Chapter 43: The Goblet on the Vanity

Valen let out a puff of air.

Sigh.

Why are adults so dramatic and act like children?

Shadow’s Edge was in complete disarray, thanks to the sudden arrival of the King of Dragons, and it had honestly sucked out all the fun from his day.

He had been escorted to his chambers by two very stern-looking guards shortly after Uncle Cassian knocked out the scary dragon man who had been threatening his mother. The courtyard had erupted into shouting, his father had looked ready to murder someone, and the white panther had just punched a literal dragon in the face.

Now, Valen was sitting on the edge of his plush bed, his legs dangling over the side, swinging back and forth.

He was bored.

More importantly, he was annoyed.

Why is every man after my mother?

The thought made his little chest tighten with protectiveness. Before, when she used to cry and lock herself in her rooms, he hadn’t cared. But now.....now she held his hand. She looked at him like he was the most precious thing in the world.

He was scared to lose her. Scared that all these loud, arrogant men with their sharp teeth and bigger egos would somehow take her away, or worse, make her go back to being the sad, weeping woman the servants whispered about.

She’s different now, he reminded himself, hugging his knees to his chest. Maybe she won’t leave me anymore.

His eyes scanned the room, looking for something to distract him from his gloomy thoughts. That was when he noticed it.

Sitting squarely in the center of his carved wooden vanity table was a silver goblet.

Ugh? That wasn’t there before.

Valen hopped off the bed, his bare feet padding silently against the thick rugs. He approached the table, his small nose twitching.

It smelled delicious.

It was a sweet aroma, like crushed berries and heavy cream, with a strange, floral undertone he didn’t quite recognize. His stomach gave a little rumble.

Maybe his mother left it for him!

A bright, hopeful smile broke across his face, chasing away the lingering shadows of his anxiety. She had promised him more sweets, and this smelled a hundred times better than the honey cakes from breakfast.

He reached out with both hands, his small fingers wrapping around the cool metal.

He lifted the goblet, bringing it closer to his lips.

~

"I am going to ask you one last time, Leonidas!"

Karina’s voice echoed through the cavernous expanse of the Panther King’s private study. She was pacing furiously, and was frankly at her wits end.

"Where are the annulment papers?!"

Leonidas stood near his oak desk, looking like a man who had just been dragged through a thorny hedge backward. He was rubbing his temples as if trying to physically massage away the magnitude of his wife’s wrath.

"Karina, please, lower your voice," he pleaded. "The entire castle can hear you. And I already told you, I didn’t know Drystan was going to come. He bypassed my border guards. I had no idea he was in the capital until he was literally dropping from the sky!"

"And so???!" Karina shrieked, throwing her hands up in the air. "Does that excuse his behavior? He called my son a mutt! He disrespected me! He threatened to burn us to ash! I don’t care if he bypassed your guards, I care that he opened his stupid mouth!"

"I will handle him," Leonidas said quickly, taking a step toward her. "He is currently locked in the guest suite. I have fifty of my best guards stationed outside his door. Because he is a Beast King, I cannot simply throw him in the dungeons without sparking a war, but I swear to you, he is contained."

"Good. Keep him contained. Forever," Karina snapped, her red eyes flashing. "Now, where are the papers, Leonidas? Give them to me!"

Leonidas flinched, his broad shoulders slumping. He looked at her, his expression shifting from defensive to desperately pleading. "But... Karina, wait. Think about Valen."

Karina stopped pacing. Her spine went rigid. "Excuse me?"

Oh....bad move.

Leonidas swallowed hard, immediately shaking his head. "It’s nothing, forget I said that."

Karina stared at him for a moment before scoffing. "Whatever. I will remain in Shadow’s Edge until this rabid plague mystery is solved, because I refuse to let it harm my son. But until then? I want those papers. NOW."

The finality in her voice shattered whatever fragile hope he had left.

Leonidas let out a shaky breath. He turned to his desk, his hands trembling slightly as he unlocked the bottom drawer. He pulled out a thick stack of parchment, sealed with the imperial wax of Zyleria, and held it out to her.

"Here," he whispered.

Karina snatched the papers from his grasp. She didn’t even bother sitting down. She grabbed a quill, dipped it aggressively into the inkwell, and signed her name with a vicious flourish.

"You need to understand," Leonidas said quietly, watching the ink dry. "Signing this only severs your tie to Shadow’s Edge. Because the late Emperor forced you to wed us in our separate domains to maintain the balance of power, you must go kingdom to kingdom to break it properly. You will need to travel to the Cheetah plains, the Snake swamps, and the Dragon peaks to sign the remaining decrees."

Karina paused, the quill hovering over the parchment.

What?! I had thought that this would solve everything....

"Ugh. Disgusting. But whatever. I’ll pack my bags."

Ding!

[SYSTEM ALERT: YANDERE POINTS +500!]

[Leonidas Obsession Level: 12% → 25% (Desperate Devotion)]

What a masochist.

She turned on her heel, ready to march out of the study and find her son.

That annoying, scaly, overgrown lizard, she grumbled to herself, her heels clicking furiously against the stone floor. Petulant child, indeed. I should have let Cassian break his neck. Next time, I am not stopping the white panther.

She was so lost in her murderous internal monologue that she didn’t notice the figure stepping out from the shadowed alcove near the study’s entrance.

Suddenly, a warm, gloved hand gently but firmly pulled her wrist, stopping her in her tracks.

"What—" Karina gasped, spinning around.

But the fierce glare died on her lips.

It was Cassian.

He looked genuinely worried.

"Are you alright, Empress?"