[Avira]
The silence that followed Alpha Demian's declaration had more impact than a bomb blast. For a few minutes, all I heard was the tingling sensation in my ears as Alpha Demian's words refused to sink in, but echoed in my ears instead.
But the warriors were already coming for me, with their clubs, and swords and arrows. The words sank in when they roughly pulled me from the chair, and dragged me to the podium with equal aggressiveness.
"Where is the crown?" Alpha Demian demanded in a voice that was so loud and angry that I flinched, but I regained my composure the next instant, and looked him in the eye, an action which even the Beta was forbidden to do.
I was corrected with a strike across the face. The strike was unexpected so that my teeth pressed against my lower lip, and there was a cut. I wiped the blood off my lip with the back of my palm, and willed myself not to cry.
