Page 91 of Bride of the Black Dragon
“No!” I try to keep my voice level though I feel like shouting in frustration. “I was looking for the key to the restraining collar she put on Prince Xaren. I believe it’s killing his Drake—which would leave the entire Kingdom unprotected!” I add.
The Nobles murmur nervously, looking at each other in obvious uncertainty. I wonder if any of them know that Xaren’s Drake is actually what keeps the Citadel free of invaders? Or do they just live their silly, vacuous lives in a haze of entitled ignorance with no notion of who is paying for their freedom?
But the Prosecutor refuses to take my bait.
“So you admit you were conspiring with the disgraced Prince Xaren to steal the throne!” he thunders triumphantly.
“No!” I exclaim. “I never?—”
“And when you couldn’t poison the Queen to steal the key, you decided to kill His Majesty, the old King instead and steal the throne more directly!” he goes on. “Then you were going to take the secret passageway back to the Queen’s room, get the key, release the Dark Prince, and take the throne together!”
“No!” I cry again. “No, that’s not true at all! I just want Xaren to live—I want his Drake to live! Both of them are dying down there in the dungeon and I?—”
“Your Majesty, Nobles of the Court,” the Royal Prosecutor says, bowing to Dorian and nodding to the audience. “I think we have established our murderess’ motive. She sought to place the disgraced Prince Xaren—who not long ago threatened our very lives with his Drake—on the throne so they could rule the Kingdom together!”
The nobles murmur together and glare at me—clearly they believe everything the snake of a Prosecutor is selling them.
I can feel my pulse pounding in my ears and my mouth is dry as dust.
They won’t listen. None of them will listen. They just believe whatever he tells them—even if it’s all lies! Why are they all so blind—so stupid?
The Prosecutor’s questions come faster now, his words twisting like knives.
“Did Prince Xaren instruct you to free him? Did he give you the poison in the first place? Did he promise to make you Queen after his mother and father were both dead? Did he tell you to kill King Dorian too?”
“No!” My voice cracks. “I love Xaren, but I would never?—”
“Ah, so you do admit to loving him,” the man purrs, his narrow eyes glinting. “You admit to conspiring with him in secret meetings, in the dungeons no less!”
“I was sent there by the Queen herself!” I cry. “She?—”
“Enough!” Dorian’s voice booms across the hall. “We all know my mother has a soft heart where this girl is concerned, but we cannot allow her bleeding compassion to cloud Royal Justice.”
The Queen looks angrily at him, clearly not approving of this statement but the Court is Dorian’s now—she doesn’t dare to speak or contradict him.
He leans forward on the throne, resting his chin on his hand, studying me like a predator toying with its prey.
“You see, Princess Elaina, you make this so difficult. I wanted to be merciful. But mercy must be earned.”
“Mercy?” I choke out, losing my composure at last. “How dare you speak to me of mercy? You murdered your own father!”
A shocked gasp sweeps the room. The Queen’s head jerks up. Dorian’s smile falters for the first time.
“What did you say?” His voice is deadly soft.
I swallow hard.
You can’t back down now. Tell them. Tell them all.
“I saw you,” I say, my voice trembling but growing stronger with each word. “I saw you leaning over the King’s bed. You were pouring the poison into his mouth—down his throat!”
The room explodes. Nobles leap to their feet. The Prosecutor shouts for silence.
Dorian stands slowly, his face a mask of fury.
“You dare,” he growls. “You dare to speak such filth in front of my Court?”
“It’s the truth!” I shout back. I have nothing left to lose now. “You killed him! You murdered your own father!”
