My voice doesn’t waver. “Jax Kregger has consented to bind his life to mine, as punishment for the unforgivable crime he has committed.”
That’s when the floodgate opens.
Shouts bounce off the dark stone walls and tall, dome-shaped ceilings. Some of the nobles rise from their seats, waving their hands in the air in protest. Others remain seated while arguing with their fellow nobles.
I don’t move, show no reaction. My exterior is ice, even though inside I’m simmering with rage at this spectacle.
I allow them a few minutes of indulgence. Then, without a word, I raise my hand in the air to silence them.
For a heartbeat, terror’s cold fingers grip me.What if they don’t listen?
But the moment my hand lifts, one by one the nobles fall silent.
“The punishment is not up for debate,” I say, voice cold. “Your duty is to vote. Those in favor, say ‘aye’ and raise your hands.”
Immediately, a forest of hands shoot into the air. Some familiar faces like Noblewoman Genji. I have no clue what sort of relationship Jax has with her, or what he did to win such loyalty from the beautiful fae, but once she votes in our favor so do the nobles around her.
Noire counts the votes out loud.
A hundred and thirty noble houses. What we need is sixty-six votes. My heart hammers in my chest, and sweat trickles down my spine.
Every single hand in Vera’s loyal noble circle rises.
Except for one.
Twenty-nine.
Nobleman Uringi sits with his arms crossed across his chest, ignoring the nobles that sit around him.
That fucking bastard.
His vote matters. It’s one I was counting on. If he doesn’t vote…
I should have known that one day he would find a way to rebel against me. I just didn’t think it would be this day.
Panic seizes my lungs. I struggle to get a breath down.
But Noire doesn’t pause as he goes through the hands in the air.
Forty-nine.
We have forty-nine votes.
My gaze snaps to Nobleman Juti on the left side of the auditorium. He isn’t raising his hand.
I’m about to lose my shit, gripping the arms of my iron throne so hard my knuckles are white…but then Nobleman Juti meets my gaze.
Slowly he inclines his head, and with a pronounced “aye,” he raises his hand. I almost slide out of my seat from relief.
The rest of his noble youth cast their votes in our favor, too.
Sixty-five.
Noire stops the count.
No.
It’s a tie?
