An heir wasn't enough.

"It was a stroke of genius, Your Majesty," Gavril said as we debriefed the day after our announcement. "Unfortunately, as ridiculous as it sounds, people are questioning your legitimacy and a scandal like that cannot be outweighed by you having an heir."

"This is ridiculous!" Mom exclaimed, looking like she was trying very hard not to throw her tea cup across the room. "Eadlyn is a twin, for God's sake. Ahren is the spitting image of Maxon. Who could possibly believe that Eadlyn isn't his daughter? That doesn't even work biologically."

"Actually, there's a precedent for it. It's rare but some women have given birth to twins who had two different fathers. It happens if the mother has intercourse with two different men within a couple hours, allowing the eggs to be fertilized within hours of each other—"

Brice held up her hand to silence Georgean. "Georgean, please. We don't need this."

She faced Mom and Dad. "We will keep working to tone this press down. In a week, they'll stop talking about it and move on to something else. For now, we need to focus on the constitution and the new policies for your constitutional monarchy."

"We are going to need to host another summit," I said. "Or a conference or a tea party or something. Half of our allies are at war with each other. I can't have that kind of controversy surrounding these reforms."

Gavril nodded. "Absolutely right, Your Majesty. Leave the scandal to me, it will all get cleared up. Ms. Future-Prime-Minister, work with Eadlyn on the Report for this week. You'll be announcing Lady Brice as your Prime Minister, correct?"

"Yes," I confirmed. "And we'll brief the people on how the power is split."

"Which we should probably really discuss and nail down before Friday," Brice said, jumping in. There was a small, triumphant smile on her face as we discussed the fact that she would soon be Prime Minister, a position she probably would have never dreamt of a few years ago.

I go to my office and get started on the pile of bills I needed to read, just wanting to get through it so that I could go back to bed. I wasn't feeling too sick anymore since I wasn't in my first trimester anymore. Mom told me I didn't even have that severe of morning sickness, much to her annoyance. She said that she could barely make it out of bed when she was pregnant with Ahren and I. Even with not being sick though, I was exhausted. Mom and Miss Marlee urged me to take it easy and lighten my load but I couldn't. Not when World War Five was any second from starting and when I was trying to reform the government.

"Today, we really need to focus on who is going to be in the Prime Council," Brice said, sitting in her usual seat across from me. "These people are going to be our inner circle. Just like your advisers, but smaller. It's a similar concept to the President's cabinet in the United States. Each adviser has their own area of policy that they oversee and we oversee all of them together. They answer to one of us, depending on what area their policies are focused on."

"Right. And you're still handling domestic policy while I am in charge of foreign policy?"

She nodded. "That would be best. You have much better connections to our allies abroad and it will always be that way with your family since you are related in some way to half our allies. Here is a list of candidates that your father and I put together, considering who would be most advantageous or knowledgeable in certain areas of policy."

"He didn't put himself in that list, right?" I asked.

She smiled and shook her head. "No. I think he really wanted to but he knows that he is supposed to be retired right now. No, these are all advisors or even popular mayors."

I scanned the list, thankfully recognizing everyone on the list. A few names did jump out at me, like Mayor Hutchinson and Mayor Dean. "I'll mark the people that I approve. You should pick the advisors that know the most about domestic policy; you'll be working with them the most."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Her eyes widened as she gazed out of the window behind me. "Are you expecting guests?"

I turned in my seat and saw the gate of the wall sitting open in the distance. A convoy of black palace-issued cars rolled down the drive, pulling to a neat stop at the front of the palace. "Not that I know of," I answered, rising slowly to get a better look. It technically wasn't my responsibility to know about all of our guests – that fell under Eikko's job. He knew about every single guest to pass through our doors and would tell me only about the ones that we were involved with.

"Where are you going?" Brice asked as I walked out of my office.

"To see who it is."

"Eadlyn, you don't know that those people aren't rebels or people here to kill you. I really must recommend that you stay up here within the safety of the third floor," Brice said urgently, struggling to keep up with me on her shorter legs.

