Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen
With that she walked away as fearful eyes followed her, just as graceful and she came in, “I mean no harm Luna, please continue as you were”

When doors closed behind Grand Queen Trinity, everyone seems to be relieved
King Maximus let out a long breath and motioned for me and Adrian to take my seats.

I glanced at Elder Elduran even him seemed to be tense when Grand Queen Trinity was in here.

But if they were on the same side, why were they not allies, it seemed there was something I didn't know even in my past life.

The elders were already seat all eight of them , every face old enough to have witnessed three or four generations of rulers. Their expressions were stiff, unreadable, but their eyes flicked toward me with curiosity.

I was going to need an ally

“Let us begin,” King Maximus said, taking his place at the head of the long table.

Adrian sat beside him forward, confident, as if he owned the seat. I took the chair next to the king, hands folded on my lap.

One of the elders cleared his throat.
“We received troubling news at dawn. Rogues attacked the eastern border again. Five outposts damaged.”

Maximus’s face turned into a frown. “Double the guards at”

“We already advised against that,” Elder Rowan interrupted gently. “Your Majesty, doubling guards leaves the north side exposed.”

Adrian leaned back, almost lazy, but his smirk was pleased.
“What we should do,” he said, “is abandon the east entirely. Pull troops inward. Let the rogues waste their energy attacking empty stations.”

A wave of nods spread across the table.
I watched the king freeze. His jaw tightened. He clearly disagreed but every elder was looking to Adrian, not him, as usual he say was not important, he was nothing but a king for show.

The power imbalance was so obvious it made my stomach ache.

“But that leaves the trade routes vulnerable,” Maximus tried again.

“Yes, well,” Elder Rowan murmured, “Lord Adrian makes a fair point.”

It was like watching someone snatch the crown out of his hands.
And the worst part? Adrian didn’t even try to hide how much he was enjoying it.

Another elder stood.
“And a second matter. Reports say the neighboring kingdom’s crystal mines have been hit. Twenty crates stolen.”

My head snapped up. “Crystals?”

“Yes,” Elder Tamar said. “Weapons forged with those crystals can cut through rogue armor. If this continues, our own stores will be deleted .”

Adrian tapped the table lightly with his fingers. “Then we take defensive positions. Lower our weapon usage. Let the rogues waste their attacks while we conserve our”

“That won’t work,” I said before I could stop myself.

The room went silent.
Twelve elder gazes turned toward me.

But instead of fear, something warm surged inside me the confidence I’d use to bury.

I straightened myself.
“If you retreat and conserve, you teach the rogues that we’re weak. They’ll only push harder. And the stolen crystals?” I met Elder Rowan’s eyes. “They’ll be used against us.”

he blinked, surprised.

I continued, voice steady.
“What you need is better supply, not less fighting. I can create more weapons using my alchemy. Crystals react well to reinforced elemental structures, I can duplicate them if I have even a small sample.”

A murmur spread across the chamber.

The king stared at me with something I couldn't quite figure out,

Adrian went still, his amusement disappeared.

Elder Rowan leaned forward.
“You can… create weapons?”

“Yes,” I said. “And stronger ones. Ones that rogues won’t expect.”

The elders glanced at one another, nodding slowly.

“That,” Elder Tamar said with certainty, “is a far stronger plan than retreat.”

“We should proceed with it immediately,” another added.

“And equip the border warriors with her weapons.”

“And increase patrols, not decrease.”

Every word made Adrian frown wider and wider.

For the first time since I sat down, the king’s shoulders eased.

“Very well,” Maximus said. “We follow Lady Annabelle’s plan.”

I bowed my head quietly, though inside I felt a spark of pride, I tried to hide it.

The meeting dissolved with unusual energy. Everyone rose, preparing to head for breakfast.

We were almost at the door when

The unhinged man appeared.

He stood in the center of the room, eyes wide and wild yet eerily focused on me.
His guards tried to pull him back, but he shook free, whispering something under his breath.

The elders gasped.

Maximus moved in front of me.

But the man wasn’t looking at the king.

He was staring only at me.

There was smoke all around him, a teleportation spell, a master level skill in alchemy, but if he could do that all along why did he remain in the cell all this time.

I stepped forward and the king tries to hold me back

“My Luna, what are you doing, where are you going “

The unhinged eyes were still on me and mine on his, “my King, he just performed a master level in alchemy, he teleportated.

Even if he is crazy his just what I need your majesty,

The unhinged walked over to the window, all the elders avoided him, they feared him.

Ahhh, it's so nice getting out of that cell, to see something other than criminals and fraud, he paused then giggled.

The air smell better here, the air in my cell…it could make a man crazy, he turned to the elders, which made then, squirm and scramble to get away from him.

It was like everyone paused, the guards looked on arms on their swords, watching and waiting for orders,

Adrian stood far side of the table a no d watched, but his eyes shifted from me to the unhinged, he was suspicious but didn't know of what yet.

The unhinged turned back to the window and gave a little dance, ahhh free at last, you know today reminds me of the day, Karl died.

Karl was the name of the official he supposedly killed.

“I didn't kill him, but I wanted to, but I couldn't even after the bastard tried to rpe my wife and killed her in the act,

“He smiled to himself, then danced towards the elders, you all are monsters, you know that right.