only circling.