A Kingdom of Tales (Kingdom of Avenlea #1)

Chapter 50

I open the journal again. I start skimming, but then I notice a word that catches my attention. Coronation.

Maybe I'll find out the empress's name and link her back to one of the eight great houses.

Today was the day they put a crown on my head and named me empress. I yearned for my family's presence throughout the entire ceremony. Alistir was wrong; Wariu truly intended to make me his wife.

I was nervous from the moment my eyes opened in the morning. My maids assured me that it was only natural to be nervous the day one becomes responsible for an entire country. It only made me all the more terrified.

I wished for Alistir's guiding voice, which always managed to calm my nerves. I didn't let my thoughts linger on him for long, though; he left me. It was not something I was willing to forgive.

I turned my thoughts to my future husband instead. When he kissed me goodnight yesterday, he told me that they would not announce my family name when they put the crown on my head.

He said it was a protective measure so that no one finds out that I'm Avenlean. I understood why he did that, but it hurt all the same.

He chose a different name. A line that supposedly died long ago. Even though I don't look Edessian, he said that no one would find it suspicious.

He'd discussed it with his advisors and ministers, and though the majority were against our marriage in general, they agreed that changing my name would be the smartest move if he was adamant on marrying me.

The maids arranged my hair into beautiful Edessian braids, and the tailor who took my measurements a few days ago came back with my dress.

It was astonishingly beautiful. He wouldn't let me look at it in the mirror, so I had to use my imagination to think of how it looked on my body.

I was walked down to the ballroom by two guards. Usually in Edessian weddings, the father walks the bride to the groom, but since my father is Avenlea, Wariu ordered two guards to walk me to him.

The ceremony itself was amazing. A priestess placed the crown on my head and called out my name to everyone in attendance.

They named me Fin Curre.

They let me keep my first name, so it was the last name that made me laugh when I was first told about it. It's a name I found very fitting. Curre means to run in the old Avenlean language. I was running from my old life and from a man who could've been the love of my life.

It was both the best and worst day of my life. I married an amazing man, but I lost my family and friends in exchange.

My heart stops beating in my chest. Fin. When I'd asked Miles who Fin was before, he'd said she was my mother. No. It can't be. I don't let myself process what I just read and get out of my chair.

Ronan is sleeping now too, leaning his head on Ivy's. I walk around the boat, trying to find something to distract me.

"Jasmine, are you alright?" Anastasia says as I topple over onto my knees.

How many surprises can a person take before their heart gives out?

I'll give you a hint: not many.

She pushes me until my body rests against a wall. I wince as the lashes reopen.

"What's wrong?" She asks.

It's a fair question, but I don't think I can say what I'm feeling right now out loud. I wouldn't even know where to start or how to describe the feelings.

"How long until we reach Avenlea?" I ask.

"Only a few more minutes. Hang tight; I'll make us move faster." She leaves me and moves back to the edge of the boat. I feel drowsy as I feel us speeding up.

I stand up tentatively and walk over to Eloise. "Can you pour some water over my back?" I don't want to talk about the cuts, but my dress is sticking to my back because of the blood, and it's really uncomfortable.

"Of course." She says so I turn and show her my back. She gasps. "Oh dear. Did you hurt yourself? I heard you falling. It's a lot of blood; why aren't you healing?"

I nod weakly for her to drench my back. She does so with ease. The salt water burns the open wounds, but I'm past caring about pain.

The pain in my heart is a hundred times worse than the physical pain I'm feeling anyway.

The weather is completely different on Avenlea; the sun shines brightly, and no clouds hide it's light.

The three Damaris push the boat to the shore, where we find around a hundred people waiting for us. A movement in the sky catches my attention. I raise my gaze to see what it was. I start laughing hysterically when I see what it is.

The phoenix.

The five people accompanying me look concerned when they see me on my knees. Can they blame me? My whole world was turned upside down in the span of a few hours, and now I'm seeing an actual fire phoenix.

After a minute of trying to compose myself, I look at the people standing a few feet away from me. The closest one to us is a man in military uniform. My eyes zoom in on the insignia adorning his clothes.

My eyes widen when I realise what it is—a tree. This man is related to Miles. How will he react to his death?

I watch as everyone standing falls to their knees. The man standing at the front's eyes turn golden before he says something that makes my heart stop. "All hail Princess Jasmine Archeron, daughter of King Alistir Archeron and the late Queen Fin Valor, heir of the Avenlean throne and of the great fire phoenix."