Chapter 673

There was silence in the hall now, the alphas caught in the charged tension between mother and daughter. Even their food lay untouched now, well, except Roman’s.
He tried to set his spoon down gently, only for it to slip and clatter against the floor.
Every head snapped toward him.
Roman froze, then gave a sheepish laugh. “Uh—excuse me.”
He bent to retrieve it, his chair scraping loudly across the floor.
The noise was so painfully out of place that even he winced. When he straightened, a Fae servant had already materialized beside him like a ghost, nearly making him jump.
The servant took the fallen spoon and placed a clean one in front of him before gliding away.
Roman looked around, his cheeks slightly pink. “Please—go on. Don’t stop because of me.”
Alaric shook his head in disbelief while Griffin blew out a slow breath, and Asher had his signature perpetual scowl on his face.
But the tension had eased just enough.
Violet hurriedly wiped her tears. She wasn’t usually this emotional, and Roman’s clumsy interruption had given her a moment to breathe.
Then, so softly it was easy to miss, the Queen whispered, “I’m sorry.”
She turned to her mother, and the Fae Queen’s amethyst eyes glimmered with a pain so deep it nearly stole Violet’s breath.
“I’m sorry,” Seraphira whispered. “I’m sorry that all I can offer you is an apology.”
Violet’s throat tightened, but no words came.
The queen pressed on.
“I was a naïve princess and perhaps I still am. I believed in the goodness of everyone. Your father knew that, and he manipulated me.”
Her gaze shifted towards the Cardinal Alphas, regret shadowing her face.
“I never imagined you’d be mated to them. When I begged the goddess for a child, it was because your father wanted an heir powerful enough to rival the Cardinal Alphas. I demanded you be born strong enough to tip the scales.”
Seraphira drew in a slow, trembling breath.
“But the gods and goddesses play cruel games. We are their entertainment. Their pieces on a board. Perhaps, deep down, I did not care if you destroyed the Alphas as long as it pleased my mate. And the goddess answered exactly that.”
Violet’s face contorted with hurt, a bitter realization creeping in.
“So in the end, you didn’t want me. I was created only for a purpose, to be a weapon.”
“Of course not!” Queen Seraphira burst out, her voice rising quickly, as if terrified the wrong idea might cement itself in Violet’s mind. “Yes, you were conceived with purpose but we loved you. With everything in us.”
Violet let out a bitter scoff. “You expect me to believe Angus loved me?”
“He did.” Seraphira replied fiercely, her eyes locked onto Violet’s. “Even with all his twisted ambition, he loved you.”
Her tone suddenly softened, her expression almost wistful. “Blood of my blood, you were his heir. His little princess. His everything.”
Conflicted emotions shone across Violet’s face. The idea that the man she’d come to know as a monster—her father—might have truly loved her… it shook something loose in her chest.
No!
No, she would not let that soften her hatred. Not after everything he had done.
“What’s the point of telling me this?” Violet demanded.
Seraphira leaned in, reaching across the table. Before Violet could pull away, the Queen clasped her hand firmly.
“Violet,” she said with unmistakable conviction, “the point is that you are not a mistake. Maybe you were born for the wrong reasons, shaped by ambitions that were never yours to carry, but you were loved.”
Her thumb brushed the back of Violet’s knuckles, almost reverently.
“You were cherished from the moment you drew breath. You are my one and only beloved daughter, Violet.”
But Violet leaned in as well, fixing her mother with a blazing stare.
“Then show it.”
“What?”
“Show it.” Violet pulled her hand free, but only to grip her mother’s instead, squeezing hard, her voice carved from fury and resolve. “Stop keeping secrets from me. Stop treating me like some fragile child you can tuck behind your throne whenever things get messy.”
“I have survived things you can’t begin to imagine,” Violet said, her gaze sliding proudly toward her mates. “We have survived things that should have broken us. And we came out stronger. Together, we’re a force your entire court should fear.”
Her eyes snapped back to the Queen, fierce as wildfire. “So don’t mistake us for weak. Don’t mistake me for weak. If I’m your daughter, then treat me like one. Tell me what this Trial of Ascension really is. I might not feel ready to rule, but I am no cowardly princess. So tell me everything I need to prove to the Fae that I am one of them.”
Unlike the Queen, who sat momentarily stunned, the cardinal alphas were impressed as hell. The source of this content ɪs (.)net
Yes, this was the Violet they knew. Fierce and unapologetic. Their purple queen.
“Fine,” Queen Seraphira finally breathed. “No more secrets. I will tell you everything you need to know.”
Violet exhaled a tight breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding. Finally, she’d broken through the wall.
Asher subtly straightened in his seat, every sense sharpening, ready to absorb the answers he’d been chasing from the moment he heard about the trial.
“Among our people, the Trial is invoked during times of dispute — when heirs fight over a family title, or when an alleged successor must prove their claim to a throne I your case. It is a safeguard against impostors and illegitimate contenders.
“But you, Violet, you are not an illegitimate heir. Your father and I were properly mated and legally bound. Your birth was blessed, not hidden.
“However” her voice lowered, “because you were born outside the Fae realm, the Court demands that you prove your right to stand among us. They require that you undergo the Trial to confirm your royal birthright. If you are truly destined for the throne, you will survive it. If you are not, you will fall, and the remaining contenders will claim your place as the realm’s princess.”
“What?!”