Page 105 of Queen of Legends and Lies
“It’s an outrage!” Serle blusters, blue eyes sparkling with anger. “Arresting Celeste without cause.”
Nira scoffs, flicking a sheet of shiny brown hair over her shoulder. “Without cause? Do you really think the queen didn’t have reason? I want to know what that viper did to land herself in the dungeons. It’s about time, if you ask me.”
The council descends into bickering, half enraged by my actions, half gleefully speculating about Celeste’s crimes. I pinch the bridge of my nose, a headache building behind my eyes.
Finally, Fenton pointedly clears his throat, and the noise dies down.
I flash him a grateful smile before addressing everyone. “I’ve had doubts about Celeste’s intentions from the beginning. Her advice, her actions, they never quite rang true. Something always felt…off.”
Bron leans forward, hands clasped. “What finally convinced you she was a traitor?”
I decide to keep it to myself that I only just recently put all her actions together. “We found her skulking about the apothecary with vials of some sort of concoction.” A scandalized gasp ripples through the room. “She claimed she was attempting to cure corruption.”
Vicar Moise shakes his head and offers a placating smile that reveals both dimples. “One needn’t have a corrupted creature to seek a cure. Antidotes can be tested on tainted meat, spoiled water.”
As he rambles on, I massage my temples, doubts swirling in my gut. Celeste’s face flits through my mind, her grin vulpine as she taunted me.
The councilors erupt into frenzied chatter once more, voices overlapping in a discordant symphony of dissent. Breann reminds them I don’t need proof or even cause to arrest anyone, let alone a person I believe to be a traitor. Serle insists that doing so would appear despotic or hysterical.
“Lark was right to imprison her.” Dalya slams a fist on the arm of her chair in an uncharacteristic display of emotion.
Serle leaps to his feet, cheeks ruddy with indignation. “Nonsense. Lady Celeste offered valuable insights?—”
“Careful, Serle. I’d watch my tone if I were you.” Sterling’s voice is deadly calm and a stark contrast to the warning in his eyes.
Steepling my fingers in front of my chin, I shoot Sterling a grateful look before responding to Serle. “Name one. One single piece of good intel we couldn’t have gotten from scouts.”
The earl’s mouth snaps shut, eyes darting as he racks his brain for a rebuttal.
“Everyone deserves a fair trial.” Moise bobs his head with every word. “Even outsiders.”
“Celeste has no rights here.” Nira scowls so hard at the vicar, I half expect him to combust. “She’s not a Tirenese citizen.”
The squabbling swells, each council member desperate to declare their opinion.
I slump back in my chair, kneading my brow as the ache between my eyes intensifies.
This is precisely what Xenon wants. To sow dissonance and discord, to splinter Tirene from within. Every petty dispute, every heated debate is another chink in our armor, another foothold for our enemy to exploit.
Breann’s lilting voice cuts through the cacophony. “What’s done is done. Our focus should be on recovery. Tending to our wounded, rebuilding what was lost…”
“Agreed.” Bron strokes a smooth cheek, accentuating his youth. “We need emergency provisions. Temporary housing for the displaced, new wells to replace those destroyed?—”
“Food and water should be our priority.” Serle shoots a cautious glance at Sterling. “We can’t rebuild on empty bellies.”
Moise shakes his head in a serpentine motion. “Sanitation and clean water take precedence. Disease will fell us quicker than hunger.”
As the council devolves once more into bickering, I drop my face into my hands with a ragged exhale. Xenon needn’t bother conquering Tirene. At this rate, we’ll tear ourselves asunder without any assistance from him.
A heavy arm settles around my shoulders, cocooning me in much needed warmth. The familiar scent of leather, soap, and spice invades my senses. I glance up to see a muscle twitch near Sterling’s temple.
“Listen up.” His commanding tone silences the squabbling councilors. “Our first priority is to identify anyone who came into contact with any drachen. We need to ensure they haven’t consumed eyril.”
Serle scoffs. “Eyril? That foul weed doesn’t grow in Tirene. And rumor is King Jasper, gods rest his soul, destroyed the stores years ago. I fail to see the concern.”
“Oh, there’s still eyril in Tirene.” Dalya picks at a nail, expression unreadable. “Entire stashes that never got destroyed.”
Sterling stiffens beside me. “Care to enlighten us?”
