King Philip’s POV

  Present Day

  14th day of April R.A,

  Jaden Dee would return to the palace tomorrow for an interview with Reia and the judges arriving this morning for the challenge. Helen had been up early getting rooms prepared for Duke Byron Yates of Navien, the younger brother of King Edmund Yates of Navien, Oceana Taylor, the President of New Horizons University, and the ambassador to the Kingdom of Quillian, Wazzly Higgins of District Foundry. A morning breakfast was waiting for Reia as she rushed out of her study in a hurry after watching Jaden Dee on the newscast. She had gotten up well before dawn checking in with her agents across the districts. Last night had been strangely quiet across Ashland in the wake of an explosion on TV.

  Helen met Reia in the hall and pulled her into the new Royal Suite. Reia took the black slacks and maroon top with a black blazer dressed up with gold scrolling over it. I wore my hair in a long braid with black ankle boots. Reia was the first one to push for women to wear pants fashionably instead of just for athletics. She looked beautiful as she always has. Helen left ahead of Reia to escort the guests to the breakfast room. Reia wanted to greet her guests before introducing them to her candidates.

  Reia looked out the window from her window seat where she could look out over the district toward the sea. “Philip,” she called out the window. “Everyone’s here now. I can’t stop this challenge from happening even if I wanted to. This wasn’t our dream, but I won’t let our legacy fall apart.”

  I sat beside her to listen to her. Her face was riddled with concern and anxiety. What Reia was doing had never been done before. Selecting an heir through competition had been a hard sell to her ministers and the House of Public Servants. Reia had the power to force everyone to comply with her wishes because the ruler had the final say on everything here in Ashland. She could change any law she desired, however, Ashland was built on trust that the royal would not become tyrannical. The elections were a way to seek public approval of the ruler’s decisions for the kingdom. It was a delicate system.

  “These girls will face hardship to root out who is trying to take our kingdom from me. Your killer is out there, and I vow to find them, Philip. You will rest in peace, I promise.” Reia’s eyes became glassy. “Watch over these girls, Philip, and pray they forgive my actions later.” Reia wiped away any evidence of her moment with me. She took one last look in the mirror before exiting the room where Captain Orleans was waiting for her.

  Breakfast Room

  Reia enters the sunlit room with Captain Orleans at her side. He escorts her to the head of the table while all the guests stand waiting for her to take her place. She looks like a powerhouse in this room with her fellow judges of the challenge. Reia sits down allowing everyone to sit with her at the table. Servers bring out the plates of eggs and sausages to each guest. Muffins, croissants, and fruit were placed around the cream-clothed table. Cups of juice and water were placed at the top of the plates. There was a tense tone to the room despite the breakfast spread.

  My wife picked her closest allies to aid her in this challenge she has designed. Duke Byron Yates of Navien was my childhood friend and best man at my wedding with Reia. He became friends with Reia during our engagement and vowed to uphold our long friendship long after my death. Next to Byron was his son, Hunter Yates, who had always been a good kid. Next to him was Oceana Taylor, the President of New Horizons University. Oceana and Reia served together in the Navy for three years and have been close ever since. Reia appointed her president of the university five years ago after her work to promote education programs across the districts. She brought her assistant, Jane, who once served as a maid in the palace. The final person at the table was a bit of a wild card. The ambassador to the Kingdom of Quillian, Wazzly Higgins of District Foundry, was my wife’s biggest critic, but he was always honest. He would prove useful to Reia during her competition.

  Reia gave a nod to Captain Orleans, causing the welcoming room to shift. Shutters and shades were closed blocking out the beautiful sunlight. Everyone except those people at the table left the room. Reia’s guests stood and shouted as they were locked in the breakfast room with Queen Reia away from prying eyes. My queen whispered for strength under her breath as she stood to address her guests.

  Reia whistled loud enough that her guests stopped panicking to look at her. “Please, have a seat, my friends.” Everyone returned to their seats with low grumbles as they kept their eyes on Reia. “I apologize for my tactics, but I need to speak freely with you all without prying eyes.” She glanced at the doors.

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  “Are we dropping royal etiquette then?” Duke Byron Yates, my childhood friend, questioned.

  “Yes, be my guest,” Reia answered.

  Duke Byron nodded. “Good. What the hell is going on Re? I haven’t heard from you since Philip’s funeral, and the first thing I get is an invite to judge some weird game you have come up with.”

  “Uh, yeah. You are right, that does seem weird,” Reia admitted. “I was sort of on a forced sabbatical for two years.”

