Drakovitch's laughter was a physical force, a deep, booming sound that seemed to vibrate the very stones of the courtyard. It wasn't the laugh of a man insulted, but of a predator who had found a flaw in his prey's logic.
"Unethical madness?"
His silver eyes gleamed with an amusement as he studied her flushed face, his gaze tracing the war paint that now marked her as royalty.
"You dare say that with such confidence? Tell me... Princess."
His voice dropped into something slower, almost teasing.
"Was it also unethical madness when you dressed yourself as one of my mothers?"
Gin's eyes widened for the briefest second. Drakovitch did not miss it.
"You stood in that line with them. Hundreds of women waiting their turn. You walked through my grand nursery halls. You ate what they ate. Bathed where they bathed."
His smirk deepened.
"You lived among them. You breathed the same air. Pretended to be one of them."
Gin's jaw tightened, heat rushing into her face.
