280- The Queen’s Decree
POV Aldren Valmorin:
“Nerin told me everything. I don’t want all of them to die for having been poisoned by Nala…” she whispered, her voice trembling slightly.
My heart, already heavy with the burden of my decisions, felt the weight of her words as well. I searched her eyes, confused, yet trusting her judgment.
“What do you wish to do, if not that?”
“Do you trust me?” Her gaze met mine, a spark of something fierce yet gentle shining within it.
“With my life,” I declared without hesitation. I owed her my trust.
Though my beast longed for revenge, that punishment was not mine, but hers. It wounded me to take the lives of my own, yet I would not be able to live with the guilt of hesitating and failing once again.
I nodded in permission, giving my mate the space to act. Drawing in a breath, she stepped forward, her posture upright like that of a true queen.
“Free all the men and women from those ropes, except Nala,” she declared clearly and authoritatively.
The guards hesitated for a moment, but under my stern gaze and her command, they began cutting the ropes that bound the stoners.
The initial murmur of surprise turned into whispers of respect as the guards obeyed the order.
One by one, they were freed. They looked at Elowen and me with a mixture of gratitude and shame. The only one who remained tied, her expression filled with pure hatred and despair, was Nala, who struggled to speak despite the cloth gagging her.
“Elowen, what will we do with her?” I asked, curious about her final decision for the traitor. I hoped she would not free her as well, because I knew that after everything that had been done, there was no salvation for her intentions. She was a condemned soul.
Elowen suddenly moved away, walking toward her with firm steps. When she reached Nala, she removed the cloth covering her mouth so she could speak. I stepped closer to my mate, eager to protect her.
“Orion… he told me you were a witch and would kill us all,” she whispered, tears streaming down her face.
Her desperate eyes shifted between Elowen and me as urine ran down her legs.
When she had been captured, she had given that same information to my guards, and I had already been informed.
I would investigate, even though I did not believe her accusations, for one who knows they are about to die invents any blasphemy to save themselves.
“And you spread gossip through the village instead of waiting for your alpha to arrive and take action? Do not underestimate my intelligence, Nala,” my mate replied soberly.
“Elowen, listen, I researched and found information that a witch could expose herself if subjected to intense anger. I only wanted to prove it, to protect Valmorin!”
My mate shook her head.
“Of course. I remember very well your smile of satisfaction at me, even if your cruel test cost two pups their burns!”
Stepping back, the queen turned to her people once more.
“I ask permission to address you, people of Valmorin. I know what you suffered at the hands of a witch, but know this: I am not Samsara, and I do not have a cruel soul like hers. My mate and alpha loves you, and therefore, I will love you as well.” Her words were an oath, a commitment to justice and truth.
I stepped closer to Elowen, intertwining our fingers in a sign of support and encouragement. I agreed with every word she spoke.
“Today, for the good of all, we will lose only one of us.
Only Nala will burn,” the queen decreed.
Part of the crowd fell to their knees before her in a clear sign of respect. Those who did not kneel began to declare with fervent devotion:
“Long live the Queen of Valmorin!”
I heard Nala screaming and begging for mercy, but I did not turn to look at her.
The guards, understanding that Elowen’s orders were also mine, moved to relight the extinguished pyre.
Within seconds, the first flames rose. I felt my mate restraining herself beside me, as if she longed to go there and set everything ablaze with her own hands.
Her fury was my fury.
Wise, she did not act on impulse, showing me that I had made the right choice. Using her magic there to create a raging blaze would only frighten the people and violate the elders’ law.
The war was not yet over, but from that moment on, nothing could break the bond that king and queen now shared.
…
At the end of the council with my guards, the recent events replayed in my mind like a film. I secluded myself in the aquarium meeting room, hammering against the chaos of my thoughts.
While I believed Orion would not risk his own head to conspire with Nala, I recalled his insistence on planting suspicion about Elowen.
I also considered that, in some obsessive corner of his mind, he might have thought that by revealing Elowen’s third species, I would give up on us.
Never.
There was no way the attack on his fiancée’s village had been staged to pull me away from Valmorin, despite the alpha’s insistence that I remain.
Orion had not opposed my staying at any moment; he had even supported my early return.
Tired of thinking without reaching any conclusion, I left my office in search of my anchor. Entering my house, I caught the scent of Nerin’s cooking and went straight to the kitchen.
I had not eaten anything yet, only drunk water.
I found her arranging a platter of green salad. A smile of relief crossed her face when she saw me.
“How are you, Aldren?”
“Disturbed and starving, my friend,” I let out a soft confession as I stepped into the kitchen and stopped in front of the stove.
I lifted the lid of one of the wide pots and found what looked like delicious ground meat. Even my beast growled with hunger.
Without thinking twice, I served myself a bowl with half the recipe and mixed in some of the leaves she was carefully assembling.
Like an animal, I began eating without properly chewing, desperate to fill my empty stomach. Nerin stared at me in shock.
“How long has it been since you ate?”
I swallowed to answer her.
“You wouldn’t believe it. Call my queen.”
She smiled brightly.
“She has already eaten. She had lunch with me to make up for lost time.”
“Where is she?”
“In the basement. She spoke to her sister on the phone and wanted to stay in the library waiting for you.”
I remembered that I had registered her face and fingerprints in my security system and felt satisfied knowing she was using it.
For a moment, I looked at Nerin.