“Some have come forward,” I say. Bri nods. I put her in charge of overseeing Unbinding. A hundred or so who’d been working against the Loyalists to restore peace and unity to the island came out of the woodwork, asking for community after the Chancellor had fallen. She made sure their onyx was removed and I ensured they have a place here—a way to make a living and a home.

“A Queen.” Julius licks his lips, and I look away. I love his jokes, but there’s a part of me still pulsing with pain. I need time. I tug my fur more squarely over my shoulders.

“Can I, uhm… catch up with y’all in a bit? The Council is meeting soon, so I’ll see you there.”

“I still don’t understand how you have a Council but you’re a Queen,” Bri says. “Not that I’m complaining. I’ve never been on anything nearly as important in my life.” She laughs.

“Same,” Jue says, and they slap hands. Bri is slow with it, but she sort of finesses the handshake at the end. She’s rough around the edges but a definite keeper.

“Well, I’ll be splitting my time between East Row and here, now. And, besides, everyone’s looking at me, but that doesn’t mean I know everything. If I’ve learned anything about leading at all, it’s that it involves doing more listening than speaking.”

Bri, Bati, and Julius sit on the Ghizon Council. I’d considered Taavi, but she is, understandably, still piecing herself back together. She’d told me how she and her mother had been estranged for so long because of her soft spot for her father. She and Totsi butted heads for similar reasons. But this journey brought them back together, even if only for a moment, before she died. Taavi has a lot of trauma and healing to work through. Stepping down from leadership to heal is probably wise.

Funny thing about whom people see fit to lead. It isn’t always the right bloodline or the right list of accolades.

It’s the heart for the people.

All the people.

The first law we will sign is that magic will be wielded only by my people, the brown-skinned people on this island. The second is that everyone else will be trained in an array of science and tech talents that suit them. But they will not touch our magic ever again. Macazi will be trained too. And the classes Zruki and Dwegini are done. Now it’s just us. And them. But we’re going to work together to build a Ghizon we’re all proud of.

I don’t know if it’s a perfect plan. Or that perfect even exists. But it’s my plan and we’re going to try it.

“Aight, I’ll catch y’all later,” I say.