“Perhaps she is exaggerating. Or…” Lyriel glances around the table, then narrows his gaze at the dragon shifters as it dances past them. “Perhaps she’s been coerced to tell this tale by someone close to the situation.”
Taevis doesn’t respond to the allegation. He simply narrows his gaze at Lyriel and then the king, folding his arms and holding his stance. His eyes aren’t quite the same shade of blue as Daegan’s. They’re more of an icy light blue. Slightly creepy.
My father glances at her. “You don’t have to fear them. You are under our watchful eye now. If someone has threatened you, they won’t get away with it.”
“Please, Your Highness,” she says weakly, glancing at me again. Her eyes are pleading now. “I’m not lying. I would never make up something so atrocious about one of our own kind…”
The room is silent as people glance at one another, silently pondering. I finally let my gaze fall to Adrian, whose eyes I’ve felt on me more than a handful of times, but I’ve ignored. He looks just as torn as the next person.
“I believe her,” I announce, cutting through the silence. I feel the weight of every stare on me again.
“Well,” another elf whose name is eluding me begins, “we can’t exactly ask one of the three people who were present if this is the truth. Since he was brutally murdered.” He looks at Daegan’s father with disdain.
“Because he was saving her!” I cut in, surprising myself at the outburst.
“Allegedly,” a female voice chimes in from down the table. The dragon shifters and the maid don’t seem to be winning this crowd over.
“We never have incidents like this happen on our grounds. It is suspicious that it would happen now, as soon as we welcome our foreign visitors,” another male says.
“He said…” the maid starts, but she pauses. After shifting her feet and taking a breath, she continues. “He said he was going to blame it on the filthy dragons, and no one would question it. Those… those were his words, not mine.”
She flashes the shifters an apologetic look. Daegan’s father returns it with a look of pity, and I swear I see a gentle tug of his lip, meant only for her. A look of appreciation for her speaking up on behalf of his son, perhaps. But just like that, it disappears.
“What’s your name,” I ask gently, speaking only to the maid.
“Milanda,” she says just above a whisper. She’s as wispy and delicate as a flower petal right now.
“I think Milanda has been through enough. Why don’t we let her be, and you all can discuss amongst yourselves further.” I fix my gaze on her. “Have you received any medical attention yet?”
She shakes her head.
I’m about to offer to take her to the medical wing to get checked when my father cuts in. I’m surprised he let me take command of the room for this long, but he is the strong silent type, a man of few words who likes to observe before making his declarations. “Silania will escort her.” He gives the order to a female down the table with one glance. She nods, rising from her seat. “See if they can determine whether there’s been any… foul play.”
We all watch the two females retreat, then Taevis faces the king. “A request, Your Majesty?” I have a feeling that regarding him in such a way isn’t pleasant for Taevis, but he doesn’t let it show. His voice and expression are perfectly stoic.
The king gives a simple nod.
“Can we bring in Daegan and see what he has to say?”
“He hasn’t spoken all morning. Except to ask us if we found the maid,” Adrian finally adds. He sounds more than disgruntled about it.
“Okay, well now that we’ve found her, he deserves a chance to speak,” I cut in once more. My father’s gaze lingers on me suspiciously. I don’t usually involve myself in any of their meetings, but I’m involved in this one. I can’t sit back and say nothing. Especially because I’m beginning to feel guilty for rushing to condemn Daegan…
If he really did save Milanda, which I’m pretty sure he did, I owe him an apology.
The king gives the command with one nod toward a few guards standing at the back of the room, and then they make a swift exit, and we wait. For far too long. Members of my father’s table begin debating between one another. I hang back silently. I don’t need to hear any of their speculations.
At long last, the creaking doors are pulled open again, and in walks Daegan, escorted by three guards.
He looks as proud and mean as always, even with his disheveled locks and the extra darkness under his eyes. Even though he’s shown me no redeeming qualities since he’s arrived, I can’t help feeling bad for what I did, the way I didn’t even hear him out and assumed the worst.
Then I remember how he held a knife to my throat the first time I met him, and my dislike for him seeps back in. Of course I didn’t hear him out. Why would I when all he’s shown me is violence and hatred for my people?
I watch him take step after step as he approaches the table, his eyes remaining on the king. Finally, he halts near the edge. No one says a word.
“Daegan Vaelor,” my father begins in a commanding voice, “we were able to locate the maid you were speaking of. She had some things to say, but if you could please tell us your version of the events, that would be greatly helpful.”
“I was heading back to my lodgings when I heard the muffled sound of a female yelling.”
