Spurned Queen

Chapter 26: The Hearing

Lexi

The old warlock did not disappoint. By the end of our first week at his school, Ma'lak informed Rowan and me that he would present us to six kings the next day.

So here we were.

Rowan sat beside me in an elegant carriage with Ma'lak in the opposite seat. As the unicorns pulled it steadily to the Palace, I noticed Rowan's knee bouncing up and down nervously as he stared out the window. Apprehension and doubt marred his handsome face in a rare moment of clarity, his beautiful silver eyes clouded over with worry. He was anxious. I was too. After all, there were a hundred million ways this could go wrong. I pushed down slightly on his knee to stop the bounce. Rowan didn't look away from the window, but his lips quirked up in a smile.

We arrived at the castle.

There was a lot of hustle and bustle. Maids and servants scurried busily across the numerous courtyards of His Majesty's residence. Upon alighting from the carriage, we were hurried inside by a team of footmen and guards. People bowed to Ma'lak as if it was second nature and eyed us with concealed curiosity. My werewolf ears garnered snide remarks, libels, distrust, and disdain from the throng. It was almost enough to make me snort aloud.

Fools.

I wondered why they bothered. It wasn't like their opinions would matter anyway. They were ignorant; and if they didn't do anything about it, they would continue to be ignored.

No extravagance was spared by the architects and designers of the Royal Palace of Nuen. Under different circumstances, I might have called it beautiful. But we were rushed through the numerous passages, following Ma'lak's swift gait. He paused only a few times to listen to the whispers of messengers in his ear, then would resume walking faster than before.

After several minutes, we stood before the twenty-foot-tall grand doors that obviously led to the throne room. Ma'lak nodded to the guards.

"Your Majesties, Kronus of Nuen, Veron of Harun, Lodin of Restor, Thunder of Moorsch, Dreiga of Nehush, and Teldar of Evandor— the Royal Magician of Nuen, Scholar of the Realms, His Excellency, Ma'lak Bal-Grath, and his two charges."

"How did you get acquainted with this guy again?" Rowan whispered.

"Keep your head up," I hissed, sweeping into the throne room after Ma'lak's regal example.

The royalties sat in a row of ornate, comfortable seats, each with one or two beings behind them. They all wore a crown of some sort and a different color of clothes. Kronus, as the host, sat in the center. He was clad in a royal red silk robe. Lodin, Thunder, and Teldar sat down his right, clad in vermillion, silver, and cobalt respectively. To his left, Veron glared at us, his yellow eyes popping because of the verdure silk he wore. The most interesting, of course, was Dreiga. The female king of the Dragons appraised us with sharp, feline eyes. Her black, scale-like armor rippled like silk and shone gold when it caught the light. She smirked at me. I smirked back.

"Greetings, Your Majesties." Ma'lak bowed before the kings. Rowan and I followed suit. The six inclined their heads in acknowledgment.

"Excellency," greeted King Kronus, his eyes alight with genuine fondness. "It is good to see you alive and well."

"As it is to see you, my liege."

"If we would please get to the point," snarled Teldar. His head was perched on a bell shaped mound of what could have been seventy yards of heavy silk, so it came to me as no shock that he was uncomfortable. His features were pinched and he was probably sweating gallons.

"Yes," said Thunder. He was very composed, borderline bored. "We were called here because you had some urgent news to deliver to us. It had best be worth it." He was very casual, but he phrased it like a threat.