Chapter 1
“My Queen, the people grow restless as the month of the thirty-sixth moon approaches.
You’ve turned down every prospective suitor. They’re growing worried you’ve run out of
options for a king consort, Your Majesty.”
I’m worried about the same thing. Katarine knew the only thing she could do to
assuage the concern of her people would be to marry as soon as possible.
The three prescribed years of mourning had passed too quickly for her taste. No part
of Katarine was ready to take another husband. And yet a king consort would lend
strength to their lands and certainty to her people. She understood that. But that didn’t
mean she was ready to share her bed and her life with another man.
Katarine had borne two sons, but not the daughter she needed to pass her crown and
these lands to when she was gone. Without an heiress, the matriarchal line of succession
that had lasted hundreds of years would be broken.
“My Queen.” Freen, her trusted adviser, began to speak again.
“I understand.”
“You could invite some of your prior suitors to return …”
She couldn’t stomach the thought of marrying a single one of them.
“No.” She turned away from the window that granted a stunning view of the ocean
beyond. “It will work out somehow. Perhaps … choosing a king consort from one of the
men from our lands would be better than picking a foreigner.”
God knew Katarine had never looked at any of her subjects with an eye toward
making one her husband, but these were unprecedented times. Maybe … there was
someone …
“Are you serious?” Freen asked.
She nodded and turned. “Perhaps a contest is in order. To see what kind of men they
are.”
Freen’s bushy eyebrows rose to his white hair. “A contest? What kind of contest?”
The words seemed to come from beyond Katarine, and even she was shocked to hear
herself say, “Of strength, wits, will, and wisdom. To see who is worthy of siring the next
queen of these lands.”
Freen blinked twice. “A contest. That … would … be a … truly unique opportunity.
All able-bodied men under a certain age. How egalitarian.”
Katarine couldn’t believe she’d suggested it. A contest? For my king consort? Marry
whoever won? Am I mad?
But Freen’s eyes were alight with excitement. “This is a spectacular idea. Warriors.
Poets. Farmers. Blacksmiths. It would bring the people together to cheer for their own. I
will see to the announcement. You can choose from between three finalists. We’ll have
the high priest bless the match.”
Katarine nodded. To choose from three will be better than being given only one
choice.
“Yes. That is fair.”
“And you can wed on the dawn after the thirty-sixth moon. That way, no outsiders
with ill intentions can jeopardize your choice or these lands.”
Katarine found herself continuing to nod, wondering what in heaven she’d just
started.
“Yes. It shall be so,” she said anyway. It gave her a little more time to come to terms
with her impending marriage to a stranger. “The contest shall last a fortnight, beginning
on the new moon, and end with the ceremony and coronation after the full moon.”
Freen grinned and clapped his hands. “The people will love it. This is brilliant. The
queen’s heart is available to be won.”
My hand, not my heart, Katarine wanted to say, but she stayed quiet.
She had not loved her first husband, but the wisdom of the match had been explained
to her by her parents. His premature passing due to a run-in with a wild boar had not
been part of anyone’s plans.
She and Barstow had been happy enough together. And her two sons were the
greatest gifts she’d ever received.
“We will tell the people immediately,” Katarine said, knowing that the contest would
have to be announced before she could talk herself out of it with second-guessing.
“I shall see it is done as soon as possible, My Queen.”
An alarm bell rang from a tower on the cliffs, and Katarine spun toward the window.
“There’s a storm on the sea. Shipwreck most likely,” Freen said.
“Go find out. If there is, we must send boats to help.”
Freen bowed. “I will see to it, My Queen. And that the announcement is made
immediately. This is a wise decision. It safeguards our lands, and the people will be
overwhelmed with your benevolence in giving them such a wonderful opportunity.
Surely, no other monarch is so just.”
As he left, Katarine turned her gaze back to the sea, wondering what she had just
done and what the future would bring. ...
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