Fandom: GRIMM
Pairing: Renard/Nick
Length: 15,735 words
Author on LJ:
xela_ficAuthor Website:
AO3,
Masterlist on LJWhy this must be read:
Author's Summary: He’d signed and announced the Warrant of Appointment three days ago. Nick was officially Portland’s Hochmeister, a sovereign military asset operating under the auspices of the Crown. He just didn't know it. And then a rogue Grimm rolled into town to challenge Nick for his place. Renard won't let that stand, but Nick's natural curiosity was making it very hard to keep him safe.
Xela gives us a lush world of Wesen Royalty history, Grimm history, a modern power struggle between the Old and New Worlds, and our favorite "catch-and-release" Grimm, Nick, caught in the middle of it. I adore some of the descriptive details Xela lays out for us; I feel I'm right in the middle of the Wesen Königshof (kind of a court) or standing on top of a city building surveying a Regnant's kingdom with him.
I also really enjoyed the Renard and Nick dynamic in this one. Nick loses none of his badass Grimm-ness even though Renard does most of the fighting. Nick lets Renard know that he's his own man and will not surrender everything to anyone. Renard respects that and they come to a strong partnership by story's end.
The Measure of a King