  “No one can force you to do anything, Reia. Even, I know that.” Ambassador Wazzly argued.

  “Not unless your ministers enacted the Mourning Clause of Article Three,” Oceana Taylor explained. She rested her elbows on the table. “It states a ruler may take a sort of break to mourn their loss if needed or considered incapable of ruling due to grief.”

  “Smart as always, Oceana,” Reia gave a small grin. “I was boxed out for as long as they could manage until my Minister of Defense put an end to their excuses.”

  “So, Reed Winlow got sick of the others’ bull crap in the end. Yeah, Reed isn’t in it for the power. He likes challenges and strategy.” Oceana commented.

  Reed Winlow served with Oceana and Reia almost thirty years ago. He moved up in the ranks quickly after the Quillian Trade Conflict almost twenty years ago. The Kingdom of Quillian tried to claim the Sea of Davina as their sovereign territory to impose ridiculous trade taxes on everyone else. Reia was swift in calling in her friend to settle the battle in less than a month. Quillian had to pay reparations to the other kingdoms after their failed attempt to claim the sea. Wazzly was the one put in charge of negotiating the peace treaty following the conflict. He was named ambassador after the treaty was finalized.

  “Under the ministers’ reign, the districts fell apart for one reason or another, and nobles and officials lined their pockets in the chaos.” I summarized for the group.

  “Okay, so your ministers are useless since they have become greedy pigs, which is why you need to make a power move to protect Ashland’s future.” Wazzly huffed. “Your move is to use a game to pick a random girl to groom as your heir. Isn’t that a bit reckless?”

  “Yeah, but reckless is what she needs. There’s a murder on the loose, a bomber attacked her yesterday to make a statement, and there's no telling who she can trust in the government. This gives her options.” Oceana defends Reia to Wazzly.

  The argument continues for a few more minutes until Duke Byron shuts everyone down. He’s heard enough, and they can’t change what has unfolded. The three of them were invited to help Reia choose her heir, and all of them accepted her proposal. What they needed to do now was discuss the game they were all a part of to guide Ashland forward. Everyone agreed to help Reia through the competition despite the backlash and defamation Jaden Dee was causing on the news. Reia had scored a victory for the kingdom’s future.

  Everything blurred as my phantom self was warped to a secret room outside Mortar Palace.

  The room was dark for a minute before a voice called out they were turning the lights on. The room was a boring gray color with dim lights and a wooden circular table. A large computer was seated in the left wall of the room and a green phone was on the table where the five figures sat down with hoods up to cover their faces.

  What the hell is this?

  A feminine hand with a bulky gold bangle hit the table hard. “How did she escape? The bomb was supposed to injure her enough to delay this stupid game of hers!”

  Her voice is familiar.

  A broader figure crossed his arms. “Calm down, rookie. Reia’s smarter than you give her credit for. She has managed to quell protests on her ‘goodwill’ tour of the kingdom. She got enough supplies to Black Bear Cliffs to survive another season with her own funds and rail car. We will have to try something else to get her to back off. Her spies are getting too close to our assets.”

  Reia’s spies are close to finding them?

  “Her ministers couldn’t keep her in check long enough for us to find it. What makes you think we can?” A third figure asked.

  “We have three agents secured in her little game. It won’t take long for us to distract her long enough to find it.” The broader figure answered.

  Damn it. Reia knew that might happen.

  “Our agents will delay, distract, and destroy whatever we ask to protect their precious families. After all, poor families only have one thing, love. But, love is an exploitable weakness for those with ambition like us.” A fourth figure weighs in. “Isn’t that right, rookie?”

  The feminine figure recoiled in her seat. “Yes, sir.”

  She’s one of the candidates. Shit.

  “Good. We king got in the way when we tried to claim what was ours the first time. All we have to do is bid our time until we find where he hid our prize.” The fourth figure continued. “Our newest asset has already started causing more trouble for Her Majesty this morning with his performance on the news.”

  “Jaden Dee is an agent?” The feminine figure sounded shocked.

  “An easy asset to add to our might, rookie,” the broader figure replied. “You must help raise suspicions with the others in the game, rookie. Make the real contestants seem guilty of anything and everything.”

  “Yes, sir.” The feminine figure agreed.

  “This concludes our meeting,” The third figure spoke.

  In a blink of an eye, I returned to the palace. They did come to find it that night. Too bad they will never find what they are looking for. Something that powerful should never have existed in the first place.