Chapter 269: Threatening Questions, Unfortunate Clarifications, and the Problem with Other People’s Spawn
Chapter 269: Threatening Questions, Unfortunate Clarifications, and the Problem with Other People’s Spawn
Zorathys tilted his head.
The earrings glinting faintly in the dark as the temperature in the room dropped even lower than before.
His gaze settled on Ysera with the kind of stillness that could make even the Hellfire Territory’s border freeze and the meteors stop falling.
Ysera swallowed nervously, and Ignivar, sensing just how dangerous the situation was about to become, spoke.
"What Ysera means," he said very quickly, "is that many demons would want to like the Queen — because she presents herself like a demon, and none of us have ever seen a more perfect queen, and so naturally—"
He swallowed before he continued, nervously too.
"It would be difficult not to find Her Majesty impressive," he added carefully. "She handles petitions properly, speaks intelligently, and it is no secret that demons are scared of her the same way we are scared of you."
None of this actually answered the problem.
But it sounded better than allowing Ysera to stand there while Zorathys stared at her like he was considering whether he should suffocate her or just make her stop existing with a snap of his fingers, and he could do both without batting an eye too.
And it seemed like it was working, and Ignivar should have taken that as a cue to stop, but he continued instead.
"It is not as though Ysera actually likes the Queen—"
Zorathys didn’t let him finish.
"You," he said calmly, looking at Ysera, "don’t like the Queen?"
The words were calm.
The intent behind them was not.
Ysera could admit she liked the Queen, but that would put her in trouble, and if she said she didn’t like the Queen, then that would also put her in trouble.
Ignivar immediately realized his mistake and made an attempt to salvage it in an effort to save Ysera.
"I wasn’t done speaking, Your Majesty," he said softly. "What I meant was — Ysera doesn’t like the Queen in the way Your Majesty might be thinking."
He swallowed.
"Um... romantically. Or anything like that."
Ysera nodded.
Every duke and duchess in the room nodded along, heads bobbing frantically like their children’s.
Zorathys was quiet for a while, and then he spoke up again.
"Did I say anything about liking the Queen romantically?" he drawled lazily.
The nodding stopped immediately at that.
Ignivar opened his mouth to speak and then closed it, then turned to the others whose eyes were wide as they stared at him.
Then he turned back, and in a tiny voice, "No, Your Majesty," he said.
Though even as he said it, there was no doubt to him or any of the nobles in this room that Zorathys liked the Queen romantically, hence why he got extremely jealous when someone said they liked her or, like the last case, when someone — even a child — said they loved her.
"No," Zorathys agreed, snapping Ignivar out of his thoughts.
He reached for his glass and took a sip as the nobles waited anxiously for him to say something more.
"The Queen is likable," he said, his gaze on Ysera. "It would be more shocking if you didn’t like her."
Ysera’s ears lifted slightly.
"You are really lucky," he continued, "that you like the Queen, not romantically too... I cannot promise what would have happened if you didn’t like her... unromantically."
There was emphasis on the word, but Ysera didn’t care. It seemed like she was safe for now.
Zorathys looked at Ignivar then.
Ignivar’s fire made no attempt at recovery.
"What are you going to do," Zorathys said, "about your spawn?"
Ignivar blinked.
"Your Majesty?"
"The pest," Zorathys said. "The small fire one, or do you not know your spawn?"
Ignivar frowned.
"I... I do, Your Majesty."
"He hugged my Firefly," Zorathys said.
"He held onto her like he belonged there."
There was silence as he spoke.
Ignivar did not say that Aziren was young and hugged everyone he liked. He kept this information inside himself where it was safe.
Zorathys’s gaze moved from Ignivar and swept across the rest of them slowly.
"Because of your pests," he said, "I have not had enough time with my Firefly."
Ignivar did not point out that Zorathys had spent two weeks hiding from Elyn in his own palace.
He kept that thought to himself too.
Caleth said nothing.
Draeven had been fully stone since the temperature dropped and had not returned.
Aurelixa’s ears stayed flat. Xaleron stood beside her in matching condition. Seraphielle and Guilidern stood at full attention, eyes forward, not a trace of anything that could be interpreted as personality.
"Even right now," Zorathys said, "my Firefly and your pests are planning to have a picnic."
He let that sit.
"Suggested by your spawn," he added, looking at Ignivar.
"But when I asked her for a picnic," Zorathys said, "she refused immediately."
"But when your pest asked," he continued, "she said yes without even questioning him."
He set his glass down.
"While I was standing there," he said. "She answered him while I was standing there and ignored me entirely."
Ignivar swallowed.
He had been swallowing a great deal since he stepped foot into this room.
"Your Majesty," he said carefully, "Aziren is—"
"He hugged her," Zorathys said. "And held onto her like he belonged there, so before you speak, consider the fact that he hugged my wife like he belonged there."
Ignivar looked back at him with the expression of a demon being held personally responsible for his son asking a queen if she wanted to have a picnic, which was not something he had anticipated being held responsible for this morning or indeed ever.
The shadows moved along the walls.
Nobody said anything.
The assembled dukes and duchesses of the demon realm — the most powerful beings in existence outside of Zorathys himself — stood in the dark and collectively wondered what exactly they were supposed to do about children who liked the Queen and were going to keep showing up at the palace because the Queen had told them they could.
It was quite ridiculous, but none of them were going to say it out loud.