The throne room fell silent, all eyes on me. The weight of their expectations pressed down on me, and I instinctively took a step back, my tail trembling. Alverin stood with his hand outstretched, Elise clinging to his arm, her face buried in his shoulder.
As I hesitated, Luxxa's voice, sharp with disbelief, cut through the tension. "You can't seriously be considering it," she hissed. "We'll kill them all together, then take on that bastard king."
I glanced back at Elise, but she only had eyes for Alverin. Her presence was both a threat and a source of agonizing concern. As long as she was under his control, he could and would use her against me. Defying him would only cause her pain, perhaps even death.
