What did he just say?
Celeste's eyes went wide as she stood there frozen and stared at Seha. Why would he want to give her a chance? But he sounded genuine, his eyes held that softness again.
"Have you gone crazy, Seha?!" Ayz's words boomed in the otherwise quiet hallway. Seha who was gawking at his father to see a reaction from him, was startled by his mate's fierce voice.
His head snapped to the side to face Ayz, bafflement swimming through his warm brown eyes as he looked Ayz into his eyes. "What?"
"We can't let her stay here, think logically. We didn't even know her, Seha." Ayz pressed, a hand grabbing Seha's bicep desperately as if he was sure Seha won't change his opinion.
He twisted his arm away from Ayz's hold. Celeste half expected him to snap at Ayz from the way his jaw clenched. But none happened, he just glared at him for a few seconds then he looked back at his father.
Ayz bit the inside of his cheek, fuming but no words passed his lips as his eyes trained down on his feet.
"I say what I say, father. I won't change my word now. I wish to give Celeste a chance she deserves to talk for herself." Seha said, head held high as he talked again. "We are people of Elyzhn, and you are the pack leader. We only learned to help, father. And I think she needs it now more than anything."
Kelen heaved a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger before running a hand on his forehead.
"We need to take her to the palace, son." He started, tone pointed as he said. "We understand you and the things you say, but now we can't take an impulsive decision. We see what we can do and that, I warn you, would not be letting her stay here for weeks."
Celeste watched as Seha nodded his head, defeated. She didn't even know what his motive was for standing up and raising his voice for her when they merely met this morning. Now it's late afternoon, but still, the golden rays of sunlight slipped inside through the large opened glass windows.
"Have you by any chance now decided to confide your true identity to us, Miss?" Celeste's eyes cut from Seha and to Ayz's intense gaze trying to burn her.
What did she do now to be burned by the intensity of his glistening golden orbs?
Well, she kind of knew it and knew that she deserved it when she played mysterious to them. And she could also see what would have happened if this was happening in Atelah and in her place was some other girl.
She was sure they would have ended up in the dungeon.
So, there was no right for her to be annoyed at Ayz's way of talking or the fire that ignited in his eyes.
But what would she say now? What could be the possible answer to the 'who you are' to not earn her a death sentence? She didn't know.
At least that is what she thought, didn't know the answer to that question but her mouth was already open to spill the words that clogged in her throat out of it.
Before she could bite her tongue down to halt it, they fell in the air between them. She wanted it to suffocate her, but it didn't.
"I ran away from the place I lived in— please don't ask me where, I do not wish to trouble them in any way— because I was sure I couldn't live there anymore. I was assaulted by my partner's father." She stopped, debating between if she wanted to take a long intake of breath to not choke on her words or to heave out the air that is suffocating her lungs.
She waited for Ayz to make a mocking remark on her words: I do not wish to trouble them in any way. But he was eerily silent, watching her.
"I had no other way but to run away." She swallowed around the lump in her throat, before spilling the lie. "It's almost a week since I got here. I stayed in the forest all this while."
There's no way, the news of the crown princess of Atelah's disappearance to not spread like wildfire by this time. She hoped they wouldn't barge in here to look for her, even though Elyzhn and they had a clash not so long ago.
For a minute, there was only silence floating through the air, nothing else. But every eye was sure on her.
Then,
"You are telling the truth right?"