Even from across the hall, Elyssara understands exactly why Rhaema spoke of her the way she did.
The woman does not move.
Does not fidget.
Does not whisper to the courtiers around her.
Does not even blink.
She simply watches.
Her stillness is deliberate. Controlled so completely it borders on unnatural.
Her face is calm—perfectly composed, perfectly disciplined—yet something about that composure feels deeply unnatural. Like a predator that has learned how to wear the skin of something human.
A wolf, perhaps.
The kind that does not hunt with teeth, but with patience.
If Marin is the blade, Maireth is the hand that wields it.
And the moment Elyssara meets her gaze, she knows with chilling certainty that this woman has been expecting her.
Marin tilts her head slightly. The movement is small. But deliberate.Like everything in here.
Then she leans toward Maireth and murmurs something in her ear.
Maireth’s eyes never leave Elyssara. Not even once. And slowly—the Queen of Caeloria smiles.
“We need to approach her,” Kael murmurs low. “When Maireth meets your gaze, youmustapproach.”
Elyssara senses something in Kael. Not fear. But protocol. The kind of learned protocol from years of being trained to survive this court.
She nods, looping her arm under Kael’s and lifting her chin. “Then let’s meet the monster that erased my people,” she says, her tone carrying a quiet, lethal certainty.
Kael’s mouth tilts into a wicked smirk. “Remember El: you hold the fate of the realms in your hands, and Maireth knows it. She does not wield power over you.”
Elyssara’s heart beats like a war drum in her chest, and she sucks in a long breath in an attempt to steady it. “Aside from the fact I’m in her court and surrounded by the biggest military presence in the Known Realms? Yeah, she holds no power.”
Kael lets out a small chuckle. “Oh, and she’s a Shadowweave. Don’t forget that.”
A groan rumbles through her chest. “Fucking great. This just keeps getting better,” she mutters, and Kael tugs on her arm.
Unafraid. Unflinching in the face of all this power, wealth, brutality, Elyssara’s legs move.Or at least, that’s what she pretends.
One step.
Another.
Until her feet carry her all the way through the crowd to land a few feet from Maireth and Marin. They have no guard presence directly around them.
Perhaps they don’t need it.
Perhapstheyare the weapons.
Or perhaps no one in the Known Realms is stupid enough to attack the Queen of Caeloria in her own court.
Elyssara swallows thickly, shoving down the thoughts.
