The Tyrant's Queen

11: the king and the soldier

Thalia's stomach lurched, as soon as she stepped into the hall for the tea session.

More than thirty officials were occupying seats at a long, oblong table, and were being served tea by an almost equal number of maids and servants.

As soon as Matia announced their arrival, all pairs of eyes diverted to Lucien, then to Thalia.

Lucien's hand, holding Thalia's, squeezed hers tightly. "Head up."

Trying her best not to lock eyes with any of the officials, Thalia followed him, and sat on the chair by his side.

Being seated at the head of the table. As a woman, in a room filled only with men.

That wasn't something she'd imagined would happen in her life.

Through all her life, she'd been one of the pairs of many eyes fixated on the speaker.

Silently blending in, covering her long hair, in a boy's clothes.

Feeling the warmth of Lucien's hand enclosing hers, Thalia raised her gaze to scan her surroundings.

Excess of space, she'd come to note, was one of the biggest luxuries the aristocrats gave themselves.

An impossibly high, arched ceiling- that the height of this place could accommodate three floors of a bar back in her town.

Faint moonlight filtered through the ceiling-to-floor windows. Candles lined walls and the meeting table, and four fireplaces at all four walls of the hall, warmed the air.

The place would've almost been cozy, if not for the pairs and pairs of eyes on them.

Following the way they walked, moved and sat, following the movement of their lips, the gestures of their hands.

"Your Majesty." It was High Priest Yhun, rising from his seat.

It was Thalia's first time hearing such benevolence in the voice of a man.

The day she'd met him for the first time on the coronation day, she'd known he was a priest before he'd been properly introduced.

This was the kind of gentleness she'd imagined would be in the eyes and voice of a man chosen by the gods of Aesna.

"That is for you to kill High Priest Yhun. Do you think you can do it?"

Only when Lucien's grip around her hand tightened, did she realize she had subconsciously tried to extricate her hand from his.

There was no way a man like Yhun would've done something worth an assassination.

Why would Lucien want Yhun dead? Because Yhun was a threat? How?

"On behalf of the priests, I would like to convey our heartfelt gratitude for your well-being. The prayers we raised since the day of the coronation, seem to have been answered."

"I know and thank your efforts, Father Yhun. It is a miracle I recovered, and the miracle has been the fruit of your prayers."

Hearing the appreciation in Lucien's tone, and seeing his face as he addressed Yhun, Thalia wondered if she'd hallucinated, misheard Lucien's words- 'to kill High Priest Yhun'.

Because that moment, Lucien looked nothing short of fervently thanking the man who saved his life.

As High Priest Yhun seated himself with a smile, Thalia surveyed the rest of the crowd.

There was one familiar face- General Ikan- and an unfamiliar one, seated to the general's right.

A tall, well-built man with a sun-kissed face, light brown hair with lighter streaks undoubtedly bleached by the salt of the waters, and cool green eyes.