"He was under your care—your supervision!"
Selena's voice cracked through the chamber, her eyes hardening as they locked onto the Lord Commander, pinning him in place beneath her stare.
"I did my best, Your Highness. It is only a shortcoming—it will pass."
He groaned from where he sat.
"Shut that hole you dare call a mouth!"
Selena snarled, her voice heavy with authority. The Lord Commander fell silent, reduced to nothing beneath her presence.
"My son is in there," Selena said, her voice trembling beneath the steel of her rage, "battling for his life, and you stand before me speaking nonsense, daring to dress failure in excuses."
She took a step forward, eyes blazing.
"You utter rubbish to my face and call it your best?"
Her hand came down hard against the table.
The thud echoed through the room, sending a jolt through every soul seated there.
"Your best," she continued, her voice low now, dangerous, "was not enough."
Immediately after Ragaleon was ushered into his chamber, an emergency meeting was summoned.
Right now, all the members of the council were seated at the right side of the table, and the royal family at the left side.
Racheal remained unmoved by the storm unfolding around her. She had yet to recover from the shock of what her eyes had witnessed, her mind still trapped in that dreadful moment.
She was like a trampled petal, crushed, stripped of form and worth. Her body stayed glued to the chair, rigid and unresponsive, her gaze fixed somewhere far ahead.
"I need strict measures taken," she continued, her voice cutting through the courtroom.
"There are men and women beyond these walls—skilled in herbal medicine, versed in remedies we have failed to consider."
She drew a sharp breath, her composure thinning. "That poison will not kill my son. It cannot."
Her gaze swept the room, darkening with every word that left her lips.
"You will do something. All of you. The king must live!
Selena was still talking when the door to the courtroom opened and Johanna walked in; trailing behind her was her daughter, Leah.
"Where is my son?"
Her voice was laced with urgency, her eyes roaming in every direction of the room until they settled on the lord commander.
Selena was forced to turn around only to meet Johanna's fiery eyes.
"Can you not hear me?!
Her voice shook the room, echoing off the walls. Her question was directed at the lord commander.
"I believe Prince William is in his chamber."
Drigo answered, already feeling sympathy for the Lord Commander, who had undergone a lot of criticism in the past few minutes.
At his word Johanna pivoted towards the door, her long violet hair slapping against her back as she turned. She briskly made her way out of the courtroom, her legs moving as fast as she could go.
"Mother, slow down."
Leah mumbled, trying to keep up as they both took left, leaving the courtroom in a state of awkwardness.
"I see…"
Selena's hand suddenly balls into a fist.
"Her son is perfectly well, and my son is dying."
The words rolled out effortlessly, and even Jazell was forced to readjust on the chair she was seated in.
"Fate plays cruel games."
The lord commander managed to say after choosing to remain mute for a while.
Selena's eyes shrank as she tried to suppress a stray smirk.
"I will make sure your fate revolves around the tip of my finger if my son doesn't step foot out of that chamber
The threat hung heavy in the air.
Just then, the doors creaked open.
Micah stepped inside, Jazell spotted her then rolls her eyes.
"How convenient," she scoffed.
"Is it true?"
Micah's voice was hoarse, her feet dragging solemnly across the floor as though each step weighed her down.
Selena looked at her only briefly,then turned away.
She retreated to her chair, her silence. proving to be far more dangerous than rage.
"It is what it is, your grace."
Drigo answered, and Micah felt her muscles constrict.
"Will he die?"
Her voice trembled, yet she held her head high as she moved to a chair and settled on it.
"He will not."
Selena snapped, her fingers closing around the ruby ring on her hand, stroking it as though drawing strength from the stone.
"How sure can we be?"
Jazell cooed, her icy eyes resting on Selena.
"Do you have something you wish to say, Jazell?" Selena asked.
Her eyes narrowed slightly. She could sense the weight behind Jazell's words and wanted to uncover the full intent, every hidden layer of her carefully chosen question.
"The king is in a state of vulnerability; until then, who shall rule in his stead?"
Micah lifted her gaze slowly, her eyes darting to where Jazell was seated, her fingers drumming steadily on the table.
"Is that what bothers you?"
She questions, but Jazell did not flinch.
She met Micah's stare with unwavering resolve.
