Chapter 13: Settling In...
"I don’t think I’m ever going to finish this."
Emerald sighed, head resting in one hand, her other hand flipping through yet another stack of parchment.
The oak desk in her father’s study was buried in scrolls, reports, and correspondence, land disputes, trade complaints, rogue sightings, and political threats she couldn’t ignore.
Her eyes burned; her neck ached.
This wasn’t a crown... it was a noose with paperwork.
She leaned back in the high-backed leather chair and gazed at the space around her. Her father’s scent still clung to the walls: pinewood, leather, and something faintly spicy.
His books still lined the shelves. His dagger rested in the display case behind her.
But it wasn’t comforting, it was crushing.
"You made this look easy," she whispered.
With slow steps, she rose and crossed to the far wall where a framed painting hung: her father, Alpha Vale Lycanis, standing tall, eyes like steel, arm draped across her shoulders. She’d been barely eighteen in that portrait.
The way he looked at her... proud. Certain.