Chapter 22: Fire Does Not Ask Permission II

Chapter 22: Fire Does Not Ask Permission II
Thalia POV

“The fact is…”
The voice was male. Low. Controlled. But sharp enough to draw blood.
“…many of us think it.”

A murmur rippled through the court. No one moved. But the weight in the room shifted. Like a collective exhale of something hidden finally daring to breathe.

The speaker rose.

He was young, no more than thirty winters, draped in a plain court robe marked with the crest of House Darneth, Elder Nyra's family. His name came to her then—Ryson. Quiet. Ambitious and Unremarkable, until now.

Ryson looked her in the eye, chin high.

“I do not say this to offend, Luna. I say it because it is truth. Anastasia was raised within the Syndicate. She has been trained for this role since childhood. She knows our customs, our discipline, our bloodlines. You…” He paused, letting the words land. “You did not grow among us. You came to us full-grown. The Flame may have chosen you, but the people didn’t.”

The room held its breath.

Thalia stepped down from the dais, slow, graceful, deadly.

“Let me understand this,” she said. “You stand in the Flame Court and tell me I wear a crown that doesn’t belong to me. That the blood I spilled in the trials, the fire that rose for me, the sacred flame that bent for no one was wrong.”

He swallowed. “I said...”

“You said Anastasia is trained. That she’s known. Familiar.” Her voice sharpened. “That her place should be above mine because she fits your expectations. Because she is easy.”

She moved closer. Ryson’s jaw twitched, but he didn’t back away.

“I am not here to make you comfortable, Ryson Darneth. I am not here to wear the crown like it’s a silk veil. I am here because the Flame called me, and I walked through it without burning.”

She raised her voice. “Anastasia trained to be Luna, but I was the Chosen one.”

Thalia’s eyes narrowed. “Guards.”

Two Syndicate guards stepped forward.

“Remove Ryson Darneth from this chamber. Strip him of his court robe and rank. He will spend ten nights in the mountain cells, in isolation. And if he still thinks Anastasia the better Luna when he emerges, he may take it up with her, after he earns back the right to speak in my court.”

Ryson paled. He opened his mouth, then wisely closed it.

The guards dragged him out in silence.

Thalia turned to the rest.

“Let this be the last time I remind this court who I am. Dismissed.”

And she left them in her wake, burning.

\---

Later – Thalia’s Chambers

The room was quiet, lit only by the glow of flame-runes carved into the walls. Her armor was gone, replaced by a black cloak trimmed with gold. She leaned against the edge of the long war-table as Elder Kaelion entered with Veyr behind him.

Neither spoke at first.

“You heard?” she asked.

Kaelion gave a curt nod. “The court will still be whispering by sunrise.”

“And the people?”

Veyr stepped forward, arms crossed. “Ryson didn’t speak for himself. That came from higher up.”

“Nyra,” Kaelion said grimly. “And Drevyn. We’ve suspected for weeks.”

Thalia paced slowly. “Drevyn is Anastasia’s father. Nyra is Dante’s mother, Anastasia’s mate. Of course they want her crowned.”

“They’re using old bloodlines to stir the loyalists,” Veyr added. “Framing you as foreign. Unrooted. They don’t say it aloud, but they plant it in the ears of the warriors, the servants, the apprentices.”

“Cowards,” Kaelion muttered. “Too afraid to challenge you directly. Too proud to serve.”

Thalia stopped pacing. Her voice was calm but tight.

“Let me be clear. I did not bleed in those trials to sit on a seat made of sand. If they want to test me, let them. But I will not let the people be turned by rumor and nostalgia.”

“We need to act,” Veyr said. “Crush this before it spreads.”

“No,” Thalia said, surprising them both. “We need to be smarter than that. If I strike now, they’ll say I rule with fear. That I burn what I can’t control.”

Kaelion studied her. “Then what do you suggest?”

She walked to the flame-basin at the heart of her chamber and touched the glowing rune. It pulsed.

“We let the rebellion show its face. We let Drevyn and Nyra gather their believers. And then, when they reach for the crown...”

She turned.

“We rip the floor from under their feet.”