"Peace and order must be restored, and a balance struck between the people and the crown. So yes… it is what bothers me."
The tension was palpable, like a taut wire stretched between them, ready to snap.
Micah leaned back slightly, studying Jazell. She was doing it again, playing little games.
"Brandon will rule in his stead."
Selena's voice rang through the room unyieldingly. She pushed her chair back with a decisive motion, rising to her feet like a storm breaking free.
At her declaration.
Racheal, who seemed to have been frozen in place, slowly lifted her gaze.
The sudden motion was almost serpentine, her eyes gliding upward as if awakening from a long, stunned paralysis.
A leer smile found its way to Jazell's lips, her nerves tingling with satisfaction.
"And why would that be so?"
Racheal's voice dissipated into the air, carried by the wind.
"Because I say so."
Selena, standing beside her chair, her shadow stretching long and menacing across the floor, answered with cold finality.
Racheal's eyes flicked to where Brandon was, and a wave of dismay washed over her.
"And if the king were to die…"
Racheal's voice trailed, thick with menace, her gaze still locked with Brandon's, studying every change of his countenance.
But his face was neutral, which fueled her dismay the more.
"He will not."
Selena scowled, her lashes batting in a frothy manner.
"If he were to die?"
Racheal emphasized the words for the second time, letting each syllable fall heavily into the silence.
Her gaze settled on Selena, stripped of remorse.
"Then the first seed of the king shall rule," Selena replied at last, her voice firm. "As tradition demands."
The smile plastered on Jazell's lips died.
"Very well then."
Racheal said, rising to her feet.
That was all she had needed to hear, the reassurance that her place in the palace wouldn't be usurped.
Without a backward glance, she strode out of the courtroom, her footsteps echoing like the beat of war drums.
"What false hope have you planted in her heart?"
Jazell's words were laced with bitter relish as she confronted Selena immediately after Racheal was out of sight.
Racheal's pregnancy was due in little time; it was obvious her child would be the first seed of the king.
"Every word I spoke stands," Selena shot back, though a hammering pain throbbed behind her temples.
"Only the king decides who will rule in his stead… You had no right, none whatsoever!"
Jazell's voice cracked, then surged as she spoke.
"What is it with you all and the sovereignty of the throne?!
Selena's blood boiled, her fists tightening as she snapped, cutting Jazell off.
"My son has barely been in that room, and you all are already planning to overtake his throne. Should we be planning his funeral as well?!
Her voice was edged with sarcasm. Only she could understand the ache she was feeling.
Jazell's eyes never wandered from Selena's, even as she talked.
A brief silence filled the courtroom, thick and suffocating, yet it spoke louder than any words could.
Beneath the calm surface of her face, vengeance burned like wildfire, clawing at Jazell's chest.
Her fingers curled, nails pressing into her palms, as if she could anchor herself against the tidal wave of fury building inside her.
Finally, without a word, she rose. Her motion charged with the electricity, her pace quickened as she made her way towards the door.
Guards at the door instinctively moved aside. She stormed out, leaving the courtroom behind, yet the aftermath of her presence lingered behind.
Selena ran her tongue along her bottom lip before exhaling tiredly. She settled back into her chair, then hung her head down, with her eyes shut.
She wanted to think, to be left alone.
"Kyron still walks on the surface of this earth a free man."
Brandon started rising up to his feet; he adjusted the cuff of his sleeves before snaking his hand downward along his hair.
"Kyron still lives?"
She directed her question at the lord commander, the countenance of her face replaced with shock.
The lord commander nodded his head in affirmation, then smacked his lips tightly.
"He cowarded away when we invaded Galvestone, and we are still yet to pinpoint his location, but rest assured that…"
"Wonderful ... just the thing I wanted to hear."
Selena felt her blood pressure shoot up in an instant, as her voice dripped with mockery.
With a breathless sigh, she turns to one of the council members.
"Priest Tailbon, see to it that the commoners do not get the news of the transient demise of the king.
We cannot put the kingdom at risk by announcing it; if we do, all our enemies will come knocking at our gates, ready to uproot it from the surface of the earth."
She paused, then continued.
"Lord hand…"
She called out, referring to Brandon.
"The king left the affairs of this kingdom in your hands; you better be ready to live up to it."