"Do you have any idea who Joan is?"
Teren keeps his eyes on the floor, bent in a bow before the king. "Yes, Your Majesty."
"Do you realize that Emre Salvatore is his father?"
"I apologize, Your Majesty."
"You call yourself a Lead Inquisitor, but you're really just a damn fool. I can't afford to anger a nobleman like Emre Salvator. And he is furious. You will not let your Inquisitors threaten his son in public again, and you will not make an embarrassment of me. Even if he is a malfetto. Do you understand?"
"But Your Majesty, your decree—"
The king scoffs and leans back in his chair. "Carry out my decree discreetly. The Young Elites attacked the qualifying races, and you still haven't caught a single one."
Teren shoves down his swelling frustration. "No, Your Majesty."
"I should toss you in a dungeon cell."
Clenching his teeth, Teren traces patterns on the marble floor with his stare. "Yes, Your Majesty," he says, but his mind spins with furious thoughts. The king is a fool. He wants the Elites captured, but he is a such a coward he will do nothing that might jeopardize his political relations. He won't wage real war on malfettos. Teren doesn't mention that his Inquisitors threatened Joan on purpose, and on the queen's orders.
The net they're spinning tightens. Turn the nobles against the king, and the king weakens.
And as soon as Virgil delivers his information...
Next to the king, Queen Reine whispers something in his ear. He waves her off, annoyed. Teren's temper flares. Reine catches his gaze.
Patience, my Teren, her eyes seem to say. Everything will fall together.
"The next time you decide to embarrass me," the king goes on, "I will have your head on a pike."
Teren's back aches with how low he's stooped over. He replies loudly, "there won't be a next time, Your Majesty."
The king looks smug. Satisfied.
He does not understand the double meaning behind Teren's words.
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YOU ARE READING
The Young Elites // Sanders Sides AU
Fanfiction{{ON HOLD}} Amazing cover art by @WhoIsThisAgain ! (DISCLAIMER: I don't own the original idea, the plot, or the title. All credit goes to Marie Lu, an awesome author you should totally check out! Also, this is a paraphrased version, so it's extremel...
