"I didn't come for war, Your Majesty," he said softly. "And I think even you know… if I had come to threaten you, I wouldn't be standing here alone."
Evelynine glanced aside. Her guards stood rigid, hands still gripping their swords, but their bodies utterly immobile. Their muscles tensed, their faces pale, their eyes filled with a terror she rarely witnessed.
Queen Evelynine was a woman who had faced much in her life: dirty politics, bloody intrigues, threats from within and outside the palace. But now, for the first time in a long time, she felt she was confronting something beyond her control.
This man…
No, this monster…
Was too dangerous to be an enemy.
Silence hung in the air for a few seconds that felt like an eternity. She sighed softly, concealing her unease with a calm expression. "Very well," she said, her voice remaining gentle, but a subtle tension underlay it. "You wish to speak with me, yes? I will listen."
