The dowager queen Aelira's brow furrowed, though her lips pressed tightly together, as if her thoughts themselves were dangerous to release.
The chamber around them, with its high-vaulted ceiling and carved columns, seemed suddenly smaller, its air thick with unspoken judgment.
Lady Levina's jaw tightened, but she held her tone steady, her voice a careful balance between filial respect and political counsel.
"Would you rather tear the family apart? The court already gossips. If you strike against his bride, you strike against him. And that will undo us faster than any curse."
Her words cut through the chamber like a blade.
Lady Aelira's fingers twitched beneath her daughter's calming hand, caught between pride and fear. "You speak too boldly, Levina. You forget yourself."
"Better boldness than blindness," lady Levina countered, her golden hair catching the gleam of the firelight.
She lifted her chin, refusing to falter before the queen who had birthed her.
"I know the court. I hear their whispers even when they bow. They will watch you, Mother, for the first sign of disapproval.
And if they see division in this house, they will sink their teeth into it. For his sake...for ours....you must show strength, not spite."
Aelira's eyes narrowed. "Strength does not mean silence. Do you think I would welcome into this family a woman who brings with her a curse and a dangerous alliance?
Azarion Flameborne has always sought to temper our power with his fire. And now...now my son has shackled himself to his daughter."
"Mother," lady Levina said more softly now, "you must not meet him with anger. The court watches you as much as it does him.
If you spurn his choice openly, the other lords will sense discord, and they will exploit it.
We cannot afford for Valkoron to appear fractured. Stand beside him, at least outwardly, until we understand why he has done this."
The chamber fell into a tense stillness, the silence not empty but alive with restraint, like a bowstring pulled taut.
Outside, the steady rhythm of waves broke against the cliffs beneath Valkoron, a sound older and heavier than storms.
Aelira tilted her head, her expression unreadable. "You would counsel patience, then?"
"Yes," Levina said, her voice carrying a conviction beyond her years. "Let him arrive. Let him explain. Perhaps his reasons will surprise us."
Aelira gave a bitter smile. "Surprise us? He has already accomplished that. He sends word as if announcing a victory...when in truth, it may be a surrender."
Levina allowed herself a small laugh, though it was weary. "Then let him finish the tale he has begun. We cannot decide the ending before he has spoken the middle."
Her mother's sharp gaze softened, though it did not lose its edge. "You speak wisely, though it galls me.
Very well. I will wait until he returns. I will hear the tale from his own lips. But mark me, Levina....if this Flameborne bride, this cursed bride proves a danger to him,to vaelric, or to this realm, I will not sit idle."
Levina rose slowly, smoothing the folds of her gown, each motion deliberate.
"And I would expect nothing less from you, Mother. But for now, patience will serve us better than pride.
I will remain in the castle a while with my husband. Together we may steady the waters if the court stirs too violently."
Her mother tilted her head, studying her with new eyes. "Your husband… does he know of this?"
"He does," Levina said. "And he agrees the crown must not appear divided. He will stand beside me.
He knows as well as I that power lies not only in blood, but in perception. We must show unity...even if inwardly we are uncertain."
The dowager queen leaned back against the cushions, her hands curling in her lap. "You will remain here with your husband, then?"
"Yes," Levina said firmly. "We will stay at the castle until Valerian arrives. Whatever storm brews from this, I will face it at his side...and yours."
Aelira's lips curved faintly, though it was not quite a smile. "Perhaps the gods were kinder to me than I thought, giving me a daughter who speaks like a statesman.
Very well. Let us wait. But I promise you, Levina, the storm that follows your brother's return will not be easily stilled."
For a moment the mask of queenly authority slipped, and the dowager queen's shoulders sagged beneath the weight of crown and kin alike.
The proud dowager queen gave way to a mother burdened with too many fears. She reached up and touched Levina's cheek with a rare gentleness.
"You are wiser than I gave you credit for, my daughter. Perhaps the storm is not wholly mine to weather."
Levina leaned into the touch briefly, her eyes softening, then drew herself upright. "No storm is borne alone, Mother. Not in this house."
"Not in this house," Aelira repeated, though her voice carried both pride and warning.
Levina hesitated, then added, "You must also remember: if you openly scorn her before knowing her, you give our enemies a weapon.
The Flamebornes will call it insult, the Windlords will whisper of division, and even the Winterbournes will find a way to profit from it. We must tread carefully. Let us listen first, then judge."
Aelira's expression darkened at the names of the rival houses. "The others wait like wolves at the edge of firelight. I will not give them meat. But neither will I bow my head to a cursed girl."
"Nor should you," Levina said quickly, seizing the moment. "But there is a difference between bending and breaking. Show them the Stormborne spine remains unyielding...but not fractured. That is all I ask."
The queen regarded her daughter for a long moment before giving a reluctant nod. "Very well. For now, we wait."
Levina inclined her head, her voice carrying both relief and unease. "That is all I hoped for, Mother."
Lightning forked far on the horizon, reflected in the polished stone floor, and a distant rumble rolled through the cliffs. Yet inside the chamber, the true storm brewed between silence and words unspoken.
The dowager queen's gaze lingered on her daughter, torn between maternal love and the lingering sting of betrayal.
"But mark me, Levina...if this cursed Flameborne girl brings shadows into Valkoron, I will not remain silent."
Levina bowed her head, her expression calm though her heart tightened. "I would expect nothing less. But wait, Mother. Wait until we have the whole truth. That is all I ask."
Aelira gave a final nod, her eyes hard as tempered steel. "Very well. We shall wait."
And though her words agreed, the storm in her gaze promised the tempest was far from spent.
Levina lowered her eyes, hiding the flicker of unease that crossed them. For though she had counseled patience, even she wondered what tempest her brother would carry back through Valkoron's gates.