Page 40 of Rise of the Siren Queen
“Lady Ithra wasn’t defending the kingdom,” I said, my voice cold but controlled. “She was acting out of a personal vendetta, disobeyingthe queens’ command, and risking everything in the process. This wasn’t an act of duty, it was reckless and dangerous.”
Thalor’s gaze flicked to mine, his pale blue eyes narrowing slightly, and for a moment, I saw the glint of something dark and predatory lurking behind his calm demeanor. Those eyes were the same predatory blue I saw four years ago and startled me.
How?
“The human invaded our territory, saw our sacred Moon Pond, and during Astralis.” His tone was sharp and cutting, each word dripping with venomous intent.
My insides twisted as he emphasized “human” with such disdain, as if Adrian’s mere existence was a personal affront to him. The way he framed the situation, it was as though everything that had transpired was Adrian’s fault, as if it were some unpardonable sin that he had stumbled into our world, a world he did not know of, a world that had already changed him in ways beyond his understanding.
The mention of the sacred Moon Pond, and worse, Astralis, sent a ripple of unease through the council members. Tension rising in the room as the gravity of the situation sank in. Thalor was exploiting it, using the sanctity of the Astralis to turn them against me, to make it seem as if the actual crime was Adrian’s presence. I fought to keep my expression neutral, but inside, anger and frustration raged.
“He didn’t invade our territory, Thalor,” I bit out, my voice sharp. “We both know the breach in the barrier was not by his hand. Lady Ithra attacked him without provocation, during a time when the laws mean to protect, not to punish.” I turned to my grandmother. “She broke the law, and that cannot go unpunished.”
Thalor wasn’t done. His eyes, sharp and gleaming with malice, flicked back to me.
“And yet he remains an intruder, Your Highness,” he continued, his voice laced with a dark, almost mocking tone, lips curled intoa sneer. “And Lady Ithra was protecting the kingdom against said intruder, something you should’ve done four years ago, Princess.”
His words sliced through me like an icy blade, the insinuation clear. My fists clenched at my sides, and my pulse quickened, but I refused to let him see how deep his words cut. How dare he mention my parents’ murder?
“He wants to throw you off. Don’t let him, Iryen.” My grandmother’s voice sang in my mind and I compose myself again.
“You can’t be serious,” I shot back, my voice fierce and unwavering. “She went against the Queen’s ruling. It doesn’t matter what her motive was. It doesn’t matter if he’s an intruder. She broke the law, and the law will punish her.”
My tone was cold, vicious even. I was sick of Thalor’s games, his constant manipulation, twisting everything to suit his ambitions. Let the councilmen agree with him all they wanted, but the law was the law. It wasn’t open to interpretation or manipulation, not with an outright defiance of the Queen’s orders.
Thalor’s gaze darkened, and a tense silence settled over the chamber. The council members shifted uneasily in their seats, their eyes darting between us. I saw their hesitation, their reluctance to speak against him. Thalor had a way of instilling fear, of bending people to his will with just a few well-placed words.
But not this time. I wouldn’t let him win.
“The law is there to protect us all,” I continued, my voice steady but laced with a cold finality. “Not to be twisted in favor of whoever has the loudest voice. Ithra’s actions were reckless, dangerous, and they went against the Queen’s ruling. There’s no justification for that.”
“Very well then, we must follow the law,” Thalor said, his voice deceptively calm, though his words dripped with malice. I narrowed my eyes, sensing the trap he was laying out before us. “But Lady Ithra couldn’t have done this alone.”
A sharp, glacial irritation coiled in my chest, spreading through my veins like frost creeping over glass. Every calculated word that left his lips was a deliberate push, a test, a provocation wrapped in the pretense of diplomacy. The venom was subtle, almost imperceptible, but I felt it.
I saw it in the way his lips barely curved, the way his gaze lingered just a fraction too long, gleaming with the quiet satisfaction of a predator toying with its prey. He was stirring the waters, daring me to bite.
“Where were the guards?” he asked, feigning innocence. His expression was an infuriating mask of false curiosity, but I wasn’t a fool. He knew exactly what he was doing, trying to shift the focus from Ithra to the royal guards, perhaps even to me.
My jaw clenched, and I felt a sharp energy rising in my chest. He was planning something with this line of questioning, and I wasn’t about to let him manipulate the narrative to his advantage. His entire approach was a dangerous game of politics, one designed to cause chaos and weaken my position.
“The guards were acting on my orders,” the lie rolled smoothly, my voice steady but laced with cold fury. “They were not involved in Lady Ithra’s actions, and you know that, Lord Thalor. Don’t pretend otherwise.”
He smirked, and it took everything in me not to react. This was his game, prodding, poking, looking for a weakness. And I refusedto give him one.
My grandmother sat in silence, her piercing green eyes cutting through the rising tension like a blade. She wasn’t just listening, but dissecting, calculating, weighing every word with the precision of a beast waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
“Then perhaps we should punish them for abandoning their posts,” Thalor suggested, his smirk widening as if he had already won some twisted victory.
Of course, this was his plan all along, to shift the blame, to drag the royal guards into this mess, and weaken my position by punishing those who were loyal to me.
“They acted under my orders,” I said again, each word precise, honed to a razor’s edge. “If you question their actions, you questionme.”
Thalor’s lips curled, not quite a smile, more like a serpent baring its teeth before the kill.
“Oh, I wouldn’t dare challenge you, Princess.” His voice was smooth, practiced, an illusion of civility wrapped around something far more venomous. “I only intend to ensure that justice is carried out fairly. Surely, you wouldn’t stand in the way of that, would you?”
His audacity was almost admirable. Almost.