"If anyone tries to shoot me, the dozens of guards watching us right now will surely stop it," I said, not really taking her warnings seriously. When we reached the landing to the steps in the main entrance of the palace, Dad was standing at the top, his lips together in a weird smile as he looked down toward the front doors. "Dad, what's going on?" I asked, starting to get concerned.

He met my eyes, looking slightly overwhelmed. "It was your mother's idea," he said. "She decided to call in…reinforcements."

"Reinforcements? What does that man?" I followed his gaze and saw Mom wrapped up in a group hug with three other women. It was only when they separated and I got a good look at them that I recognized them. I had only seen them in stray photographs commemorating the Selection, normally published around Mom and Dad's wedding anniversary. "Dad, those are…"

"Three of my ex-girlfriends with my wife," he finished for me. He smiled ironically. "She's kept in touch with most of them but obviously, not all of them were happy to be friends with the woman who won over the prince." Giggles echoed through the whole foyer, making me wrinkle my nose.

I shook my head. "This isn't a good idea." There was a loud squeal and I saw Lady Marlee dash into the arms of one of the women.

"We don't have many ideas left Eadlyn," he said sadly.

"I'm not on board with this."

He ran a hand through his hair, bowing his head slightly. "We're just trying to make your reign easier. We're trying to fix things."

"Why does it feel like whenever you try to fix things or make my reign easier, you make it worse? Need I remind you of the nightmare that was my Selection?" I snapped.

"I'm not arguing with you, Eadlyn." His tone was final. For a second, I put myself in his shoes. An affair my mom had with another man is broadcasted, the world questions the legitimacy of his marriage and children, and his wife calls in some of his ex-girlfriends to help fix everything. None of this could have been very easy on him. He could have avoided it though if he had just told us about it and we knew.

Mom happened to glance up and notice us then, gathered at the top of the steps. "Eadlyn!" she called. She said something to the women around her and they started approaching us. As if Dad having to see all of his ex-girlfriends again wasn't enough, now I had to personally meet all of them. Dad clasped his hands behind his back and left, choosing to avoid the scene altogether. If he hadn't done so, I would have.

"Eadlyn, this is Elise, Natalie, and Kriss," Mom said, gesturing to each woman. I tried to fix the name to the face but my head swam as I thought about all the much more important things I could be doing.

"Ah!" Natalie squealed, coming toward me with wide-open arms. I stiffened, not expecting her to be so enthusiastic. When she pulled away, she was giggling nonstop. "I'm sorry, I've just wanted to meet you for so long. Your mom has told me all about you."

"She has?" I asked. Brice coughed out a laugh behind me.

Another woman stepped forward then, I'm pretty sure it was Kriss. Her hug was kind of awkward and I could tell that she and Mom had some tension between them. Nothing that would make me nervous or think that there was some animosity but neither of them seemed to be very comfortable at all.

The third one stepped forward and gave me a firm handshake. "Elise, Your Majesty. It is a pleasure to finally meet you," she said kindly. Unlike Natalie and Kriss who were both in sundresses, she was wearing a skirt and a fancy blazer. Everything about her screamed poise and professionalism.

It was then that I realized why she looked so familiar. "You were an ambassador for Illéa," I said aloud, putting the pieces together in my mind. Of course I had seen her in some pictures from the Selection but I had also seen her on video conferences with my father and his advisors.

"Not since you were eight years old," she said. "You have a sharp mind to remember that. You must get that from your mother."

Mom rolled her eyes. "Sharp mind, maybe. Sharp tongue, definitely."

Elise laughed at Mom. All of these women seemed to be communicating on the same wavelength with their secret glances and quiet giggles at jokes that weren't voiced. "My eldest is currently in school studying foreign policy, hoping to take my position as ambassador some day," Elise informed me.

"Why did you stop?" I asked.

"I wanted to focus on raising my sons. They give me more happiness than any job could."

