“Hmm, so this is what you all believe?” I muse, my gaze sweeping over the gathered nobility, taking in their expressions of barely concealed hostility and judgment.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” they reply in unison, their voices ringing with a condemnation that sets my teeth on edge.
I can feel a smile tugging at my lips, a mirthless thing that doesn’t reach my eyes. They must truly think me weak to believe I would let such blatant slander against my rule go unanswered. That I would not have their heads for daring to question my motives, my authority.
Rising slowly from my throne, I descend the dais steps with a deliberate, measured tread, the lords scrambling to their feet in response. I make my way towards Easterlin, holding his gaze with an intensity that has him shifting uncomfortably, his earlier bravado faltering in the face of my silent fury.
He tries to maintain eye contact as I come to a stop before him, looming over his smaller frame with a presence that fills the room, but I can see the first cracks in his facade. The way his throat bobs as he swallows hard, the faint sheen of sweat beading on his brow. Good. Let him squirm.
I stare down at him, my face an impassive mask even as the urge to simply reach out and tear his head from his shoulders washes over me in a red wave of violence. It would be so easy, so satisfying, to end his miserable existence here and now. But I cannot. Not yet.
Lifting my head, I let my gaze rake over the assembled lords once more, letting the weight of my displeasure settle over them like a suffocating shroud before I speak.
“The rumors are true,” I say, my voice ringing out in the tense silence. I can hear the collective intake of breath, the shock rippling through the room at my apparent confession. “But they are also false.”
“What do you mean, my king?” Easterlin asks, daring to lift his head and meet my gaze once more, a flicker of confusion in his cold, reptilian eyes.
“What I mean,” I say, pitching my voice to carry to every corner of the cavernous hall, “is that while it is true I have… allowed myself to become unduly invested in the princess, it is not for the reasons you suggest.”
I pause, letting my gaze rake over the assembled lords as I feed them the half-truth they so desperately want to believe.
“I will admit, I have made… certain allowances where the princess is concerned. Allowances that, on the surface, may appear unwise or even treasonous to some.” I shoot Easterlin a pointed look. “But I can assure you all, my reasons are purely strategic in nature.”
Turning back to face the room, I spread my hands in a placating gesture as I continue to weave my web of deception.
“You see, I recognized early on the potential value in allowing the princess to become… emotionally compromised during her captivity here. By fostering a misguided sense of attachment, of tenderness even, I hoped to make her more pliable, more willing to bend to my will when the time came to extract her knowledge of her family’s whereabouts.”
I shake my head, allowing a rueful smile to curve my lips as I project an air of mild self-deprecation.
“In hindsight, perhaps I took the game too far, allowed my own role as her tormentor and jailer to become too… intimate for propriety’s sake. If I gave the impression of affection, or heavens forbid, love, for the enemy’s daughter, I assure you it was merely an act. A means to an end, nothing more.”
Pausing, I turn back to face Easterlin, holding his gaze as I let the full weight of my following words sink in.
“The princess may very well be my fated mate,” I say, allowing just a hint of distaste to color my tone. “But she will forever be my enemy first and foremost. A means to an end, nothing more.”
I can see the flicker of uncertainty in Easterlin’s eyes, taste the first cloying tendrils of doubt beginning to take root in his mind. Good. Let him wonder; let him second-guess every move as the specter of his own downfall looms ever closer.
“As for her recent… disappearance,” I continue, turning away from Easterlin to address the room at large once more. “You are correct that I have dedicated considerable resources to her recovery. But I assure you, it is not born of any misguided romantic notions.”
Letting my gaze grow hard, I fix each of the lords with a stare that could cut glass until I’m satisfied I have their full, undivided attention.
“The princess is a valuable asset, one I have invested far too much time and effort into to simply let slip through my fingers. Her life, her future, belongs to me and me alone to dictate. No one, not even the insufferable bitch herself, will deprive me of my hard-won spoils.”
My lip curls in a sneer, projecting an aura of cruel disdain that has the lords shifting uncomfortably in their seats.
“So you see, my lords, while your… concerns are understandable, they are ultimately unfounded. I can promise you, without a shadow of a doubt, that I do not nor will I ever love the princess. She is a means to an end, a path to achieve my ultimate goal of ensuring our race’s supremacy over the werewolf filth, once and for all. Nothing more.”
Silence hangs heavy in the wake of my declaration, the lords exchanging weighted looks and furtive glances as they digest my words. Finally, Easterlin gives a shallow nod of acceptance, though I can see the cogs turning behind his eyes as he formulates his next move.
“I see,” he murmurs, unable to keep the faint note of disappointment from creeping into his tone. “Thank you for that… illuminating explanation, Your Majesty. I believe I speak for all of us when I say our… concerns have been laid to rest.”
The other lords murmur their agreement, some more enthusiastically than others, but the tide has turned. For now, at least, the threat of outright rebellion has been averted.
“In that case,” I say, already turning on my heel to depart before the moment can stretch into an awkward silence, “I will take my leave of you. I have a princess to locate and… discipline accordingly for her transgressions.”
I don’t wait for their dismissal; I simply sweep from the throne room with my head held high, Eric falling into the step beside me. I pause as I reach the threshold, looking back over my shoulder at the lords. “The head of a member of your household is enough,” I say, my voice deceptively soft but carrying an unmistakable undercurrent of seriousness. A reminder of what happens to those who dare to question me, to challenge my rule.
Then I’m gone, the doors slamming shut behind me with a resounding finality as I walk out into the pale morning light. It’s only once we’re outside, the castle’s imposing walls at our backs, that I finally allow the mask to slip, releasing the breath I’ve been holding in a harsh exhalation.
“That was a neat bit of verbal footwork back there,” Eric observes, shooting me a sidelong glance. “For a moment there, I almost believed you myself.”
I don’t respond immediately, too busy wrestling with the storm of emotions roiling just beneath the surface. Anger, frustration, bone-deep weariness… and something else, something I can’t quite put my finger on. Something that feels uncomfortably like the first faint tendrils of doubt beginning to take root.
Shaking my head, I force those insidious thoughts away, burying them deep beneath the weight of my determination. There will be time enough to unravel the tangled skein of my feelings for Amelia later. For now, I have to focus on finding her, on bringing her home safely before it’s too late.
If that means lying through my teeth, feeding the lords the fiction they so desperately want to believe to keep the kingdom from fracturing, then so be it. I am a king, first and foremost. And kings must do what they must to preserve the stability of their reign, no matter how it might make their souls wither and die a little more with each passing day.
“Let’s go,” I say at last, squaring my shoulders as I set off once more down the path that will lead me back to Amelia. “We’ve wasted enough time pandering to those fools’ delusions as it is.”
Eric falls into step beside me without another word, that solid, reassuring presence at my side as we leave the castle and its petty intrigues behind. Amelia is still out there, lost and alone, and I will not rest until she is back where she belongs, by my side.