Chapter 7 - The Banquet of Usurpers
The grand throne room, moments ago filled with the hollow laughter of corrupt nobles and sycophants, was now deathly silent. The few lords and ladies who had not managed to flee cowered near the edges of the hall, their expensive furs clutched tightly around them as the freezing draft from the open balcony swept through the room.
Vespera’s face twisted from absolute shock into a mask of venomous hatred. She reached to her side, drawing a jeweled dagger from her belt.
“You think a parlor trick and a beast in the sky makes you queen?” Vespera hissed, her voice echoing off the vaulted ceilings. “The council swore allegiance to me! The treasury is mine! The army obeys my command!”
“Does it?” Seraphine raised an eyebrow, gesturing slightly toward the doorway.
From the shadows of the arched entryway, dozens of loyal guards and knights—those who had secretly despised Vespera’s tyrannical taxations and brutal crackdowns—stepped into the hall, lowering their weapons in a unified salute to the true princess. At the front stood Lord Chancellor Morley, still limping slightly where his boots had been freed from the ice in the crypt, his expression defeated and submissive.
“Your Majesty,” Morley muttered, bowing deeply to Seraphine, his voice trembling. “The council... the council was deceived by false ledgers. We humbly beg the true heir’s forgiveness.”
Vespera spun around, glaring at Morley with absolute fury. “You spineless coward! Kill her! All of you, kill her!”
Not a single guard moved. They all looked at Seraphine, whose crystal tiara radiated a calming, authoritative blue light that seemed to soothe the frantic energy of the room.
“Your reign of deceit is over, Vespera,” Seraphine said calmly, stepping forward onto the dais. “You will not face execution, nor will you be cast into the abyss. You will stand trial before the high court of Aethelgard, where every crime you committed against my father and our people will be brought to light.”
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Vespera laughed hysterically, a sharp, unhinged sound. “A trial? You think they care about justice, Seraphine? They care about power! And power belongs to those who take it!”
With a sudden, desperate lunge, Vespera lunged forward, dagger raised to strike Seraphine straight in the chest.
