Chapter 273: The World in One Place
Natalie~
I stood there, feeling every pair of eyes boring into me. My cheeks burned under their unrelenting gaze, and I instinctively clutched the glittering skirts of my gown tighter against my hips. For a long, painful moment, no one moved. No one spoke. The room was so silent that I could hear the thundering of my own heartbeat, deafening in my ears.
I swallowed hard, forcing myself to take a step forward into the throne room. My heels barely made a sound against the polished marble floors as I walked in, glancing left and right. Hundreds of eyes followed me – wide, unblinking, like they were staring at a ghost.
"What... what is going on?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper. I wasn’t speaking to anyone in particular. Honestly, I didn’t even know if I was asking them or myself. My words just tumbled out, raw and confused.
Jasmine was pacing restlessly in my mind. "They’re staring like you have horns growing out of your forehead," she muttered.
I was just about to open my mouth and spill everything – the guard who had been lying lifeless in the hallway, the blood smeared across the marble floors, the dead men I’d dragged back from the other side, the intruders sneaking around the palace right this very moment, turning everything upside down – when suddenly, a man in the front row rose to his feet.
He was tall, broad-shouldered, and wore a tailored black traditional garment, embroidered with deep gold threads, exuding an aura of effortless authority. His skin was the smooth, sun-kissed brown of an African royalty, his short beard meticulously lined. His deep-set, intelligent eyes locked onto mine with such intensity that I almost took a step back.
Then, to my utter confusion, he bowed deeply at the waist, folding his arms over his chest in a gesture of deep respect.
What...?
I blinked at him. He straightened, then turned smoothly to face the king seated high on the golden dais.
"Your Majesty," he said, his voice calm and melodious, tinged with an accent I couldn’t place immediately. "With your permission, may I address the gathering?"