Elara's POV
I sat there for a long moment, still in my heavy robes, feeling the weight of them pressing down on me. I had won. Barely, by the slimmest of margins, but I had won.
So why do I keep feeling like I might be sick?
I stood carefully, gripping the edge of the table, and made my way back to my chambers. Lena was waiting, as she always was, and she took one look at my face and immediately moved to help me with the robes.
"How did it go?" she asked as she worked on the complicated fastenings.
"I won the vote. Eight to six." The words came out flat, exhausted. "Kaelen will be released tonight."
"That's good, Your Majesty. That's–"
I didn't hear the rest. The nausea that I had been fighting all morning suddenly overwhelmed me, and I barely made it to the basin before I was retching. Lena was there immediately, holding my hair back, one steady hand on my shoulder.
When it passed, I sat on the floor, breathing carefully, trying to will the world to stop spinning.
