The Shepherd King, #2
Two Twisted Crowns
by Rachel Gillig
Contents
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Overview
Elm uses the King’s drunkenness to secure a crucial promise: the King will honor any marriage contract Elm makes with an already approved candidate. This turns Elm’s stolen contract with Ione into a potential weapon against the King’s plans.
When Elm finds Linden manhandling Ione, Elm openly uses his authority and the Scythe to protect Ione, escalating his conflict with the Destriers. The chapter strengthens Elm and Ione’s uneasy alliance as Elm recommits to finding the Maiden Card that controls Ione.
Summary
At the King’s feast, Elm sits beside his drunken father in Hauth’s chair, inwardly pleased that the King is too intoxicated to press him hard. The hall is filled with courtiers wearing sprigs from their house trees for Baldwyn’s feast custom, a display Elm finds ridiculous and hollow.
The King demands to know why Elm missed the first feast and asks what the Yews have said. Elm answers evasively, reflecting that Castle Yew feels more like home than Stone and that Emory is recovering there. In a recent visit, Elm told Fenir and Morette about the forest road, the inquest, Ione, the Maiden Card, the feasts, and his new position as heir, then entrusted them with the King-sealed marriage contract he stole from Ione.
Seeing that the King is pliable with drink, Elm decides to barter. Elm asks for written confirmation that he is heir and, in exchange for agreeing to marry, secures the King’s promise that the King will honor any contract Elm strikes with someone already approved for the feasts. The agreement gives Elm an opening to use the existing marriage contract for his own purposes.
When the gong tolls nine and Ione has not appeared, Elm fears she may not come and regrets leaving for Castle Yew without telling her he has not abandoned the search for her Maiden Card. Elm leaves the hall and heads upstairs, where he finds Royce Linden dragging Ione through the royal corridor, accusing Ione of being a traitor after catching her trying to reach the gardens.
Elm uses the Scythe to force Linden still and orders Linden to release Ione. When Linden resists verbally, Elm threatens to reopen the injuries from Market Day and forbids Linden from touching Ione again. Linden submits to Elm as prince, and Elm releases the Scythe only after Linden leaves.
Elm asks why Ione was going to the gardens, and Ione’s anger shows through despite the Maiden’s emotional suppression. Elm explains that he was away on heir business rather than avoiding Ione, while their tense exchange reveals unresolved attraction and distrust. Elm follows Ione to her door, notes where to find Ione in the morning, and promises they will continue searching because the Chalice failed but other Cards may help locate Ione’s Maiden.
Who Appears
- ElmPrince and new heir; bargains with the King, protects Ione, and renews the search for her Card.
- Ione HawthornControlled by the Maiden Card; caught seeking the gardens and guarded from Linden by Elm.
- The KingDrunken ruler; pressures Elm to marry and agrees to honor Elm’s approved contract.
- Royce LindenDestrier who seizes and threatens Ione before Elm forces him to release her.
- Emory YewRecovering at Castle Yew; his improved condition deepens Elm’s loyalty to the Yews.
- Fenir YewElm’s uncle at Castle Yew; receives Elm’s account and sees the stolen contract.
- Morette YewElm’s aunt; recognizes the significance of Ione’s marriage contract and cautions Elm.
- BaldwynOrganizer behind the greenery-themed court feasts and official linked to Elm’s heir documents.