Chapter 21
Chapter twenty-one
Lenna
The throne room was the most terrifyingly enchanting place Lenna had ever seen.
As they took their first steps in, Lenna looked up.
There were no jagged stones above them, only openness stretching a hundred feet into the air.
Ballah bowed to Lenna, Merrick, and Laurent before briskly turning around and disappearing back the way they came.
“The throne room is set right in the heart of the mountain,” Laurent said quietly as Lenna stared. “It took years for stone wielders to carve out this room alone.”
Wonder painted Lenna’s face. There were about twenty gargoyles and a smattering of fae gathered in the throne room, the compilation of the small court assembled here.
All seemed to watch her every move, her every step, silent and waiting.
At the end of the room, a large stone dais sat, and atop it, completely opposite of all the other décor in the room, sat a white throne.
The throne seemed to be carved out of opal with the way it shimmered in the dim torch light–very out of place with the jagged black stone rows of seating that lay before it.
“Lord Magnamus destroyed the obsidian and bone throne when he took up the Regency. He saw it as a symbol of evil. Needless to say, he grew up in the Opal Palace and highly favored Adara as Queen.” Merrick followed Lenna’s sightline, but he steered her to the right side of the throne room.
Laurent, hands behind his back, strode forward.
Lenna watched him, the way he moved effortlessly over the… floor?
Lenna’s heart hit her throat as she looked down…
and down. And down. The floor was no more than transparent glass, and below it was a deep, dark cavern that tunneled far into the mountain itself.
Her feet started to sweat in the silk slippers she wore.
Merrick placed his hand on the small of her back, the touch grounding.
Reassuring. “The glass has never broken.” The words were uttered under his breath so only she could hear.
Lenna reminded herself that Merrick had wings.
And that it would be in his best interest to catch her if she somehow fell through.
She was the all-special Oracle after all… right?
“What is down there?” Lenna whispered, trying to avoid looking into the depths below. A wave of vertigo threatened, and she breathed through it, focusing on staring straight ahead, the off-kilter head rush thankfully passing as quickly as it came on.
“It tunnels down into the dungeons, treasure troves, and dragon dens. Only those who have permission from the ruler of the Obsidian Palace are granted entry.” Merrick slid a glance at her and winced as Lenna’s head whipped to his face, her eyes growing wide, her blood running cold.
“Dragons?” she hissed, the words ending in a squeak that caused a few fae near her to throw curious glances in her direction. “Dragons are real?”
Merrick grunted his confirmation, before clearing his throat. “Shit, yes. Sorry. We probably should’ve mentioned that.”
Lenna stared incredulously at him, her stomach rolled, and she felt as if she might puke.
Her head was heavy and light at the same time, her fingers cold and tingling.
“And treasure troves. Treasure troves like where the Prism would be?” Dragons were real.
The creatures of myth that supposedly burned down towns and wrecked ships lost at sea.
The creatures that would scoop you from your yard if you talked back to your parents.
Creatures that were made-up by tired parents to scare young children into behaving.
Scrunching his nose, Merrick seemed slightly abashed as Lenna continued to glare at him. The gargoyle shuffled his feet. “Most likely it is but–”
He was cut off as trumpets began playing, three short blasts with a longer fourth note quivering through the room.
The trumpets sounded again, and as if it were an order, the assembled court filed into the black stone pews, all standing and facing the dais.
Merrick ushered Lenna to the middle of the room, closest to the entrance they had come through.
Lenna looked around for Laurent, finding him standing at the foot of the dais, facing the assembled court.
A bright white light flared, and Lord Magnamus, Regent of the Obsidian Kingdom, waned into the throne room and stood before his court.
He was fully fae, Lenna realized, which would make him the brother of the late King Scottrell.
He looked no older than Lenna, but she mused with his fae lifespan, he must be hundreds of years into his life.
His face was clean shaven, showing high cheekbones and elegantly curved, full, lips.
He sported an icy white pallor, as if his royal skin never stepped directly into the sun.
