Page 61 of The Nymph King

Anxiety made Imani’s chest constrict again. Ellisar leaned against the table, casual yet still watching her with that knowing look in his eyes. “Taking Tanyl’s Drasil creates the opening. Removing him gives you the throne. What happens the morning after is the part I care about.”

Imani’s spine stiffened. Beside her, Esa went utterly still.

He tapped Essenheim with one finger. “If my soldiers help strip a sitting ruler of the weapon holding his position together, I am committing Vathis to whatever replaces him.”

“We may be entering into an unbidden war with the Upper if we disrupt their plans with Tanyl.”

Those blue eyes looked up at Imani again. “I didn’t say the plan wasn’t without risks. Now,” he pointed to the capital on the map, “You have the Crown of Life, a Drasil, and enough power to take Stralas. But you do not yet have an established succession, an Heir Apparent, or a political structure strong enough to survive if someone challenges you the day after Tanyl falls. I will not remove one unstable reign merely to create another succession crisis like this one.”

Esa and Imani exchanged questioning looks. Ellisar straightened to his full height.

“Which is why taking the Essenheim and holding it are the same problem to me. I will take Tanyl’s Drasil, and I will stand with you when you claim Essenheim. But I need to know what we are building will remain standing afterward. You need someone whose name, armies, and existing authority make attacking your new reign more expensive,” he said softly. “I am offering that. Publicly and permanently enough for the rest of Essenheim to believe it.” A beat passed. “I want you as my chosen mate.”

Esa exhaled slowly in a hiss. Her wide eyes told Imani she now finally understood where Ellisar’s questions about succession and an Heir Apparent had been leading.

Imani wanted to flinch, but she didn’t. Her eyes met his, unblinking despite his manipulation. The implications of such a match bloomed in her mind.

He didn’t desire her. She wasn’t that stupid. No, like Kiran, he wanted to consolidate power. The chosen-mate bond did not make them heartmates. Indeed, the magic promised only that they had chosen a bodily connection to one another. Politically, however, the choice mattered because Ellisar would be publicly tying his existing power, armies, and name to hers. And it would make him the king regent in her place.

An unease churned in her belly. Trying to ignore it, she deliberated with her fingers pressed to her mouth.

“I won’t move forward without your answer,” Ellisar said, interrupting her thoughts.

He had sprung the trap for her, leaving no room for delay. A muscle in Imani’s jaw feathered. What a bunch of bullshit, she thought, the image of the one person she supposedly trusted most flashing bitterly through her mind.

But she needed Tanyl out of the way.

“You already know my answer,” she sneered. “I want my throne.”

His gaze narrowed to slits. “Then say it.”

Silence stretched for a fraction of a second.

“Yes,” she hissed through gritted teeth.

Ellisar merely cocked his head again, gratitude clearly the last thing on his mind.

Biting her lip, then releasing it, Imani decided she wouldn’t let the weight of the concession crush her. She’d pivot. “Yule is in three weeks,” she said, her tone dead-level, burying the ransom in logistics. “Your forces recover from Lochheim, we position for entry, and we take the Drasil before he can reinforce… or Kiran can intervene.”

“Three weeks,” Ellisar confirmed. “We choose the entry, set the hour, and hit him before he can change the board again.”

“We need a backup plan… and more forces than just the Norn to come to our aid,” Imani countered, claiming the opening.

Imani’s First Witch nodded. “I agree. If the original plan fails, who else can we rally to our side?”

Ellisar rubbed his chin. “Gorrum is the Norn’s close neighbor and ally. He’s probably our best bet.”

Esa’s stare darted to Imani, then to Ellisar. “Gorrum is my High Sentinel. If there’s a path to his support, I can secure it.”

“If you believe he’ll answer you, pursue it,” Ellisar said, offering neither resistance nor encouragement.

The room fell quiet at Ellisar’s final words, even as Imani’s mind ran through potential failures again and again. Her fingers curled into a fist as she stared at the map of Essenheim spread across the room’s center.

She had committed herself to far more than an alliance. In three weeks, she intended to infiltrate Stralas, steal a Drasil tied to an unknown bargain with the Upper, remove a sitting king, and claim his throne with Vathis’s armies behind her. If any part failed, Tanyl would know exactly who had moved against him. If they succeeded, Imani would inherit every enemy his fall created.

And now Ellisar would be tied publicly to whatever came next.

A chosen mate had never been part of her plan. She had accepted one because armies, legitimacy, and a throne were worth a price she could resent later.