Lysa looked to Elira, but Elira nodded gently. Once the door clicked shut, silence fell.
Kaelion's gaze swept the room, as if judging her taste—or maybe just ensuring there were no weapons hidden.
"This chamber is adequate?" he asked.
"It's cold," Elira said truthfully. "But I suppose most things here are."
Kaelion's jaw twitched. "You spoke out of turn today."
"I spoke because no one else would," she replied calmly. "Your council needed to know I am not here to be ignored."
His eyes locked onto hers. "You are here because I allowed it. Don't mistake your position."
"I don't," she said softly. "But you mistake mine."
A flicker of something—something fierce—flashed in his eyes.
"You're not afraid of me."
"No," she admitted. "Because fear gives you too much power."
Kaelion stepped closer, and Elira held her ground. His shadow swallowed the space between them, but she didn't flinch.
"You'll regret standing up to me," he said, voice low.
Elira tilted her head. "Or perhaps you'll regret underestimating me."
Their breaths were the only sound in the room for a moment. Something tense. Something dangerous.
Then, with a grunt of annoyance, Kaelion turned and stalked to the door.
Just before he left, he paused, hand resting on the handle.
"My mother once told me kindness is a poison in court," he said without turning. "It makes you easy to cut."
"Then perhaps I'll poison this entire empire," she said with a smile.
Kaelion said nothing, but the corner of his mouth twitched—just barely.
And then he was gone.
Later That Night
Kaelion sat alone on the highest balcony of the fortress, the wind tugging at his cloak. The stars above Dravendor were dimmer than those in Velanthia. He remembered them from the campaign—how bright they were over the enemy's fields, how soft the people looked beneath them.
And yet, one of those soft people had stood before him tonight like flame wrapped in silk.
Elira Veilwyn.
She was not what he'd expected.
Not fragile. Not terrified.
She looked him in the eye like she saw past the blood on his hands.
He should've hated her for it.
And yet, as the stars wheeled overhead, Kaelion found himself wondering—
What kind of woman looks at a monster and doesn't flinch?