Chapter 41 Chapter 41

Chapter 41 Chapter 41
Liora's POV

The carriage doors opened with a dull thud against the stone steps of the Dravon Manor.
Yes, we were faes. We could easily have flown there, but this was a formal meeting. A carriage, not a flight, would announce our arrival with the dignity the meeting demanded.
As the queen, my mother mostly moved with carriages, unless it was her own free time. 

The cool air grazed my skin, but my mind was too crowded to feel it. My fingers were clenched tightly around the edge of my robe, heart hammering in my chest. 
My mother’s hand rested lightly on my elbow, guiding me, though I hardly needed it. My entire body grew tense. The only reason she was doing that was probably because she thought I would carelessly do something embarrassing and fall or something. Or probably to portray unity within the family. Or maybe both.
Either way, the physical contact was very odd and it made me so tense. 

The entire situation… why we were here in the first place… everyone making a big deal out of everything… just everything, made me so agitated. But I managed to hold it together.
We were greeted by some guards and officials, and led inside. My mother had some of her own advisors follow us. And personal guards too. Of course, she did. Like I said, she didn’t trust anyone. She didn’t even trust her own family, talk less of her rival family. 

The moment we crossed the threshold of the manor, I almost got nostalgic. Growing up, I had to follow my mother to several meetings, a way for me to learn how to be a proper queen. So, the manor was familiar to me.
However, it had been a long while since I had been there. I always found an excuse to avoid going with her. And somehow, it always worked. 

Ahead, the council chamber doors loomed and dominated the center, flanked by high-backed chairs. At the far end, a figure stood… stern, unyielding, unmistakably the head of the Dravon family. Around the room, advisors and family members lingered. Their expressions were neutral, but I just knew they were watching… lurking, like blades waiting for a misstep.

My eyes found Kysen. That sick psychopath…
I scowled, annoyance seeping into my system. Seeing him just made me feel even more annoyed than I already was. 
A smug smirk sat on his face as he watched me approach them, and all I wanted to do was punch the living daylight out of him.
I clenched my jaw to keep from doing anything stupid, but it was so hard to stay calm. 

Every step I took toward the table felt so calculated. 
Everyone was on their feet, ready to pay their respects and when we finally got to the table, they all did.

My mother acknowledged them with a slight incline of her head, graceful and distant as always, before taking her seat at the head reserved for her.
I moved to stand just behind her shoulder, exactly where I had been trained to position myself since childhood, as I waited for her to sit, before taking my seat right beside her, and everyone else followed suit.

Across the table, the Dravon patriarch sat slowly, his gaze never leaving my mother’s face. The air between them was cold and sharp, heavy with decades of rivalry.

But I barely noticed any of that, because Kysen was still watching me.
He sat straight, his face ever serious, as he eyed me with disdain.

I clenched my jaw even harder. So hard, I feared it might crack.
My stomach twisted as the events of last night flooded into my head, and I shut my eyes briefly in annoyance.
How could I have let myself be so easily fooled by a boy?
I still couldn’t believe he tricked me.

My fingers curled tighter at my sides as I forced myself to look at him again, my demeanour colder than ice.
The meeting had not even begun yet, and already the tension in the room had thickened.
Everyone in the room exchanged subtle glances.
They had seen this before.
Everyone had.
It was no secret that the heirs of our two houses could barely tolerate each other.
And today was no different.
Even the air seemed to hold its breath.

His gaze swept over me slowly, with the same measured disdain he had always carried.
I returned it without hesitation.
I can’t believe I ever thought…
How could I have been so dumb?

After last night, seeing him now only made me feel the same old, deeply rooted hostility that had existed for as long as I could remember.
How did I ever forget it?

He tilted his head ever so slightly, the faintest hint of a smirk touching his lips. He was mocking me.
It was almost as if he were silently asking whether I intended to cause trouble today.
My fingers curled into fists beneath the table. He was still as arrogant as ever.

After everything that went down last night? Everything he told me? The lies, the tricks? I was definitely causing trouble. 
Green help me so I don’t actually punch his face off. 
Even sitting in a room meant for diplomacy, he carried himself like a provocation. He always managed to push me to the edge.
Every single time.

I held his gaze a moment longer, letting my disapproval show plainly.
Then, with deliberate indifference, I looked away first, as if he simply wasn’t worth my attention.