Isabella's POV
The throne room was colder than I remembered.
Not in temperature but in the way people looked at me, as if trying to see how much heat it would take to make me melt.
They wanted a girl who stuttered.
Who fidgeted.
Who blinked first.
I gave them none of it.
I sat beside Dominic on the obsidian throne, spine straight, lips still, eyes alert. Every noble present wore a smile sharp enough to cut, but none dared look directly at him for long. His presence was a threat dressed in velvet.
But me?
They saw me as a challenge.
One they planned to unravel one thread at a time.
"Your Majesty," Lady Saphira drawled, stepping forward in a gown that glimmered like blood. "What a refreshing surprise it is to see the gods select someone so… ordinary."
The court chuckled politely.
I smiled.
"And yet here I sit," I said sweetly. "Which means I'm either favored by the divine or incredibly dangerous. Care to gamble which?"
Saphira's smile faltered just enough to thrill me.
Dominic didn't look at me, but I felt the way his shoulder stilled beside mine. Heard the faint sound of his breath catching.
Small victories.
The court began presenting their petitions thinly veiled demands and declarations of power disguised as pleasantries. I listened. I observed. I learned.
Names. Faces. Patterns.
But it was the final noble who forced me to tighten my grip on the gilded arms of the throne.
Lord Carrow.
His voice was a whisper dressed as silk. "A motion to limit the queen's authority in court matters," he said, barely blinking. "As a protective measure, of course. Until she's… properly oriented."
They all nodded like snakes.
I turned to Dominic, whose face gave away nothing. But his hand moved ever so slightly resting near his sword again.
"Are you suggesting I rule in silence?" I asked, eyes locked on Carrow.
"I suggest, Your Majesty, that your voice be saved for more… noble pursuits."
Like screaming, I imagined. Or begging. Or pleading for my life later, in a darker corner of this castle.
I rose slowly.
The court gasped only slightly but enough.
"I appreciate your concern," I said, stepping down from the dais. "But here's the truth…"
I approached Carrow, each step deliberate.
"I have no bloodline. No training. No allies." I stopped a breath away from him. "But I do have this crown. And it's not coming off anytime soon."
Then I turned my back to him. On purpose. The biggest insult I could give in court.
And walked back to my seat.
Dominic was watching now. Not just with interest but with calculation.
As if I'd surprised him.
As if I'd just become more than a liability.
I sat down without a word.
Let them whisper.
Let them tremble.
Because if this court wanted to play games…
I'd give them the Queen they feared.