So Zlodia and Korva did have a strong hand on this council. Very unfortunate.
Lady Magdalina sniffed. She despised when her time was wasted. “I have other things to do. The university requires my presence. We simply can’t wait all day.”
“We will give it time,” Steward Solomon said. “But we will not wait forever.”
Time passed. The Circle conversed, while Lady Magdalina stewed and complained that it was rude to be late. I anxiously counted the seconds, hoping Odette and Theo were holding Lady Korva and Lord Zlodia off. Elijah visibly sweated from his place at the front, but Gabby remained cool. She sent an icy stare at me, which I returned dispassionately.
We waited for half an hour, but they never showed. Steward Soloman waved his hand. “Lock the doors. We can’t wait for them any longer.”
The guards moved, and Elijah paled. It was nice to see he didn’t think he could do this without his parents. Gabby, I noticed, didn’t appear phased at all.
Steward Soloman turned to me. “As is tradition, there is an amulet that has been passed down from king to king throughout the centuries, beginning with the trials of competency. King Lycus had such a thing in his possession, and as is his right, it now belongs to Elijah. Do you have the amulet on you, Prince Ethan?”
I swallowed down a bitter twinge of hatred, and nodded. I got up from my seat and took from my pocket a silver amulet that circled a blue sapphire. It matched the one in Emma’s sword, and hung from a thick chain. Elijah’s eyes glittered greedily when he saw it.
Little did he know, it was a fake. The real amulet was tucked away in a drawer, somewhere upstairs in my room. My father had been wearing it the day he died, and no way was I giving it up. I’d spent the entire semester sneaking to the forge to create a replica. It’d taken a heavy chunk out of my royal savings to find a near identical sapphire, but I’d done it, and set the stone in place. It was a blasphemous crime to do such a thing, but I prayed the gods forgave me for it.
The most crucial thing about the amulet was the enchantment I’d put upon it. It wasn’t exactly a truth spell, as Elijah wouldn’t be forced to spill everything, but more or less an enchantment of honesty. The illusion wouldn’t last forever, but it’d hold up until the end of the trials. The object would make Elijah state his true intentions to the Circle. His dastardly, sick plans would be exposed, and the Circle would think him a maniacal dictator. They’d refuse to give him the crown, and the monarchy would be safe. I’d heard him spouting his awful ideas to everyone at lunch for weeks now. Once the Circle became aware of such things, they’d deny him the throne. He couldn’t lie his way out of this one, and butter up the Circle to slip him through.
I handed Elijah the amulet, and he hung it around his neck. As I sat down again, Elijah took Gabby’s hand in his, and the smile they gave each other made my insides quiver. These two made even love seem wrong.
“Elijah Zlodia, we’ll start with you,” Steward Solomon began. He removed his glasses and leaned forward. “You risked your life to enter the King’s Contest. But the Circle doesn’t allow anyone to sit on the throne— we establish rulers. Why should the Arcanea follow you into a new future? Why did you put your life on the line, in order to become king?”
Elijah drew himself up. “The Arcanea have always based their society on strength,” Elijah said. “Fae used to determine who deserved to survive by sorting out those who were valuable to our society, and left behind those who were not.”
“Whatever do you mean by that?” Lady Iris asked. She cocked an eyebrow and leaned forward.
Elijah cleared his throat. “My lady, if I may, we used to be a strong country. But we aren’t anymore. We’ve allowed our family values to erode and sensitivity to become the rule of law rather than righteousness. Malovia has transformed into a country that cares more about people’s feelings than doing what is right. Emotions do not negate the truth. It is time the people saw that.”
“And what is the truth?” Lord Morgane rumbled. His tone was curious as he observed Elijah.