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"Can we make this place the new capital of the Serin Empire?"

Kel rested her cheek against her hand as she happily chewed a piece of tender pink fish. She'd been told, by one of the half-naked women wandering around with trays, that the fish was called salmon. It was uncooked, but still soft, and covered in a delicious salty sauce.

"I never took you as the kind of person to think with your stomach," Calix chuckled, swiping a bite of the fish from her plate.

"I didn't either," Kel replied, quickly shoving the last of it into her mouth before the Emperor could strike again, "but I've now been enlightened."

In addition to the seafood, juicy sour fruits and silky desserts took their turn being scooped by her utensils. Everything was soft, but not mushy, with crisp flavors that were unlike anything she'd experienced before.

If she'd known food could leave her mouth salivating and heart pounding in such a way, she would have become obsessed with it much earlier in her young life.

Despite Kel's tastebuds' sudden enlightenment, however, her stomach had not enlarged whatsoever, and she quickly became too full to continue indulging in the delicious food. Longingly, she looked at the uneaten morsels on her plate.

Perhaps, if she moved her body a bit, she would become hungry again.

Evidently, she wasn't the only one thinking such thoughts.

Around the room, nearly in sync, various people began to rise and wander away to other spaces in the hall. Many stood conversing, but others danced to the music. Still others, Kel lost sight of behind the wooden dividers.

As for herself, she turned to eye a nearby terrace. It was huge with a spectacular view of the nighttime ocean.

"Would you like to get up?" Calix asked, his gaze following hers.

"Yes," Kel nodded eagerly. "I was just about to."

As they rose to their feet and stepped away from the table, she kept her focus squarely on the entrance to the terrace. If she could no longer delight her tongue with exotic foods, surely her eyes could feast on the incredible view.

But her dreams were crushed before she could even grip Calix's arm to drag him toward the terrace entrance as a swarm of people came to block their way.

"Your Majesty," the first approacher bowed, "it is an honor to have you here in my- ahem, the palace."

Kel recognized him as the man sitting by the princes that she thought might be the king. If the man's slip up wasn't enough to confirm her suspicions, the fact he greeted them first proved his status.

Or, previous status.

He seemed completely ordinary aside from appearing a bit too skittish to be the ruler of an entire kingdom and very much too young to be the father of the many princes who followed him.

One by one, each of the Pandreian princes, or the previous Pandreian princes, paid their respects following their father. After the men from the royal family finished, many council members proceeded to bombard their ears with contrived greetings.

The longer Kel stood with a fake smile plastered across her face, wishing nothing more than to run away, the more she gained an understanding for the Dragon Emperor, who simply killed or maimed those who annoyed him.

Actually, the experience made her realize just how much Calix must have held back to only radically draw his sword once in a while. 

Suddenly, the tyrant Emperor seemed like a very patient, well-behaved ruler.

As she was lost in her thoughts, she felt a sneaky hand clamp down on her backside. She glanced to see Calix half smirking as he grabbed her secretly whilst conversing with the annoying council members.

Nevermind. He was definitely not well-behaved.

The obscene act pulled her attention back to the men bowing in front of them. It seemed the third batch of council members were in the middle of wringing their hands and blubbering--well, all except one of them.

One man, with long dark hair braided to the side and scar-covered dark skin, stood stiffly, his arms folded across his chest. The way he smiled at Kel and the Dragon Emperor was sincere, terrifyingly and sinisterly sincere.

Chills pricked Kel's neck as she made eye contact with him. Even his eyes were a shade too dark to simply be called brown.

Instinctively, she knew.

This man was dangerous.

After locking eyes for a few moments, he closed his and bowed his head slowly to Kel.

"Your Highness, the Queen Consort."

His voice was surprisingly smooth and sweet compared to his exterior, but that only made her even more uncomfortable.

"Yes."

Kel couldn't bring herself to say anything other than that single word. She couldn't say it was nice to meet him or a pleasure to receive his greeting. All she could do was simply acknowledge him--that his presence had not gone unnoticed. 

And, it seemed, that was exactly what he intended.

Satisfied with Kel's response, he backed away with the rest of his companions while another group rapidly took their place. This time, Altair was among them, wearing an expression eerily similar to the previous man.

They weren't trying to conceal their intentions. While the other council members were doing their utmost to curry favor with the new ruler, these two men were silently declaring their antagonism.

"How bold."

Calix's voice was barely loud enough to be considered a whisper. Kel thought she was the only one who heard it, but a single corner of Altair's lips twitched ever so slightly. 

Ah. The Emperor was also declaring his animosity.

By the time the crowd bustling to greet the Dragon Emperor had dispersed, Kel had all but forgotten about the terrace and starry ocean.

Instead, her eyes flitted around the hall, wondering how many more sickening looks were hiding around every corner. Thane and Lucy were nearby, along with dozens of other Serin soldiers. A person would have to be crazy to try anything in that circumstance. 

But Kel knew, better than most, that nothing could drive a person crazy quite like desperation. 

And she had no way of knowing exactly how desperate these people were.