"She is the rightful heir to the throne of the Dark Realm; she is a Selenia and the daughter of Gabrielle the Merciful," the White Sorceress introduces me to the crowd gathered in the square after our private meeting with her.
We were standing on the stage used by the village chief.
Their sallow faces, marked by poverty and neglect, look at me with skepticism.
"If she was the heir to the throne, where was she while the Vampire King was destroying the Realm?!" "Yeah, she was even with him! What guarantees do we have that shes not testing our loyalty to the Realm? You say he's truly deaddo you have proof, or are we just supposed to believe the words of some woman? The crowd hurled accusations, some boldly, others from behind the safety of the masses.
Asudden roar silenced them all.
"Whoever questions my mate again, I'll rip their tongue straight from.
their throat!" Aldrics enraged voice boomed beside meI knew he was on the verge of losing control.
"Tam the Lycan King, and Valeria Von Carstein is my mate.
She doesnt need to usurp anyones throne when she is the Queen of the Werewolf Realm!" ---- idea who Aldric was.
Many werewolves had never seen him in person, let alone these people.
"But..." "But what?!" He glared defiantly at a man in the front, who immediately stepped back in fear, his mouth snapping shut.
"Are you going to ask me for proof that I'm the Lycan King too? I'd be happy to transform and show you ina fight." "Calm down, love, take it easy," I took his hand beside me, squeezing it and pulling him closer, or this would turn into a massacre.
"These ungrateful fools only seem to understand fear and intimidation.
They're so used to being under the Vampire King's boot that theyve become masochists." He huffed in my mind, wrapping his arm possessively around my waist and pulling me closer, his canines bared as he growled low at them.
Iknew he wanted us to return to the Werewolf Realm, but I simply couldnt bury my head in the sand and hide.
Iwas about to speak to ease the tense atmosphere when the Sorceress took the floor again.
"I recognize that we've been through difficult times, times when we thought our prayers to the Goddess would go unheard.
However, here stands the answer," she pointed at me.
"Daria, where are you?" She suddenly called a name, and everyone turned to look.
From the back of the crowd, a woman stepped forward.
I recognized her immediately she was the mother of the dying child.
"Daria, I know you thought it was me who gave you that remedy for your little one, but in reality, it was Valeria," she said, and the woman turned to me, her eyes filled with astonishment and doubt.
"If you want to blame someone, then blame me too.
After losing my family to the witch hunts, I isolated myselfI didnt want to die, soI stayed away from the village," she confessed, her voice dropping in shame.
"However, Valerias magic found me, and I helped her with a potion for her friend.
She could have stopped there, but instead, she asked me for another remedy and risked being discovered by the Vampire King just to give it to you and save your son," she revealed the truth of my actions.
"Thats the kind of person Valeria is, and I believe we should give her a chance and trust in her.
I believe she will be an incredible Queen." "Ts that true? That night, was it you who helped me?" the woman asked, stepping forward, her red-rimmed eyes locked on mine.
"Yes, I threw the medicine vial through your window and hid," I added details to make her believe me.
Her eyes welled with tears, and she nervously clutched her patched apron.
"Thank you, Your Majesty...
Thank you so much..." "Daria, don't bow to her! Its the least she could do! Where has she been all this time? Where did Gabrielle go, leaving the Realm in the hands of that tyrant?" "Yeah, yeah, all our suffering is because of the royal family! She only did it out of guilt!" The uproar interrupted the womans gratitude.
Their hearts were too full of hatred, and they had found someone to unleash it on.
Suddenly, a rough, cynical laugh echoed from behind me, drawing closer.
---- The crowd fell silent, and I turned, astonished, watching as she climbed the steps with Quinns help.
Despite her blindness, she walked with unwavering confidence to the center of the old wooden stage.
"This really feels like a circus of fools," my mothers humorless laugh finally ceased, her face twisting into a sneer of contempt and arrogance, her chin held high, not really seeing anyone.
"Ts it really Her Majesty...
Gabrielle?" "Oh, by the Goddess, I thought she was dead!" "But what happened to her...2" murmurs of shock spread through the crowd.
My mother's condition had been kept a secretuntil now.