Hated by her lineage, Iliya Dalaminai dwells in self isolation, awaiting the day her cousin marries so she might escape the Throne.
Feared by the Gods, Sorein Chakrine's crown is mainly a relic put on display at royal ceremonies to ward off evil.
Wh...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Dinner felt slow and painful.
Iliya felt her knuckles burning with tension as she gripped the fork in her hand with an intensity she couldn't control.
With the Royals from different countries lining their lengthy table, she thought she might be able to escape the awkward ignorance as everyone spoke around her but not to her.
Luck had offered enough distraction that her distant cousins from Solraidas were barely aware of her presence. Including Lord Turrian whose upper left cheek had mostly healed despite the light tinge of red.
He avoided looking at her most of all.
Even the King of Azuris shared some riveting conversation with her mother toward the head of the table.
She might have been okay with everyone pretending she didn't exist if Sorein had shown up. His seat across from her had remained empty for the last half hour, the clean plate and undisturbed silverware bothering Iliya. Even if he hadn't spoken to her outloud, she could imagine him making jokes about the numerous pompous men and women surrounding them.
Instead, she was alone.
For a while, her imagination kept her busy as she quietly ate and sipped at her sparkling cider, which tasted more like carbonated water the longer her ice melted.
Jeremy and Noah hadn't attended the dinner either.
Leading Iliya to wonder what in Heilos name she was even doing here as Rhydian began describing an incident he'd had near the city gates. He'd mentioned a few minor details to her once, many involving a strange darkness taking over these men and possessing them to break into Chiori.
"I've never seen a human come so close to escaping me," Rhydian explained with a huffed laugh, as if remembering the challenge pleased him. Iliya was certain he wasn't provoked within the country itself. "I wonder how his swim through the Yinae treated him."
It was a trick question of course.
No one could make it a mile through the salt and brine, let alone with the amount of ammunition Rhydian claimed the human had on him.
With no magic, it would've taken ten minutes to drown despite the possession.
"Do you know what his plan was?" her mother asked, dragging herself away from her own conversation. "When he got into the city-" she added. "-were the remains ever recovered?"
"One of my men found the body washed up on the shoreline this morning," Rhydian answered, seeming to pause for a moment. "We don't know if it disturbed anyone at the Ceremony, but we haven't received any reports either."
Iliya tried and failed to hold back a snort of laughter and paled when he threw a glare in her direction.
"Find something funny, Phrina?" Rhydian asked, his voice a quiet rumble of annoyance.
