Her Cinder Throne (Completed)

Chapter 102

The men and women who were supposed to help her were growing increasingly frustrated. They'd been packed into the map room for three hours now, trying to get through one of the first sessions of Cole's reign, and it was as slow and tedious as trying to pick up sand grain-by-grain. The advisors had been elected by the votes of those high in the Eldritch courts, but judging by the barely contained eye-rolls and the strained voices, Cole knew that they were regretting these supposedly "honored" roles.

As for herself, her mind spun so fast that she was sure smoke must be spilling out of her eyes and nose and ears. It struggled to remember names and places, all brand new and strange to her. Half of what was said was in the language of the Eldritch, which she understood none of, and had to be clumsily translated. She wanted nothing more than her mother or Tanwyn to be there and offer her some words of kindness or understanding, but neither was allowed into the royal meetings. Being a queen who abandoned her people and the son of a traitor didn't exactly endear them to the court.

She now leaned over a map that was completely unfamiliar to her, with purple landmasses and green waters, and tried to force the Eldritch names to suddenly translate themselves without her having to ask for the tenth time for someone to remind her what that small island was called or that large lake.

"But can't we just offer the sea people some of the hill country instead of forcing me to marry one of their men and upset the forest dwellers?" she asked, rubbing the bridge of her nose. She felt like she'd already heard the answer to this particular question, but she could barely remember her own name at this point.

A man with silky gray hair and indigo wings threw up his arms and growled in frustration. "The sea people are nowhere near the hill lands, and the forest dwellers are their close associates who would welcome a marriage between the queen and a sea baron!"

A woman who looked remarkably like Mabon, though of no relation, slammed her hands down on the table. "How are we supposed to make you into a queen when you won't listen to us?" she demanded.

Another man, this one with spring green wings, glowered. "Her human side is too strong. She'll never be able to rule over the Eldritch."

"I'm just new!" Cole shouted back, vibrating with the urge to up end the table and scatter the map and its markers across the room. "It's going to take me a while to remember all these people and places!"

"Which is why you need to pay attention!" the woman said.

Something inside of Cole snapped. Her face went numb and she barely heard herself snap an apology as she stormed out of the room and into the hallways of the Eldritch palace.

She had no idea how she even found her room, because, like everything else in Avallen, she was hopeless at remembering the directions through the winding and maze-like halls. Yet, somehow, with the desperation of the situation spurring her on, she looked up and found herself staring at the wooden door to her suite.

She pushed through and walked through the ante-chamber and receiving-room to her bedroom. After kicking off her boots, she sunk to the floor by her bed and covered her ears with her hands. She stared at a corner of the room, at the small pile of dust and a dead spider, until suddenly the emotions bubbled up from deep inside of her.

It was a shock, like a blast of cold water, as tears burst from her eyes and she shook uncontrollably. Her mind spluttered, trying to work on finding a way to calm down but only bringing up random snippets of Eldritch places or names of people she was supposed to know. She gasped as her eyes burned and her stomach twisted and she sobbed and sobbed. Screwing up her eyes she pulled herself into a ball and fought the urge to scream.