Kings or Pawns (Steps of Power 1)
Page 46
Mikanum looked around, frowning faintly. “Your Majesty, Nilanis is not here yet—it is unlike him to be late. Shall we wait for him?”
Ilsevel shook her head, the corner of her lips curving wryly once more. “Lord Sellemar, please have a seat in the El’adorium’s chair for now.” She watched his brows arch slightly in surprise, but he walked steadily to her father’s desk.
“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Sellemar spoke with a brief bow of his head.
Ilsevel regarded Valdor. “Thank you for your concern, Lord Valdor,” she replied, ignoring Mikanum’s inquiry.
“Indeed,” Fildor began, eyeing Sellemar briefly as he passed. He turned back to Ilsevel. “Your marriage to Saebellus has saved—”
“Silence,” she cut him off sharply the moment Sellemar had taken his seat. She stood, rising up above them, looking down with a cool, steely gaze. “The time of your corruption has come to an end. No longer shall it be tolerated. For every male, female, or child that speaks against, disobeys, or deceives the throne, they shall be executed in Eraydon’s square and their heads displayed on Ephraim’s lance.” She watched their eyes widen in speechless shock, their lips parting as their jaws slacked. Sellemar’s eyes flickered incomprehensibly. “For countless years I have watched this city pander to your whims, bending as you make senseless demands against the will of the king and queen—the Sel’vi chosen by Sel’ari to rule the rest of the elven people—as though you were equals. The True Bloods never would have left if not for your self-centered scheming—you drove them from our land! And so as of today, your votes no longer hold power.
“We were once a pure people—a people of strength and nobility who valued the survival and peace of our own kind over the affairs and wills of the outside world. Now we have allowed lesser beings such as humans to walk our land and we war with the beast-kinds—the sirens and the centaurs.” She leaned forward, inhaling sharply. The silence in the room was deafening. Their eyes were locked onto her—there was nothing that could tear their attention away. “Nilanis was a traitor to his Sel’varian blood.” She glanced once towards the doors, feeling her chest swell with triumph as she called to the guard outside, “Bring it in!”
The doors to the council chamber pushed open and the elves craned their necks with baited breath.
In a wave of nausea, she saw their faces twist in visible horror, heard a unison of strangled gasps. She felt her smile broaden, her eyes light up. “This is the punishment for those who disobey the crown. This is the punishment for selfishness. You shall serve me in every way or you shall join my father’s fate.” She spread her arms wide as the head of Nilanis was carried to the center of the room, impaled through with a wooden spike that protruded from his skull. She stared coldly back into his unseeing eyes, her vengeance finally realized. “No longer shall the elves be separate peoples in this land! No longer shall they be ruled by lesser beings—Sel’ari’s chosen shall once more be the kings of their brethren! We shall bring assimilation to this country! The reign of kings has returned.”