The council chamber was already in chaos when Seren walked in.
"No," Aeron said for the fourth ti. His voice was flat, final, the voice he used when no argunt would move him. "Absolutely not."
Lord Pemberton, one of the newly appointed lords loyal to the princes nodded vigorously. "The queen cannot travel north. It’s suicide. Thorne’s faction would capture her within a week."
"Or kill her outright," added another council mber. "She’s the symbol of everything they hate."
Seren waited. She had learned patience in the servant quarters, learned to let people talk themselves out while she stood silent. When the objections finally faded, she spoke.
"I didn’t ask for permission."
The room went quiet.
Aeron’s jaw tightened. "Seren..."
"I am the queen." She walked to the head of the table, where the triplets sat. "Not a possession. Not a child. Not a fragile thing you lock away to keep safe. I fought beside you. I helped kill Magnus. I have earned the right to speak for this kingdom."
Kael leaned forward. "No one is saying you haven’t. But Thorne literally threatened to burn everything down for revenge. You. Specifically you."
"Which is exactly why I should go." Seren placed her hands on the table. "The northerners don’t trust you three. You’re wolves. You’re alphas. You’re everything they’ve been taught to obey or fear. But ?" She smiled slightly. "I was a servant. I scrubbed floors and delivered dicine and made myself invisible so I wouldn’t be noticed. They know what that feels like."
Theron’s expression was unreadable. "And you think that will protect you from an assassin’s blade?"
"I think it will make them *listen*." Seren looked at each of them in turn. "Freya’s faction already wants peace. They’re easy. Ragnar’s faction wants independence; that’s a negotiation, not a war. But Thorne’s faction... we don’t actually know how big they are. We only know how loud they are."
Aeron stood. "And if you’re wrong? If Thorne’s people capture you?"
"Then you co get ." Seren t his eyes. "Just like you did before."
The mory hung between them; the underground tunnels, the battle, the mont she nearly died.
"That’s not fair," he said quietly.
"War isn’t fair." Seren moved around the table and took his hands. "I’m not asking you to be happy about this. I’m asking you to trust . The sa way I trusted you when you kept prisoner in your wing. The sa way I trusted you with my transformation. The sa way I trusted you when I walked into that duel with Magnus."
Kael looked away. His hands were clenched into fists on the table.
Theron broke the silence. "How would you go? Not alone, I assu."
"Commander Voss, Draven’s second-in-command and a small guard. Lysa, as my attendant. No army. No show of force. I’m not conquering the north. I’m talking to it."
Lord Pemberton sputtered. "A *small guard*? Your grace, that’s..."
"Enough." Seren turned to face the council. "I have heard your objections. I have considered the risks. And I have made my decision. The queen will travel north to et with the northern factions directly. Any council mber who wishes to resign in protest may do so now."
Silence.
No one moved.
Aeron closed his eyes. When he opened them, the fight had gone out of his posture. "If you die," he said, "I will burn the north to ash. Every village. Every forest. Every wolf. I will make Thorne’s revenge look like a child’s tantrum."
"I don’t plan to die."
"Good." He pulled her into a rough embrace. "Because I ant what I said."
Three days later, Seren stood at the northern border.
The landscape had changed. The rolling hills of the royal territory gave way to jagged rocks and stunted pines. The air was colder, thinner. Snow dusted the ground even though autumn had barely begun.
Commander Voss rode beside her, his hand never far from his sword. Behind them ca twelve royal guards; half wolves, half humans and Lysa..
"You look nervous," Lysa said quietly.
"I am nervous," Seren admitted. "If I’m wrong about this, people will die."
"Then don’t be wrong."
Seren laughed despite herself. "That’s your advice? Don’t be wrong?"
"It’s worked for so far." Lysa grinned. "Besides, you’ve faced worse than grumpy northerners. Rember when Lady Elowen threatened to have you whipped for looking at her wrong?"
"Elowen was a kitten compared to General Thorne."
They rode in silence for another hour before the first northern scout appeared.
He was young, barely old enough to grow a beard, and he looked at Seren like she was a ghost. "The queen," he said, disbelieving. "The actual queen."
"The actual queen," Seren confird. "I’m here to talk. Peacefully. Can you take to whoever’s in charge?"
The scout hesitated. Then he nodded and turned his horse.
The eting took place in a crumbling hall that had once been Magnus’s seat of power. Now it was divided territory, with three factions claiming different corners.
Freya greeted Seren with tears in her eyes. "You ca yourself. I never thought...we never expected..."
"I keep my promises," Seren said. "Integration. Protection. Aid. It’s all on the table."
Ragnar stood apart, arms crossed. "And what of independence?"
"We can discuss terms." Seren sat at the rough wooden table. "But not if you’re planning to fight us anyway. Are you?"
Ragnar was silent for a long mont. Then he sat across from her. "No. I’m not a fool. Magnus was strong but stupid. He got us into a war we couldn’t win. I want my people to survive, not die for pride."
"Then we have sothing to negotiate."
The third chair remained empty.
General Thorne, even though already released, had not co.
One of his lieutenants stood in his place; a thin wolf with hollow eyes and a nervous twitch. "The general sends his regrets," the lieutenant said. "He is... occupied."
"Occupied with what?" Seren asked.
The lieutenant’s eyes darted to the side. "Preparations."
Seren leaned forward. "Preparations for what?"
No answer.
But later, when the eting broke and the factions dispersed, Seren pulled Freya aside. "Thorne’s people. How many are there, truly?"
Freya hesitated. "Less than we feared. Maybe two hundred hardcore followers. The rest are just... angry. Grieving. They lost family in the war. They want soone to bla."
"Two hundred," Seren repeated. "That’s not an army. That’s a death cult."
"Yes," Freya said quietly. "And death cults don’t negotiate. They don’t surrender. They only burn."
Seren looked out the window at the darkening sky. Sowhere out there, Thorne was planning sothing.
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