“Enough, Lady Yarl!” the Emperor called. His words went unheeded again.
“I fought for your Empire, and when the Emperor saw fit to grant me my freedom for my service, others sought to chain me.” Vhalla jerked her head in the direction of the Western senator. “Yes!” she screamed. “Yes, I killed those men at the Crossroads because they sought the tainted powers within the Crystal Caverns!”
The crowd was worked to a near fever-pitch.
“They sought to bring a new war upon the Empire.” Vhalla met the Emperor’s eyes. “Once more I have defended the Empire, and my reward is to be more chains?”
“Justice for the Windwalker!” a woman screamed.
“Justice for the Hero of the North!” another cried.
The Sunlit Stage filled with their demands.
“Are you going to let her spout these lies?” Her ears picked up the strained words of the Western senator.
Those upon the stage were quickly losing their control of the situation as the crowd slipped into anarchy. Wind howled through the archways, howled for her justice. Vhalla met the Emperor’s eyes with a level stare and waited.
Fire arced across the sky. The crowd was silenced as they shied away from the wave of heat. Aldrik had taken a step forward.
He stared down at her, and Vhalla met his gaze as an equal—for the world to see. What was to become of them now?
“It seems a trial is not necessary.” His voice filled the square. It filled the cavernous volume of her chest as two perfectly dark eyes met hers.
“My prince!” Egmun was aghast alongside the Western Senator.
“Senators, you exist so that the will of the people may be channeled to my father and to me.” Aldrik motioned to the masses that were growing by the second. “The people have spoken.”
“But a trial—”
“Is not needed for one who is so clearly innocent.” The crown prince pointed to the crystal-laden irons. “Unless you have an alternate explanation for those?”
The Western fumed in silence.
“She is a Lady of the Court.” Aldrik shifted his focus back on her. Everyone could’ve screamed at once, and Vhalla was certain she’d somehow still hear the frantic pulse in his neck as he stared at her once more. “She was given her freedom by the Emperor. And I, as the future Emperor, will pardon her for any crimes that were committed in her own defense against the Western madmen who call themselves the Knights of Jadar.”
The crowd did scream then. It was deafening, but her ears were already ringing; they were echoing Aldrik’s words so loudly that Vhalla felt the resonance of his voice in her bones.
The prince’s eyes soaked in her form for one moment longer before he turned, starting alone for the palace. The rest of his family followed behind him. Vhalla caught the Emperor’s eyes only briefly, but long enough to see the cautionary stare.
Swinging her leg over, she dismounted gracefully. Vhalla grabbed the saddlebag with the axe, holding it tight against her as the crowd amassed to welcome her back. She didn’t want their false smiles and misplaced praise. It had suited her when she needed their love to cement her freedom, but she knew better than to take it to heart. The people would just as easily shift against her once more if Vhalla wasn’t careful to keep the wind blowing her way.
The silence of the palace hallway was welcome, and Vhalla breathed a sigh of relief the second she was free of the crowd. She clutched the saddlebag tightly to her side, setting off in the hall toward the center of the palace. She didn’t know quite where she was, but she knew the general direction. Nostalgia crept into her mind, welcoming her despite her disorientation.
It was a sweet dulling of the senses. The way her feet sounded against the floor or the candles that dripped years of wax over their sconces, it was all familiar. It felt like home.
But it was a façade. She’d seen first-hand the ugliness that festered in the hearts of the people who had built this palace. She was now one of them. And the illusion could only last for so long before it was broken.
“Look at you,” a voice sneered.
Vhalla reeled in place.
Egmun stepped slowly from a side hall. Had he been following her? “Put a title on her and she becomes bold. Do you think yourself powerful?”
“I know I am.” Vhalla did nothing to hide her scowl. There was no one around, and it seemed Egmun had no interest in “playing nice”