Chapter 257: Lyvarian Court (1)
After Evanna’s little speech, the guards lowered their weapons, and Edric guided them through the tunnels without saying so much as a word, merely gesturing with a sweep of his arm to follow them. Only moments later did Arawn explain the importance of Edric’s role. He was the right-hand man of Queen Iolena, the true ruler of Lyvaria.
Her interest was piqued by the idea that a Queen’s rule was higher than the King’s. Though she was intrigued, that was all the interest she would show in the matter. Too much had happened for Evanna to fixate on people that may or may not have known about her existence.
She did not know these rulers, and she was not about to smile and play happy families. She was far too gone for that, especially after years of attempting to keep the peace within her own complex life. The king’s illegitimate child, living under the same roof as his wife and legitimate children.
Any thoughts about her family faded away as the tunnels grew luminous and the gates of the palace from inside the mountain revealed a sight so breathtaking; Evanna paused for a moment taking in the grandeur, the magic emitting from the ice that kept them warm and the visuals of light and a... a dragon?!
Evanna watched a shadow of a dragon flying along the walls of the ice. Her heart raced from seeing it, and memories of Ger’s last moments flashed through her mind. She looked away, pinching her lips together and continued after the Lyvarians.
Nobody spoke, but Evanna could tell from the tense silence that the others in her group were thinking about the same thing. Grief was still heavy on their shoulders, but they had to move on. Ger would want that. Evanna’s mother, Loraven, was like a second mother to him, and he went on this quest purely to help her and, of course, to make sure Evanna remained out of mischief.
A hand squeezed at Evanna’s gently, pulling her out of her sorrowful thoughts, and she squeezed back, not needing to look at her handsome prince to know Arawn was comforting her. They both wore the masks of royalty, though Arawn’s was more disinterested, and Evanna was impassive and stoic while she worked out what to say once they met the King and Queen.
Edric sent the guards away once they stopped before two mighty doors met the tall height of the icy ceiling above. A few remained, but Evanna’s gaze remained ahead, waiting for those doors to open. Were they meeting the king and queen immediately?
"Remove your weapons," Edric ordered sternly, his gaze roaming to Axel’s axes and to the rest of them.