Chapter 22: The Succession

The question of succession was not something Sera had planned to address at thirty-two. But her council raised it, gently but persistently, and she understood their reasoning: the kingdom was six years old and entirely dependent on her continued health, judgment, and presence. Good governance required that its continuation not rest on any single person. She spent three months on the problem with the same thoroughness she had brought to drainage negotiations and treaty drafting. The answer she arrived at was not what the council expected. 'I'm not going to name a successor,' she said, at the formal council session. 'I'm going to build a governance structure that doesn't require one. The kingdom's sovereignty should not be housed in a person. It should be housed in institutions.' Drusse's expression was thoughtful. Addo's was unsurprised. 'You're proposing—' the council's eldest member began. 'A permanent council with executive authority, with the queen as first among equals rather than sole holder of power.' She spread her proposal on the table. 'The treaty was signed in my name because that is how sovereign recognition works. But the kingdom's daily operation has always been collaborative. I want to formalize what is already true.' The discussion took three sessions. At the end of it, the council voted to adopt the structure. Drusse, walking out afterward, said: 'You just gave away power that most rulers would guard with their lives.' 'I gave away the single-point-of-failure version of power,' Sera said. 'I kept the good kind.' 'What's the good kind?' 'The kind that works even when you're not in the room.' Drusse was quiet for a moment. 'Your tutor,' she said, 'must have been extraordinary.' 'He would have been unbearable about this,' Sera said, and smiled.