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She whispered conspiratorially. "Whatever you do, don’t call me overlady."
I couldn’t hide the smile that formed at the corners of my mouth.
"Full disclosure. I was a hot mess when I had to do something like this the first time."
"Really?" I found it hard to believe, given Cammie’s humor and effortless poise.
"It was when I first came here. Rone and I had an interesting start. He decided to whisk me off the spaceship and declare to the Wanderstar Fleet and the entire planet of Xaxos that I was his mate." She did a good-natured shake of her head, then chuckled.
I shared her experience. "Those are alpha alien males for you."
"They have a bond instinct, and they know what they want. But I don’t think Rone quite expected my reaction to the crowd."
"You tripped over your feet?" I tried to guess.
She bit her lower lip to keep from laughing. "It’s funny now, but let’s just say motion sickness from intergalactic space travel and a big ceremony right after landing don’t mix."
My mind formed a picture. "Yikes."
"Yeah." She nodded. "But you’ll do fine. You’ve been on Racopia for a while."
A knock came from the door. "The people are ready for you, my lady," an attendant announced.
I pointed to the door. "My lady. Did you hear that? It’s so formal. Do you think I could get them to call me Sarge instead?"
Cammie reached into the folds of her dress for a small box. "Technically, you’d be court-martialed."
"What?"
She remained calm, despite my outburst. "From what I understand, you renounced your military status to join with another nation."
"Oh." My fear over tripping in front of people now morphed into possibly seeing jail time. "I did not think about this."
"There’s nothing to think about. Your squad made it back safe. Since Racopia and Xaxos are now allied, you just changed titles." She opened the box to reveal a medal. "Instead of being discharged from the army, I told Rone and the generals it would be better for you to be honorably retired so you can focus on your new role as queen."
I sighed with relief as she pinned the medal to my dress. "And you said you were no longer a diplomat."
She stood back and made sure she pinned the medal on straight. "Thank you for your service to the Wanderstar Fleet, Seargent Jordan. I look forward to calling you ‘Your Majesty’ in a few minutes."
I barely had time to consider the full weight of the new royal title before the attendant knocked on the door again. "I’m ready."
There’d be both to deal with today. Varus was already crowned king once. This time, it would be official since he retook the throne from the usurper Isath.
"Are you ready? It’s now or never, Harper."
Cammie helped me get the train of my dress out the door. From there, it was a whirlwind of attendants and lights and drums as I was whisked from one section of the citadel to another. Everything was a blur until I somehow found myself standing in the ceremonial hall.
Varus stood waiting. His flame red hair was pulled back from his face. He wore the uniform of the Racopian army along with a long cape. As I took his outstretched hand, I admired his appearance. He looked very regal. I grinned like a teenage girl seeing her crush in person for the first time.
I remembered to act serene, so I straightened my face. Varus saw my correction and flashed me a wink in response.
The Racopians looked on as the coronation ceremony began. The officiant read from an old text before presenting Varus with a crown. I expected him to let go of my hand. Instead, he took me forward with him. I watched them place the crown on his head.
"I present to you King Varus of Racopia."
The officiant’s pronouncement was drowned out by the roar of the crowd. Varus’s face held back emotion as he raised his hand in acknowledgment of his people.
The officiant reached for a smaller crown before approaching me. I stepped forward and closed my eyes while I felt it being placed on my head. I peeked to see Varus’s gaze on me.
