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“And when were you going to tell us about this little rebellion you’re involved in?” asks Khatreya.
“What rebellion?”
Zaliuth rises to his feet, causing Shradga to step in front of Khatreya.
“What bullshit has Vippera told you? I’m going to kill her!”
“Enough of this! Guards!”
Guards burst into the room, quickly surrounding Zalith as they bark orders to calm down.
“No, you listen to me. Vippera and Tikzorcu have manipulated you all! Don’t you trust your own son?” pleads Zalith.
“You’re lucky I’m still calling you that,” snarls Shradga. “You’re going through with this marriage!”
“Never!” yells Zalith, punching the nearest guard.
“Seize him!” Shradga barks. “Take him away to his room and lock him there!”
“Shit…” groans Slyth as Zalith is dragged from the room. We look at each other in alarm. None of us expected this plan to go smoothly, but for it to go this haywire was completely unexpected.
“What should we do with him?” asks Khatreya.
“We need to keep him under lock and key until the marriage ceremony is complete,” says Shradga. “Right now, the most important thing is to secure the throne.”
18
AURORA
Panic rushes through me as I watch Zalith get dragged from the room. I turn to scramble in the opposite direction, keen to help him out in any way I can. As soon as I move, Slyth’s hand reaches out, grabbing me by the wrist.
“What are you doing?” he whispers in an urgent tone.
“Zalith needs our help, we can’t just sit here while he’s hauled off.”
“Rory, we need – Wait, hold on, I think I hear someone else coming.”
We look back down to the lounge room below, watching as the doors open again. Vippera enters the room, followed closely by King Tikzorcu. On Vippera’s face is a smile of satisfaction. I’d love nothing more than to smack it off of her face.
“My daughter and I caught sight of Zalith being dragged off. What happened?” asks Tikzorcu.
Those bastards know exactly what’s happening. Their feigned innocence makes my blood boil.
“Oh, he needs some calming down,” says Shradga.
“He came in spitting some nonsense about conspiracies left, right, and center. I believe he muttered something about Vippera trying to poison him the other night,” explains Khatreya.
“I’m sorry your son does not understand the importance of good political relations,” says Vippera, taking a seat across from them. She’s joined by her father.
“Please,” says Khatreya, waving a dismissive hand. “We are the ones who should be apologizing. He’s never behaved in such a strange manner before.”
“We always thought he’d be ready for marriage when the time came for it,” remarks Shradga. “Thank you for coming to us and explaining everything you saw in him. We didn’t want to believe it, but you were right in the end.”
“Had I not known he’s a prince, I would’ve deemed him to be a madman. Maybe he just needs some time to cool off. Then hopefully he’ll come to his senses. I just hope the wedding can still go ahead,” gripes Vippera with a frown.
“We’ll get him to come around to it,” says Khatreya reassuringly. “No need to worry about the marriage, all will still go ahead as per the original arrangements.”
“By the gods…” I moan, turning to Slyth. “The King and Queen have been completely brainwashed against their own son.”
