Later in the day, Mary prepared Lilith’s hair as she dressed her for the coronation.

"Your Highness, you are about to become a queen. You look like one already," Mary said, unable to hide her happiness. "You must smile."

"I want to, but I have an itching feeling that someone will get in my way. There needs to be a priest present today, and it is meant to be the one who did our wedding. Did you do as I asked and place someone to watch him?" Lilith asked, glancing over her shoulder.

Lilith didn’t want the priest to disappear.

"I did. When I went to speak to him, there were already soldiers outside his door. It seems your husband had the same thought as you and is guarding the priest. Just for today, you should let His Grace deal with the enemies. Let him prove himself," Mary suggested.

This intrigued Lilith.

"I should do that, but there is still a plot which must happen today. Did you succeed in preparing it?" Lilith asked, her voice low, hoping the main event would not fail.

Mary looked up, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "I did, Your Highness. I wouldn’t fail you on your coronation."

"Wonderful," Lilith said, smoothing down the front of her gown. "Some people need to be disposed of early. Stay out of sight, Mary. I would have you remain in my bedchamber, but I fear someone might go there when we are busy."

"I will stay near all the soldiers," Mary promised. "And I will be alert."

"Good. You mustn’t wander off at any point, even if you see something out of the ordinary. Your safety matters most to me," Lilith said, certain others view Mary as her weakness.

"I will, Your Majesty. I overheard that His Grace will be assigning you new guards. If it displeases you, you should get one of your people to become your guard," Mary suggested.

"It wouldn’t be wise to reveal more people who are loyal to me so soon. I need to have as many hidden cards as I can for future use. Right now, the Mortimers are watching me. I will take Cassian’s guard for now," Lilith decided.

"They might spy on your every move and report it back to your husband," Mary said, concerned.

"Or back to his mother. I am already used to this, Mary. We do nothing important before my guards. You are not new to this as well," Lilith said, turning to face her maid. "When I must give the others orders, I will have to send you. You must be careful that no one is following you."

"I will be most careful," Mary promised, eager that Lilith was trusting her. "It sounds like it is time to go, Your Highness."

"It is," Lilith agreed, taking the first step towards the coronation.

Mary walked ahead of Lilith to open the door. She was startled to find Cassian standing on the other side, speaking to his soldiers. His voice held authority as he sent them off.

"Are you ready?" Cassian asked, offering his right hand to Lilith. He took a moment to admire her beauty.

"I am," Lilith said, placing her hand on Cassian’s. "I hope you have threatened the guests to be quiet today. I will not have anyone ruining this moment for me."

"I have given them a good talking-to. I have also placed soldiers at every known entrance to the castle so we won’t have any surprise visitors. Today will go well for us," Cassian assured her.

"Hmm," Lilith replied. Only time would tell.

Cassian wasn’t the one who had dreamt of this moment for many years. Still, she didn’t try to correct him, since it was his moment as well.

Lilith walked with Cassian down to the church, where the visitors from the wedding were gathering.

"Have you selected your finest guards for our outing around the town? That is where the most danger will come. We haven’t found the queen, and you haven’t brought me Virgil’s head as yet, so we can’t be too safe," Lilith said in a hushed tone.

"The best soldiers have been selected, and as for Virgil, I have sent my men to search all his churches to capture him, but he and all his closest priests are missing," Cassian shared.

Lilith looked up at Cassian. "Please tell me that you ordered all the soldiers to search each of the churches at the same time. You have an army to do it. Going church by church would have given him time to run and hide."

"I am used to this kind of planning, Lilith. I sent out groups of soldiers all at once and ordered them to strike at the same hour. Virgil seemed to have been anticipating an attack," Cassian explained.

"Of course he was. It might not have been good to strike on our coronation day. I want that man dead, but the opinion of the town matters. The people are already wary and anxious about our rule. Sending soldiers to the church might have made them more wary," Lilith said, worried they had given Virgil what he wanted.

"I planned for that. I ordered the men to speak of a murderer hiding in the churches. I haven’t lied about searching for a murderer."

Cassian knew well that Virgil wasn’t a priest without blood on his hands.

"Virgil acts as though he hears God’s word. We must be careful about how we approach him, because he can easily convince the people that God wants them to storm the castle," Lilith whispered, almost certain a riot would come.

Cassian held Lilith’s hand to calm her. "Virgil isn’t going to get inside the castle, nor have we walked right into his trap. He is merely hiding, waiting for the right moment to show himself. I have placed every soldier so if he arrives, he will die."

"I shall take your word for it," Lilith said, deciding to trust Cassian. "If Virgil spoils the day, you will have one unhappy wife. I am not kind when I am unhappy."