My chest caved in.
Dalkhan went straight to his throne and dropped into it.Such a casual, effortless dismissal.
Why did it cut so deep—why did the cold indifference slice into me like a wound torn open?
With a flick of his wrist, everyone scattered, chairs scraping against stone as they found their seats.
I tried focus on my plate, but my eyes darted back to him before I could stop myself.
He sat rigid, his knuckles white from gripping the armrest.His other hand rubbed over his beard in slow strokes, a gesture I’d come to recognise as barely contained fury.
Yetstillhe wouldn’t look at me.
My jaw tightened, teeth grinding together as I forced myself to stare at my untouched food.
Around me, conversation swelled, the unbearable ring of laughter echoing in my skull.Distant.Hollow.
I hardly moved, pushing the food around, my appetite long gone.
“I don’t feel well,” I murmured, just loud enough for Jasila to hear.
She glanced at me, then at Dalkhan, missing nothing.She gave a small nod.
I pushed my chair back and stood, the movement feeling impossibly loud in the silence.
I turned to leave but didn’t even make it three steps.
His power struck like a vice.Invisible hands gripped my limbs, freezing me in place.
I gasped, my body locking as his voice, sharp as ice, cut into my mind.
“Sit.Back.Down.”
The rage behind his every word lashed against my consciousness.
“I said,” his voice came again, lower and even more dangerous, “sit down.”
His power released me.
Shaken, I stumbled back to my seat.
Theo and Tavrik eyed me with open confusion.They hadn’t heard him.Hadn’t felt his will crushing down on me.
I kept my head bowed, every nerve aware of his unspoken fury pressing against me from across the room.
I was trapped.Made to endure the torment of his silent wrath.The food in front of me might as well have been poison.
Tears welled in my eyes, hot and unwelcome.I blinked rapidly, refusing to let them fall.
Hours passed in suffocating agony before at last, Dalkhan stood.The movement was sudden and violent.Every head in the room snapped to him.
He stormed from the hall.The air itself seemed to crackle with his rage.
Everyone rose as he left, but I didn’t move.
I couldn’t.
I sat there with my head low, shoulders hunched, shame curling around me like a noose.
