Page 6 of The Princess and Her Grand King

"This way." Emeriel gestured between them. "Like we are actual humans instead of some toys to be passed around to every minister with the fattest coin."

The king's eyes went cold.

"I can’t count how many times you whipped me for interrupting court proceedings growing up," Emeriel stated calmly. "Or how many times you forced Aekeira to teach the scholars, even when she had no food in her belly."

Aekeira shifted uncomfortably.

"Even as a male, you never let me join the tournaments. ‘You’re too feminine,’ you’d say. ‘You’re a laughingstock,’" she mimicked. "'You will be worth more on your back than in the fields.' Do you remember,Your Highness?"

King Orestus stared at her. "Can a man not change?"

Emeriel scoffed. "Snakes like you do not change their stripes."

"Em!" Aekeira hissed, hotly.

"Don't 'Em' me, he sold us to them!” Emeriel shot back. "Without a second thought, in the blink of an eye, hesoldus! He sits here on his high throne pretending, but he doesn't care about us. Not. One. Bit."

"I know that. But making him angry is not the way forward."

"Listen to your sister, Emeriel."

"With all due respect, go and fuck yourself," Emeriel shot back.

"Emeriel!" King Orestus roared.

Aekeira blanched."Em!!"

Emeriel lifted her chin, her eyes piercing daggers at the king. She had always hated King Orestus, but never before had she openly antagonized and insulted him like this.

"Stop, Em," Aekeira pleaded. "I don’t want you locked up for days without food or water."

Emeriel rolled her eyes. "What do you think, King Orestus? Will you lock me up for days on end? After all, I just blatantly insulted the tyrant king."

King Orestus looked ready to breathe fire.

"Give the order, come on." Emeriel crossed her arms. "It’s only been three years, but surely old age hasn’t made the tyrant king forget how to string those words together. Go ahead, order it."

The silence was as loud as a trumpet.

Eventually King Orestus sighed and rose from his seat, walking to a shelf laden with scrolls. He withdrew two, each decorated with intricate gold patterns on the rods at their ends. The sigil…

It was unmistakable. It existed only in one place.

Aekeira’s heart lurched. Even Emeriel froze, still as a statue.

"I received these the night before your return," King Orestus said calmly. He unrolled one of the scrolls, its parchment crackling softly. He began to read aloud:

From the third ruler of Urai, sovereign of the Urekai, sole monarch of the Western Clans, and protector of the great mountain.

Let this be read under the gaze of the gods and the light of the moon.

To King Orestus, ruler of the human kingdom, Navia.

We deliver back into your hands the princesses of Navia—not to be pawns in your games of pleasure and power. They return to your kingdom under our protection, and let it be known that the eyes of the rulers of Urai watch over them, even from afar.

King Orestus, you will shelter them with every ounce of your strength. You will keep their lives safe from the shadow of harm, and you will treat them with the dignity and respect owed to princesses of royal blood and to those beloved by the most powerful sovereigns of Urai.

But heed this, King Orestus, and mark my words as though they were etched in a rock. Should even a whisper of danger fall upon them, should a single drop of their blood be spilled by your hand or by any under your rule, you will learn the true meaning of wrath. No corner of Navia will be spared my fury. I will kill you and everyone you hold dear.

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