Chapter 15 Forced to seat in between his legs
Amarien's POV
“Hail Emperor Darian of the East, the Southern seas and Western fields. Lord of the humans and species beneath humans!”
The trumpet sounded.
The emperor was here.
And everyone ceased from all their activities and bowed to the emperor as he stepped in, escorted by a flank of guards.
I bowed my head so I wouldn't meet his eyes. The encounter with him in my room still creeped me out. But I wasn't invisible as I thought I was.
The emperor stopped right where I was. “My little trinket is here!” he announced with great excitement.
I felt the eyes of every possible living thing in the great hall on me. I wanted to sink into the floor.
“Yes, she is, your majesty! She's so happy to meet with you. Aren't you, little one?” Corvin cooed, matching the emperor’s excitement. Noticing my stiffness, Corvin turned to me, pressing his wooden shoes into my feet to bring my attention back to base.
I held myself back from whelping at the pain Corvin’s wooden shoes caused me. But most importantly, I held myself back from looking up at Daevir. I could feel his eyes blazing on me.
I wish I could read his expression. But my head was bowed.
“I'm honoured to grace your presence today, your majesty,” I said.
“Of course, you are.” The Emperor winced delightfully. His eyes were trailing every contour of the tight cloth on my body. “Come,” he grabbed my hands and pulled me out of the crowd. “Come sit on my lap.”
He pulled me so hard and fast, I almost stumbled on my heels. My eyes darted to Daevir, like a cry for help.
His fists were squeezed tight, his jaw gritting. Was he going to intervene? He couldn't. Not when there's a thousand people here watching. Not when this is his father.
When the Emperor got to his throne, he wrapped his arms around my waist and forced me to sit on his lap, facing the whole crowd.
I sat facing all these people, my face reddened with shame. The emperor seemed excited by my humiliation.
“Are you shy, little one? Afraid to sit on my throne with me,” He whispered in my ears.
I shut my eyes and shook my head, no.
“Good,” he spat and faced the crowd. “Let the music play on. The Emperor announced, and the room suddenly returned to how it was. No one batted an eyelid, no one protested. Everyone just pretended like this was okay.
Everyone but Daevir, whose eyes were still fixed on us so much that Princess Catherine couldn't get his attention anymore. She ran her hands through his chest, whispering in his ears, yet he didn't even look at her once.
“You're a little scaredy kitty,” the emperor murmured in my ears. I felt chills in my bones. But it wasn't because of his sickly murmur in my ears. It was his hands.
The emperor’s hands were hungrily moving around my body, trailing my skin like he wanted them to crawl out of my bones.
He is going to molest me right in front of the crowd! I shut my eyes, forcing tears not to pour down! Corvin had warned me sternly that tears repelled the emperor. Children’s tears scared him. And so no child he touches must be caught crying, else they'll be severely punished or worse, banished from the palace.
The emperor’s hands soon began to swim lower and lower to the area between my legs. I wanted to leap out of his lap and run spring out of the hall as fast as I could. All I could do was cup my hands over my face as I fought back tears.
“Attention all!” Growl shook the room up. Even the emperor, as he stopped roaming.
It was Daevir!
He walked right up to the centre of the room. A goblet filled with wine in his hand. His eyes held an anger that shook me to my core. I tried not to match his eyes.
“What's a party with a toast?” Daevir said, his goblet pointed towards his father.
The Imperial Banquet Hall glittered like a jewelled cage. Music drifted through the air like honey.
“Right!” The emperor spat. “Get me my goblet!” He commanded his guard.
“Do me a favour, father,” Daevir said, his eyes still bloodshot. “It will be my honour to have you drink from my cup instead.”
What a strange request! What was Daevir up to?
I trembled quietly, doing everything in my power to stay small.
The emperor grunted an acceptance, and the guard approached Daevir, collecting the goblet from him and presenting it to the emperor.
“Go on, son.” The emperor said as he grabbed Daevir's goblet.
Daevir held up another goblet and raised his cup, his expression perfectly composed. No one could guess the storm twisting behind his ribs. I watched him, my heart pulled in two directions: love and fear.
He looked magnificent in his ceremonial robes, blue silk, gold embroidery, a prince through and through. Untouchable. Distant.
He didn’t even glance my way.
He lifted his cup higher.
“To my father,” he began, voice smooth, resonant. “the Emperor of the East, the Southern seas, Western fields. Lord of the humans and species beneath humans. A ruler of strength, wisdom, and unbreakable will.”
The crowd murmured approvingly.
“To the court,” he continued, “whose loyalty keeps this empire standing.”
More applause.
I exhaled softly, relieved that the attention was finally off me.
Then he paused.
A tiny pause.
Barely noticeable to no one but me.
“And lastly,” Prince Daevir said, turning slightly.
Just slightly…
So the entire court followed his gaze…to me.
“Let us raise a toast,” he declared, voice clear, strong, mercilessly calm,
“to Amarien… the cursed concubine.”
The hall froze…
The music stopped mid-note.
My breath shattered in my throat.
Daevir continued, tone dripping with cold formality:
“May her presence remind us all that curses, once born into this world, must be contained and kept at a safe distance.”
My knees nearly buckled.
A few nobles gasped. Others hid their smiles behind fans. One woman whispered loudly to her husband:
“Oh my, he said it openly. Right in front of everyone…”
Another courtier chuckled, “Imagine being so cursed even the prince warns people not to touch her.”
Heat flooded my face—burning, humiliating, suffocating. My hands trembled so violently that I had to clutch my sleeves.
But Daevir wasn’t done.
“Let this toast serve as a reminder,” he added, raising his cup even higher, “that no matter how pretty a curse may appear… it is still a curse.”
The room erupted in a mixture of awkward laughter, murmurs, and harsh whispers.
I stared at him, vision swimming.
Why?
Why would he say that?
Why would he expose the one pain I feared the most?
Why would he humiliate me so brutally?
His eyes finally flicked to me.
For half a second.
Just half.
Cold.
Empty.
Unyielding.
As if he’d never held me so close to himself, I could barely breathe.
As if he never whispered my name against my skin.
The room suddenly felt smaller, like it was closing in on me. I shut up to my feet, not even thinking of the emperor’s approval or disapproval.
My breath came in tiny, broken gasps.
The hall blurred around me, faces dissolving into smudges of gold and shadow. I could hear snickers, whispers, and pitying scoffs.
I turned and ran, silks trailing behind me like torn wings.
My tears were already falling before I reached the door.
Someone laughed.
A guard tried to stop me, but I pushed past him, sobbing, barely seeing where I was going.