CHAPTER 57: THE QUEEN MUST BE ARRESTED [1]

Aeron knit his brows in confusion. "What’s that? What bloodline? What do you mean?"

"This boy must be toying with the council," Vanýr said with a bitter laugh. His eyes were locked on Aeron as he continued to question him. "This is the last time I will ask."

He stepped forward. "Your mother’s name is Daelya. Your late father’s name is Lucian. Do you deny it?"

"Yes!" Aeron said quickly. "I deny it. I’ve never heard those names in my life!"

Vanýr’s smile was cold. "Again, just as you are sixteen now, that same number of years ago, your house fell. Your family was wiped out. Your mother must have told you this."

"No," Aeron said firmly. "She never told me anything like that."

Vanýr’s voice rose and filled the hall. "Your father died alongside your entire bloodline because of a prophecy. A prophecy that spoke of you, of the destruction you would bring. Now you have come of age, and you have trained both yourself and your dragon for one purpose: revenge. Tell me it isn’t so!"

"It isn’t!" Aeron said with frustration. "I don’t know what you’re talking about! You’ve got the wrong person! I swear to you!" His voice grew desperate. "These names... these stories... they mean nothing to me. I’ve never heard of them before. Prophecies, fallen houses... I don’t even understand what they mean."

The council chamber was becoming a little noisy because of whispers. Some of the lords murmured to one another, while others simply watched.

"You’re still in denial," Vanýr said coldly. His hand reached inside his cloak, and when it emerged, he held a small bundle of folded parchments. "So what is this, then?"

He stepped forward and presented the papers. "These are your letters, written by you, to your mother."

Aeron’s eyes widened. "What? Those are..."

Vanýr ignored him, walked up the steps to the dais, and handed the letters directly to the King. The monarch took them and unfolded them one by one slowly.

Vanýr’s voice rang out again. "In these letters, you make mention of living comfortably in the royal chambers, where any member of the royal house was ’easy to reach.’ You wrote," he paused to glance around the hall, "that you had promised your mother justice. That you would begin by striking the royal family."

"That’s a lie!" Aeron said loudly in anger. "I wrote to my mother, yes, but never anything like that! You’re twisting this!"

Vanýr continued as though Aeron hadn’t spoken. "You said you would bring vengeance for your fallen house, that the capital would bleed for what it did to House Velzorah sixteen years ago. And yet..." He turned to face Aeron. "You still stand here, look us in the eye, and deny it?"

The murmurs in the council grew louder and the lords were shifting in their positions.

"I never wrote those words!" he shouted. "I would never threaten anyone! Someone has changed my letters!"

Vanýr’s eyes narrowed. "Changed them? Or simply exposed them?"

"I strongly deny it! I deny all of it." Aeron’s voice rang through the high hall, but it was becoming weaker. His throat felt dry, and his heart was pounding so hard. "I don’t know what you’re saying... I don’t even understand it!"

For a moment, the room was quiet as the air in the hall seemed so tight. The King lowered the parchment and looked straight at Aeron. "You deny what I hold in my own hands? If you are not guilty, then tell me, how did these letters come to exist?"

Aeron shook his head desperately. "I didn’t do it! I didn’t write those things! I would never."

"Enough," the King said.

But Aeron couldn’t stop. "I swear on my life, I didn’t do any of it! You have to believe me!"

Lord Edgar, the Lord Arbiter, stepped forward and began. "Your Majesty," he said, "if these accusations are true, if this boy truly wrote these threats, then he is no mere troublemaker. He is a danger to the throne itself and to the royal house. Our laws are clear: such a person must be seized, imprisoned, and compelled to speak the truth, even if it must be forced from him."

"No... no, please!" Aeron pleaded in panic. "I have done nothing wrong! I swear it!"

But the King’s eyes had hardened. "Enough pleading. Guards, throw him into the dungeons." He ordered. "The council will decide his fate later."

The command was final. The doors of the hall opened, and two armored guards marched in and seized Aeron by the arms. He tried to resist, but their grip was strong and they dragged him toward the doors.

As Aeron was pulled away, the council chamber’s attention shifted. Lord Daryn entered the hall and moved quickly to Lord Vanýr. He leaned into him and spoke in a low voice that only Vanýr could hear.

Vanýr changed his expression, and his lips curled slightly before he turned to face the King once more. "Your Majesty," he said, "before this meeting is adjourned, there is one more matter of grave importance."

The King frowned. "What is it now, Lord Vanýr?"

Vanýr clasped his hands behind his back. "It has just been discovered that the young dragon rider was in the act of fleeing the palace when he was apprehended. And..." He paused, drawing every eye toward him. "...he did not act alone. He had an accomplice."

The King’s eyes narrowed. "Who? Name them, and they will join him in the dungeons at once."

Vanýr stepped forward, his gaze fixed on the King. "Unfortunately, Your Majesty... it is none other than the Queen of our kingdom. Queen Serenya herself."

Everyone in the high hall gasped collectively. Even the guards at the doors turned their heads in shock. The King froze. "What...?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," Vanýr pressed on with confidence. "It seems the Queen has conspired with this boy. And regardless of her crown, the law demands she be arrested and questioned."

"..."