And, behind me, Riven muttered:
"…What the hell did I just get myself into?"
I didn't have time to answer him.
Because my mothers were still not breathing.
Verania's golden eyes blazed with pure, unfiltered betrayal. Sylvithra's cold expression hadn't changed, but the sharp glint in her violet eyes told me that she was already calculating about five different ways to dispose of Riven.
Then, as if something finally snapped, Verania's aura exploded outward.
"What manner of sorcery is this?!" she roared, stepping forward like a storm crashing against the shore.
The sheer force of her presence sent a ripple of energy through the air. A nearby merchant yelped and collapsed. The rest of the gathered citizens were already on their knees, trembling like prey before a predator.
Sylvithra's gaze was sharper than a blade. "What spell have you cast on our daughter?"
Riven stiffened beside me.
I felt it the way his shoulders locked, the way his jaw clenched, the way he instinctively tensed to run.
But he didn't.
He stood his ground.
Which, frankly, was both admirable and incredibly stupid.
Because standing your ground against my mothers was how people ended up dead.
Before they could lash out again, I moved.
I stepped forward, putting myself directly in front of Riven, my arms outstretched.
"Enough."
It wasn't loud.
It wasn't a scream.
It was simply a word.
Spoken with the same calm, confident tone that my mothers had drilled into me since birth.
A command.
And it worked.
Verania froze mid-step.
Sylvithra's sharp gaze flickered toward me.
For a moment, the entire world hung in the balance.
Then Verania's voice came, dangerously quiet.
"Move aside, Elyzara."
I shook my head. "No."
"You would protect him?"
"Yes."
Verania's expression twisted in something close to disbelief.
Sylvithra didn't react immediately, but there was a flicker of something unreadable in her eyes.
Riven, still behind me, whispered, "Are you seriously trying to stop them?"
I glanced at him briefly. "Obviously."
He muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like, "You're insane."
I turned my attention back to my mothers.
"Riven hasn't done anything," I said firmly. "You're overreacting."
Verania scoffed. "No one gets this close to you, Elyzara. No one."
Sylvithra studied me carefully. "You have never asked for anything like this before."
I nodded. "Because I have never had a friend before."
The words hung in the air.
Verania's face twisted into a mixture of fury and frustration. "Elyzara, you do not need friends. You have us."
I sighed. "Mother, I love you. Both of you. But I am four years old. I need to interact with people who are not my overpowered, world-dominating parents."
Sylvithra's lips pressed into a thin line. "He is beneath you."
"That doesn't matter to me," I said, voice firm. "And it shouldn't matter to you, either."
Verania growled, running a frustrated hand through her hair.
It was rare so rare to see her actually flustered.
Sylvithra, on the other hand, was eerily still.
A long pause stretched between us, heavy with tension.
Riven, to his credit, had stopped speaking entirely. Probably because he had finally realized that one wrong word could get him incinerated.
Then, after what felt like an eternity, Sylvithra finally spoke.
"There will be no bringing him into the palace."
I frowned. "Why not?"
Verania crossed her arms. "Because I do not trust him."
Riven let out a quiet, offended noise. "You don't even know me."
Verania turned her gaze on him, and for the first time, actually looked at him.
Riven stared back.
The two of them locked eyes.
Golden fire against sharp, defiant blue.
Then Verania's lips curled. "You are reckless."
Riven blinked. "Uh—"
"And you do not respect authority."
"…Okay, yeah, but—"
"And you lack discipline."
"That's—"
"You would be a terrible influence on my daughter."
"Hey!"
I sighed and turned to Sylvithra.
"Then what is your suggestion?" I asked.
Sylvithra was silent for a moment. Then, smoothly, she said,
"He will be placed in the royal orphanage."
Riven tensed beside me. "The what?"
Verania nodded, apparently pleased with this compromise.
"It is the finest institution in Velmoria," she said. "Raised under our watchful eye, he will be trained properly."
Riven bristled. "I'm not some pet you can just—"
I grabbed his wrist before he could say something that would get him executed.
"Let me visit him," I said, cutting through the tension.
Verania's expression darkened. "No."
I met her gaze head-on.
"Once a week."
She scowled.
Sylvithra raised an eyebrow. "Twice a month."
I narrowed my eyes.
"Once a week," I repeated. "Final offer."
The two queens exchanged a long, tense glance.
"…Fine," Verania said through gritted teeth.
I smiled.
Riven, still very much overwhelmed, turned to me.
"So," he said slowly, "you just… negotiated my future without asking me?"
"Yes," I said.
He ran a hand down his face. "This is the worst day of my life."
I patted his arm. "You'll get used to it."
Riven let out a long, suffering sigh.
I turned back to my mothers.
"We have a deal, then?"
Verania crossed her arms. "For now."
Sylvithra nodded. "But make no mistake, Elyzara. If he ever becomes a problem—"
"I won't." Riven said quickly.
Sylvithra smiled slightly. "Good."
Verania still didn't look pleased.
But she wouldn't argue against me.
Not when I had already won.
And as the royal guards stepped forward to escort Riven to his new home, I glanced at him one last time and whispered,
"I told you you were stuck with me now."
Riven groaned.
I just grinned.