Marlee threw an arm over Elise's shoulder. "Well we appreciate that you at least had kids." She gave a pointed look to Kriss and Natalie.

"Are you kidding? I could never," Natalie said, slightly horrified. "Besides, I think American and Maxon had enough kids to cover all of us."

"I am perfectly happy with my life as it is," Kriss said decisively, folding her arms.

"Yeah, didn't you hear? She's raising pythons now. Don't you have her on some sort of rebel watch list, Mer?" Natalie teased.

Mom's eyes twinkled mischievously. "Maybe." She and Kriss shared a secret smile.

"Speaking of children, congratulations Eadlyn!" Elise said enthusiastically, reaching for my hand. "I was so happy to hear your news on the Report this past week. Believe me, being a mother is the most incredible thing you'll ever do."

"Plus, we can make fun of America for being a grandmother," Natalie added.

"You haven't been here for ten minutes and you're already laughing at me," Mom grumbled but she didn't look too unhappy about being a grandmother. I knew that she was possibly one of the most excited people for my baby.

Brice tapped me on the shoulder and then pointed to her watch, indicating that we had to get moving with the rest of our day. "Right, well we must be going. Someone's got to run the country," I told them. "It was a pleasure meeting all of you."

"They're quite the group," Brice said as we walked back up to my office, checking that we were out of earshot. Not that it would have mattered. The guards on the fourth floor could probably hear the giggles coming from all of them.

"Right, well, where are we off to?"

Brice frowned, looking slightly ashamed. "You don't have any meetings until four o'clock today, ma'am. I was simply rescuing you."

"Brice," I said, wrapping her in a side-hug, "you are the best aunt ever."

"We best not repeat that in front of Miss May."

My meeting was exactly what I needed in that for once, it was a budget meeting where we didn't have to fight over anything. No huge initiatives were underway, no provinces were in dire need of assistance, and Kile was still coming in under budget with his work in Panama. We were in and out within forty-five minutes but my head was still swimming. Mom told me that I would start feeling better once I got into my second trimester and the more miserable side effects were going away but I still had headaches and dizzy spells. And fatigue. Lots of fatigue.

I lifted my phone and dialed the number for Eikko's office. "Yes, Your Majesty?" Raelynn answered for him.

I sat up straighter, not expecting her to answer. "Raelynn, where's Eikko?"

"In a meeting with Georgean, discussing the calendar for next year. Can I help you with anything?"

"No," I said, trying not to sound too disappointed. "Just calling to check in. Thanks Raelynn." I hung up my phone and dropped my head into my arms. "Neena?" I called.

Neena poked her head inside my office from her position outside. "Yes, ma'am?"

"Tell Lady Brice that I'm calling it a day."

"Yes, ma'am."

With the holidays coming up, we had a small reprieve from our workloads. Eikko was busy with party planning and setting the menus for dinners we would be hosting for dignitaries but with most advisors already on vacation, I had a break. The day after Christmas everything would go into overdrive to complete things for the New Year but for now, I actually had some free time to relax.

My phone ringing made me jump out of my seat. I reached for it, thinking it was maybe Eikko returning my call, but stopped when the Caller ID read France, A. Schreave. This was his ninth call in the last four days. I could do it. I could pick up my phone and cry and apologize and send him ten thousand troops and a small country's worth of firepower to aid France in the war. But I couldn't. I would be sending ten thousand men to their deaths and imagining them dying on foreign soil made my stomach knot.

Instead of listening to the phone ring, I moved myself down the hall to the library, figuring that maybe I could use my time wisely and actually educate myself. The library wasn't empty though.

"Lady Elise," I greeted, finding her with a few books in her arms.

"Queen Eadlyn," she answered, curtsying. She smiled guiltily at her load. "Your mother said I could borrow some but I have no idea which ones to choose. I would take the whole room if I could."

I offered her a friendly smile. "I can come back later—"

"No, no, it's fine. This is your home. I'm just a guest."

