—Grand Assembly Hall, Royal Court—
The court was restless.
Velvets rustled. Jewels sparkled under firelight. But beneath the polished poise of Dravendor's nobles was a hum of unease. They could feel it. Something was coming.
Elira walked through the gilded archway like a queen in winter—chilled, radiant, and unshakable. Kaelion followed at her side, his gaze unreadable.
In her hands, she held only one thing: a letter.
Lord Merek sat at the highest tier of the advisory gallery, hands folded, expression calm. Too calm.
Chancellor Valen stepped forward, eyes flickering from Kaelion to Elira. "You've requested a full audience, Your Highness?"
Elira nodded. "I bring evidence of treason. From within this very hall."
A silence dropped like a blade.
—The Evidence—
Kaelion stood back as Elira unrolled the yellowed parchment, holding it with steady hands.
"This letter was sealed with the Merek family crest," she began. "It details a secret trade between House Saelinne and Velanthian rebels. It implicates Silven Carrow and… Lord Merek."
The gasp was immediate.
Merek didn't blink. "A forgery," he said coolly. "Anyone could've written that."
"I thought you might say that," Kaelion said, stepping forward now. "That's why we also brought the signet ring. Queen Liraena's ring—lost just before her mysterious death."
A servant brought it forward on black velvet.
Gasps echoed again. A noblewoman visibly crossed herself.
Chancellor Valen squinted at the evidence. "This… is grave."
Merek rose slowly. "You'd believe her? A foreign girl with a bleeding heart, raised among soft ideals and fairy tales?"
Elira stepped closer.
Her voice didn't rise, but it sliced like steel. "I believe in justice. And I believe my mother was killed for standing against greed and rot."
"And I believe," Kaelion said now, his voice thunder behind her, "that anyone who dares threaten my wife, or my court, will answer to the blade."