Page 140 of The Throne's Undoing

"Domitius has been left unchecked for too long," Graeson said. "We cannot delay any longer. We already know King Rian has fallen ill and Sebastian has taken his place."

"Sebastian is acting as regent?" Kallie asked in surprise.

Graeson looked at her, his attention dropping to her throat. Kallie's hand froze. She hadn't even realized she had placed her hand there. But as Graeson's jaw popped and Kallie recalled Sebastian's hands wrapped around her neck, she could feel his hands burning her skin, her lungs depleting.

Graeson took a deep breath and placed a gentle hand on her thigh. "Yes," he said softly before returning his attention to the rest of the table. "Sebastian is not a man we can dismiss. He's rash and hotheaded."

Kallie nodded beside him, her brows furrowing.

"And he's the one who killed Fynn."

Graeson's words swept across the room, and Kallie peered at Dani from the corner of her eye. The general sat back in her chair, her lips pursed and hands gripping the table's edge as if to steady her.

"He was right there," she whispered. "I could have--" She shook her head as Sylvia lay a hand atop Dani's. But it was as if Dani did not even feel her friend's touch, as if her mind was lost to the past.

Graeson scooted closer to the table. "We must act before it is too late--"

But before Graeson could continue, a loud commotion sounded outside the dining room. Not a second later, Ophelia stormed through the entrance, her gaze quickly flicking across the room.

Her cheeks were flushed as if she had run the entire way to the dining room, and her chest rose rapidly. Wisps of blonde hair had fallen across the warrior's face, but she ignored them as she stepped further into the room.

"Good," Ophelia said, her voice no more than a huff as she tried to regain her breath. "You're all here."

"What is it?" Medenia asked, her hip bumping into the table as she stood. The dishes rattled atop it.

Coming to Medenia's side, Ophelia held out a piece of folded parchment, the wax seal broken. With furrowed brows, Medenia took the letter from her and unfolded it.

"We've received a letter," Ophelia explained. "The queen has already been made aware of it, and I came here right away to deliver it to you all."

"A simple letter has put you in this state?" Emmett asked with an amused snort.

Turning toward Emmett, Ophelia glared at him, her eyes blazing and a sneer curling at her mouth. "Now is not the time for jokes."

"Who is the letter from?" Dani asked hesitantly.

Ophelia glanced at Medenia, who scanned the words. Her eyes darted across the parchment, and her fingers tightened around the letter, crinkling it as the blood rushed from her face.

Ophelia shifted on her feet. "We finally have received a response from Pontia."

Kallie went rigid at the mention of the island. She looked at Graeson, a question she did not dare ask aloud on her lips, but he only offered her a grimace in response as his hand found hers beneath the table.

"And?" Dani pressed, scooting closer to the table.

"She has declined," Ophelia said carefully.

"What do you mean she hasdeclined?" Dani spat at the same time as Kallie asked, "Declined what?"

Medenia's gaze was far away when she answered, the letter crumpling in her hand. "Esmeray has declined to declare war against Ardentol. She claims that it is not in the kingdom's best interest and that the people must rebuild first."

The blood drained from Kallie's face as the words settled in her stomach. She had known war was coming. By the gods, she had been on the other side before, forcing the pieces to fall into place by order of Domitius. Yet somehow, the true weight of her actions, of everything she had done, did not settle until she had heard those words.

All around her people moved, words were spat, but Kallie barely heard them as her ears rang.

"Typical," Kallie heard Dani say. "This is the exact bullshit Esmeray preached before we left."

"What else has she said?" someone else--Terin, Kallie thought numbly--asked.

"She has demanded your return home," Medenia said, looking at each of them. "Immediately."

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