"A guest for the queen."

She waved her hand like it was nothing. "She's not the queen to me. She's one of my oldest friends." She smiled to herself, getting lost in some memory. "My sons were five and seven when they both got the stomach bug. Of course they passed it on to me but then I still had to take care of them because my husband was away on a trip. She was the first one I called just to cry and beg for some advice. Obviously she couldn't really help me because you can't cure a stomach bug but she had at least been there. She had just had Kaden at the time so she understood what it was like to be an overwhelmed mother and she knew what I needed to hear. She'll be of such good use to you in the coming years."

I nodded, not knowing how to respond. I wondered if Mom had mentioned that we were currently at odds. "So you left your job as ambassador to be a mother?"

She shrugged. "It wasn't my original intention. I had actually planned to stick it out for as long as possible but I eventually grew to hate leaving them with a nanny. I don't regret it at all. Of course now, they're both at school and I'm suddenly all by myself and more bored than ever."

"That makes sense."

"I've thought about it a bit, getting back to work. I just don't know what I would do. Your treaty with New Asia is still holding strong, right?" I nodded. "Then what do you need me for? Translating?" She shook her head. "I'm afraid that I am now obsolete in the world of diplomacy."

"I don't think so."

"Please, Queen Eadlyn, you don't need to flatter me. I know my place in the world and it's by my husband's side, supporting our sons. That's my duty now."

I stepped forward and inspected the stack of books she had. "If you're looking for excitement, I recommend Radcliffe. Her books are on that corner shelf, there. Mom and Dad read them together a couple years ago. Dad ended up staying all night reading it and he fell asleep during a budget meeting that day. Mom teased him about it for months."

"She would," Elise said softly. "I'll take a look."

I stepped out in the hallway, intent on going back to my office when one of General Leger's deputies stopped me. "Queen Eadlyn, I was just on my way to find you," he said, a paper clutched in his hand.

"What is it, Officer Welles?" I asked, walking by his side.

He passed me the memo and gave me the cliff notes version as I read. "New Asia is supporting North Africa in the war."

"And?"

"And what?" he asked, stopping.

"And what does this mean?" He stared at me, blinking, floundering to remember if he had any other information to share. "How are they supporting them? Are they sending them troops? Are they sending supplies? Are they sending them nuclear weapons? These are the things I need to know." I stopped when I realized that I didn't know where we were walking. "At least tell me you know where your men are meeting."

He pointed down to the next door down the hall on the right, the usual conference room we used for military briefings. I walked in and found several advisors and generals gathered, as well as Brice. "So much for calling it a day," she said to me, giving me a pitiful look.

"What do we know?" I asked the room, desperately needing to be briefed. I was only met with silence though. "Where did this report come from?"

"Our Italian ambassador," Sir Andrews answered.

"And did he have anything else for us? Any more intel?" Sir Andrews frowned. I sighed, fighting the urge to scream in frustration. "Where is General Leger?" I asked, realizing that he wasn't there. If he were there, he would have all that I needed to know. He wouldn't have just given me this report with nothing else.

"Gavril had him leave," Brice told me.

"He what?" I asked, my voice starting to rise.

Brice cringed at my hostility but went on. "He doesn't think it's wise to have him here with all of the bad press circulating—"

"I don't think it's wise to not have our head of defense and security gone when there's a war going on!" I exclaimed. "Someone call the Legers and get him here now. And make sure his wife comes. I don't care what Gavril has to say about it, they should be here where they'll be safe."

I shrugged out of my blazer and rolled up the long sleeves of my dress, folding my arms. "General Lenze, is our ambassador still awake?" I asked, knowing that it was close to bed time in Italy.

"Yes. Italy is currently on high alert. New Asians own ports in the Mediterranean on islands surrounding Italy," he reported. "The ambassador said that the queen and her advisors are in a security meeting."

"Then get the Italian queen on the phone. Maybe she can enlighten us."