The Regent’s black hair was cut short to his head, and a thin crown of silver studded with blue gems adorned it.
“Be seated.” His voice, one of utmost authority, boomed through the room. The court sat. Only Laurent, Merrick and Lenna still stood. Laurent turned to face the Regent and bowed deep.
“Your Royal Highness, Regent Magnamus,” Laurent began, “may I present Lady Lenna, the Oracle of Terramere.”
Lord Magnamus took his seat upon his throne and leaned back. Without a reply to Laurent, he grunted, beckoning once towards where Lenna and Merrick stood.
Lenna’s legs felt like jelly as she began walking towards the throne, the implication that dragons dwelled below her not settling in the slightest. Merrick stayed at her side, one hand resting on the sword that he now wore at his side.
His wings were tucked in tight, his posture rigid.
She stopped as she neared the throne, in line with the first row of seats closest to the Regent.
She could feel the eyes of the court upon her, but she did not dare look as she curtsied deep. Merrick, a step behind, bowed.
“Rise, Oracle,” Lord Magnamus ordered. “Tell us why you’ve come.”
Lenna craned her neck up to look at the Regent, and when he scowled, as if her presence irked him, her tongue became tied.
She hadn’t planned what to say. Her heart hammered.
“I–I came to retrieve the Prism, so that we can clear Keerian’s–um…
Sir Keerian’s name, and…and...bring the news to Queen Adara.
” She trailed off, unsure what else to mention.
Lenna clasped her hands in front of her to try and alleviate their shaking.
The Regent was far more intimidating up close.
And she’d never been good at speaking in front of a crowd–even as Lady of Doortan.
She always left the grand speeches to Leon.
Had just stood to the side as the quiet wife.
Now, here, before Lord Magnamus, she realized just how little she knew about politics. Her stomach sank.
Especially as Lord Magnamus leaned forward and laughed at her.
“Queen Absolute Adara already knows everything about the situation between her traitorous sister and Sir Keerian,” the Regent retorted mockingly.
Around her, the court murmured, some chucking as the Regent had.
“She would not deign to be questioned on this matter–least of all by an Oracle so untested and from the Slate Kingdom.”
Lenna reared back, face paling. She had messed up. She’d messed this all up so swiftly.
Laurent took a step towards Lenna, his hands still clasped behind his back, the symbol of fealty and subservience.
But Lenna saw him rubbing the golden ring.
“Your Highness, the laws of our lands state that the Prism of the Oracle can be claimed as any Oracle sees fit.” He spoke so confidently, so sure of himself.
Lenna wished she had the same grace about her.
“And yet, we see many rules being rewritten these days,” Lord Magnamus crowed with a vicious grin, his too-sharp teeth glinting in the candlelight.
He was playing with them, toying with them, before sending them out with nothing.
“Her Majesty, Queen Absolute Adara, has closed the investigation into the tragic death of her parents–my brother, and his mate. To request the Prism, to question our good Queen’s judgement, is an affront to the crown of Irridessen. ”
Laurent thinned his lips, though his demeanor stayed calm. “Lord Magnamus, we only request the Prism to clear the name of our commander, Sir Keerian–a loyal and brave soldier of the late King’s Guard. As Princess Esmeray is his mate, a death sentence for her would result in his death as well.”
Lord Magnamus cocked his head, weighing the words Laurent spoke. Merrick stayed silent but continued touching the ring on his finger. Lenna hoped whatever conversation was happening would work in their favor.
“If your commander aligned himself with the Queen of Nothing, then I hope he finds his peace in the afterlife,” the Regent stated simply, baring his teeth in a grin that did not warm his steel blue eyes.
Lenna loosened a breath. She had failed her new friends.
She failed them because she didn’t know the politics, the background, the centuries of history on a Kingdom she never knew existed until a few days ago.
Lenna opened her mouth to say something, anything, to fall to her knees and beg the Regent if she had to, when the doors of the throne room burst open with a now familiar flash of golden light.