Chapter 185: Someday
"That’s a good answer," Riley said softly.
Rowan smiled faintly. "It was Finnian’s idea. He had been lecturing us since we first met him. He said that if we didn’t learn anything after all this, then we deserved more than the punishment we received."
The little prince turned red as Riley glanced at him, but Riley only smiled.
Sure enough, that was the right call. Thought the younger elven royals.
Third Prince Darin, for one, exhaled and rubbed the back of his neck. "Maybe a few years of seclusion will straighten us out," he muttered. He offered his hand to Riley for a shake, but Kael’s eyes narrowed. One look from the dragon was enough to make Darin slowly pull his hand back.
The would-be ex-diplomat could only wonder how the dragon, who hadn’t even really listened to their words, suddenly managed to see his outstretched hand.
Oh well, no wonder Rowan didn’t dare try to make any moves despite his obvious interest in Riley.
To others, particularly humans, his brother Rowan wouldn’t even appear mildly interested. And to the elves who had seen their crown prince, they likely wouldn’t have suspected anything, but Darin, an actual brother and a diplomat, just couldn’t be that blind.
As the prince who always put Silvara and the elves above all others, Rowan would’ve been more conscious about Dragon Lord Kael’s expressions.
Had it been like usual, he would’ve been watching every single cue to determine how he would proceed, but it hadn’t been like that for a while.
Angled towards the human and watching his face for any changes, Rowan was doing just that, minus the part where he would use the information to get what he wanted.
It was definitely unusual, and yet he was also pretty clear why his brother, who returned a changed man after being scolded by a human, would just be content with looking.
After all, even Darin could tell that the "demon" lord seemed heavily invested in Riley’s, well, everything. Plus, they didn’t exactly look like a promising family at this moment. Quite the opposite, even.
It was a shame for his older brother, who seemed to finally be interested in something other than work, but what could they do? Of all people, it had to be the aide whose shadow happened to be enormous and very golden.
But on the flip side, at least Finnian looked a bit better. Everything really did end up blowing up in their faces, but somehow, he couldn’t help but feel better now.
And while having their abilities sealed like this would be a pain to get used to, he also figured that after years of hard work, maybe they should just think of this seclusion as a long recovery period.
One that their mother desperately needed.
Her breakdown actually came as a surprise to everyone but Rowan. And after learning what she had done to the human aide, Darin wasn’t surprised that even Elira, who had complained about her abilities being sealed, had to shut up.
As a knight, even she knew that the punishment should’ve been death.
However, maybe for their mother, the real punishment was seeing Finnian’s sudden detachment and utter disappointment in her. Worse, even they could see her sudden disappointment in herself.
And that was why, as they expressed their thanks and apologies, the Queen’s approach was much quieter.
She didn’t speak and only bowed her head.
The room was momentarily quiet.
Riley entertained a few thoughts before settling on his own response. He met her gaze, then gave a curt nod of goodbye. It was enough. While it was good that she looked rather repentant, it was never a requirement for Riley to forgive her.
Maybe one day, but definitely not today.
When the sealing finally ended, the Elowens left under glamour. To outsiders, they looked the same—elegant and radiant. But beneath the illusion, their power was gone, their appearance reflecting it in consequence.
As for Lord Karion, who had worked hard, Riley decided to pay him in flan; after all, that was the only golden currency he had.
Surprisingly, Kael didn’t contradict the reward. Riley had expected at least a snide comment, but the dragon lord remained silent, his gaze distant and thoughtful.
Whatever was on his mind, it wasn’t flan.
__
Much like food was the furthest thought anyone could have in a faraway place that the sun forgot to bless.
The place smelled of damp stone, iron, and the thin, frantic perfume of people who had been ordered to keep their mouths shut. No one moved until she spoke.
She arrived like a storm condensed into a single person. At first glance, she was almost human, long black hair coiling down her back, a carved bone mask that hid half her face, but it did not hide the wrongness of her eyes.
However, no one would have the luxury of time to think about that considering the tension threatening to strangle everyone.
"You imbeciles," she spat, and the word scraped the air. "Absolute, useless imbeciles."
She stepped to the center, every syllable a whip. Hooded figures who had been whispering fell silent. She did not shout because she did not need to. Her voice carried its own gravity. "How could you let them into the facility? How stupid could you all be?!"
Her hair moved as if alive, like black serpents sliding against the back of her shoulders as she reined in power that wanted to tear the rafters.
It made the room sway in everyone’s periphery. When she took another step forward, the air around her hummed, not pleasant like a bell but dangerous like a splintered wire. She reached out with a hand, and suddenly, a prostrating hooded figure struggled as his body became airborne.
"Accountability," she said, close enough to see the hooded man’s trembling jaw. She raised a finger that glittered with faint runes, and the man flinched like a puppet whose strings were suddenly tightened.
He tried to explain. But she didn’t even listen.
The struggling body went rigid mid-stammer.
Then, just as he was lifted, he was slammed back to the floor, hitting the stone with a dull thud..
Nobody screamed.
Nobody could. Because with that, the message had been delivered.
"Unless you want to go next, triple the offerings. Increase the sacrifices. Move to adults if you have to."
Her voice was not cruel for pleasure. It was cruel because she was precise and furious.
"Adults," she repeated, loud enough to echo. "At this rate, it would be difficult to keep on using children with the Ministry being more vigilant. Those bastards would end up ruining everything if they keep poking. So we need to finish before they catch on. Do you understand?! You will find replacements!"
Her desire to purge the incompetent gnawed at her, but it was not the time for a cleansing
"Force that mongrel to look for what he did not deliver," she ordered, every word a blade. "If he fails, we will come for him next. And we will not be patient."
The man bowed so low his face nearly touched the floor. When he rose, his hands were empty of bravado.
She watched them shuffle out like animals trained to step in time. Her anger receded a notch with each retreating shadow. The chamber emptied, and the only sounds left were the scraping of cloth, the sounds of crackling fire, and her own breathing.
When silence finally filled the room, she walked. Not hurriedly, not arrogantly. She moved as though the floor itself was sacred and she had been given permission to touch it.
At the throne in the center of the room, a stretch of protruding stone was set apart by darker veins. She stopped there, and for a moment the terrible precision left her face. She lowered herself onto her knees and placed one hand flat against the stone behind the throne. The movement looked reverent in a way that made the cold in the room fold inwards.
"I apologize, my love," she murmured, voice small and oddly gentle, the mask slipping from the edge of menace to something nearer grief. She pressed her forehead to the floor for a breath and then lifted her head, the madness flaring back into the edges of her eyes like a flare. "We ran into a small problem."
Her fingers tightened against the veined rock. For a second the room had a stolen stillness, like a lung about to inhale a scream.
"But it shouldn’t be long now."