Mr. Rasmus dialed the number for Queen Nicoletta on the conference phone. Eikko entered, eyes instantly finding me in the room and lighting up. He joined me right away, rubbing my back gently. "Should I get someone to bring food and coffee?" he asked, which translated to Are we going to be here all night?

"No. There's nothing truly urgent here. Don't worry, I'll get to bed on time tonight," I said, touching my forehead to his shoulder and placing a kiss there. He squeezed me just as Nicoletta answered.

"I don't take calls often during security meetings but for the queen of Illéa, I must," she said by way of greeting. Her voice lacked its usual humorous lilt. She was worried, very worried.

"Queen Nicoletta, I wish I was calling under different circumstances," I said. I moved closer to the phone and leaned against the long mahogany table. "We got a rather vague call memo from our ambassador. Perhaps you can inform us the status of New Asia's involvement in North Africa."

"Absolutely," she said. "Right now, they have naval vessels positioned in the Mediterranean, flying both the New Asian flag and North African flag, giving no doubt as to who they're supporting in this. They just appeared this afternoon. Our naval base in Carthage telegraphed us to warn that a New Asian assault may be eminent."

I snapped my fingers at some of the officers in the room to start writing stuff down. "Do you have the coordinates for those vessels?"

"Yes, my general can fax them to you," she said.

"And the status of the New Asian ports near you?"

"All is quiet so far. We've been in touch with France and England so most of Europe is under high alert and they have troops moving toward their coasts."

I nodded in approval. "Good."

"Eadlyn, we can't afford to fight both North Africa and New Asia simultaneously. They have us surrounded on all sides if that's the case and both countries are super empires. They have so much more money and more people to use as troops—"

"We'll do what we can to help you, Nicoletta. Just remember that though we're not allies, Illéa can't get in a tussle with New Asia. Our treaty is holding steady so far and we can't get involved with them so soon after our war ended."

"I understand, Your Majesty." There was shuffling in the background and a male voice announced something that came out muffled on our end. "Oh no."

"Nicoletta? What's happening?"

There was a long silence as Nicoletta spoke rapidly in Italian, too quickly for me to understand with my semi-okay knowledge in Italian. "The New Asians have tanks on the ground in Swendway. Eadlyn, I really must go. I'll bring your ambassador in here so that he can give you a full report."

"Thank you so much, Nicoletta. Best of luck." The line went dead before I even got it all out. Without Nicoletta's loud Italian voice and the chaos in the background of her call, the room felt silent and tiny.

Brice let out a long breath. "We can't fight New Asia," she said quietly. Her eyes were wide and for once I detected a little bit of fear.

"We barely have the money to fight anyone," Sir Andrews added.

"My family," Eikko whispered behind me, his thoughts somewhere else entirely. On the other side of the world, actually.

"France is in danger," Brice said, her voice heavy with misery. "Ahren…he's in danger."

Officer Welles was the only one whose eyes met mine in a room where the tension and desperation threatened to suffocate all of us. He had only been on the guard for a year. General Leger saw promise in him and promoted him to my family's detail right after training and field-testing. He hadn't been exposed to war, he hadn't experienced an attack more extreme than Marid since coming to the palace. Now that I thought about it, I hadn't either.

He asked me, "What do we do?"

Dad had always told me to not look weak in front of advisors. He told me that even when times got tough and it looked like there was no way out, keep my head high and dig my heels in because I was the leader and if I was scared, everyone else would be scared. I wasn't scared though. I was torn in a million different directions. I worried as a twin for my brother in France and his kingdom. I was worried as a wife for Eikko's family in Swendway. I was a worried queen, looking down the barrels of several guns that seemed to be pointing at my country from various enemies. Most of all, I was a worried mother. Because I couldn't keep this little life inside of me forever. Eventually my baby would be born and eventually they would inherit my crown, no matter what state the country is in.

So I pushed aside what my father had taught me and told the truth to some of my most loyal advisors and soldiers. "I don't know."