Chapter 546: The Honor of Nobles
Evelyn stared at the anger oozing out of Elena, then she glanced at Tauri’s guilt-ridden face, and Stryg’s consigned expression. “Tauri…?”
Her daughter stiffened at her name but she couldn’t meet her mother’s gaze.
“Gods, what have you done, child?” whispered Evelyn.
Tauri slowly raised her eyes and met Evelyn’s stern glare. She licked her lips and swallowed hard, “...I…”
Elise Veres sipped her wine and gave the couple a wide side glance.
Stryg’s ears felt like they had been stuffed with cotton. Everything sounded distant, as if behind a blurred glass wall. He could hardly grasp all the emotions running through the table, but when he saw Tauri everything else fell silent. The guilt in her amber eyes, the way her scarlet lip trembled, her pained expression… Stryg mustered what little focus he had and grabbed her hand. He turned to her parents, eyes resolute. “If you wish to brandish your anger, aim it at me.”
Tauri flinched at his touch and she tried to pull her hand from underneath his, but his grip was steadfast. Anxiously glancing between her stunned family members and her lover, she whispered harshly, “Stryg, no, this isn’t the time—!”
“Tauri,” said Evelyn in an icy voice. “We should take this somewhere else.”
The nobles sitting at the other tables in the main hall were drinking and eating merrily, for now. The last thing Evelyn wanted was to cause a scene and show them all a chink in their armor. The Katag and Veres Houses needed to appear united, a strong alliance that they could all rally behind.