I don't know what possessed me to think the throne room would be empty.
Maybe desperation. Maybe delusion. Maybe the simple hope that for once in this palace, a grand intimidating place filled with history and authority would be abandoned long enough for me to sit in silence without somebody asking me about my feelings, my belly, my cravings, my mates, my children, my existence.
So I pushed the doors open gently, already preparing to sigh in relief...and immediately stopped. Because the king was there and not just the king.
The king and his entire council, seated in a half circle, deep in discussion over scrolls and maps and documents I could not even begin to understand, their voices low, serious, focused.
I stood there like a criminal who had just walked into a meeting he absolutely was not invited to.
"Oh," I muttered. "Sorry—"
Because absolutely not! I was already turning to leave when his voice cut through the room.
"Nalia. Stop."
