"But you are wrong."
The words rasped from the cell, thin and parched, and both Rowan and the Queen snapped their heads toward the sound.
Riley blinked at them from behind the bars, slouched against the wall as if he were on his last breath. He looked convincingly weak, though honestly, the only things that hurt were his wrists. Everything else felt mostly fine, which was odd. Maybe he had a knack for looking pathetic.
"Riley..." Rowan’s voice caught. He had not expected him to wake, much less to speak.
His mind spun with panic. How much had he heard? Could he still be convinced that all of this was just their mother’s desperation?
But instead of raging, instead of demanding answers, Riley tilted his head and murmured, "I don’t know what is happening, or why I am here. But I woke up hearing that Kael would throw away because I’m defective?" His voice sounded wistful, almost resigned, though in truth, every nerve in him wanted to screech until the whole chamber collapsed.
Rowan flinched. His mother’s expression hardened.
Riley sighed, letting his gaze fall to the floor. "While I am sure such people exist, Kael is not one of them."
Well, that was not entirely true. In Riley’s head, he was screaming, ’Of course he is like that! That is exactly why no one can work under him!’
Kael was ruthless. He cut down burdens without blinking. If Riley had been kidnapped years earlier, that lizard probably wouldn’t have even bothered looking for him for too long.
But right now? Right now was different. Because in this particular mont, Riley was weak, inconvenient, and still sohow irreplaceable. That had to count for sothing.
The Queen’s lip curled. "Delusional," she spat. "No man could possibly be like that!"
Oh, so this was personal. Definitely personal.
Fine. If she wanted delusions, he would give her delusions.
Riley straightened just a little, letting his voice carry a touch more warmth. "I do not know how you know him, Your Majesty, but I know him as soone who would take care of when I am sick. He will not sleep. He will guard until I am better."
He winced inwardly. That part was true.
Kael really had stayed by his side through that awful fever; he wasn’t sure what he looked like the entire ti, but for this particular purpose and to draw more emotions out, Riley would just imagine it.
That his golden eyes were shadowed with annoyance and maybe a tiny bit of worry. So tiny—it was maybe microscopic. But it should be there, sowhere.
He just had to make sure not to ntion how the next morning, the bastard teased him for clinging and waking up late. Asshat.
He pushed that mory down and pressed on.
"He is soone who would carry when I am too tired to move."
Well, he would be carried like a sack over one shoulder and flown through air currents that made his stomach roll, but he was carried nonetheless. Add a few embellishnts, polish the edges, and it would sound much better.
Riley kept going, layering it thick. "He would even go against customs and traditions for ."
That much was true, too. Though he was certain Kael went against customs just to irritate people, Riley decided to claim it as a personal gesture.
Finally, he lifted his chin, eting the Queen’s gaze with quiet defiance. "Your Majesty, just because you think I am a burden does not an Kael thinks I am one too."
In his mind, Riley hissed the truth. Of course he does. He definitely thinks I am a burden. But who cares? He signed up for . That makes his problem, and no one else’s.
He leveled a frail yet unyielding glare from behind the bars, and for once, felt satisfied. Let them chew on it.
But unbeknownst to Riley, his words had rattled both the queen and Rowan more than he realized.
To them, the picture he painted sounded wrong. Impossible even. Yet the queen, usually so sharp, now faltered, her tongue stumbling as she tried to deny it.
Unlike earlier, her voice no longer carried the sa weight. Her mind spun with the terrifying possibility—could soone like that truly exist? Kael now looked, in her imagination, like a devoted partner, a figure every soul craved.
Riley noticed the change at once. The weakness he had feigned earlier faded into sothing more pointed, and he pressed his advantage.
"Your Majesty, it may be hard to believe, but if nothing else, I think you understand this. The dragon lord would stop at nothing to get back what is his."
As if summoned by his words, the ground shuddered with a deafening boom. The chamber rattled as dust trickled from the ceiling, the sound sharp and explosive, close enough to feel.
He wasn’t sure where the sound had co from, but it ca right when he needed it.
Riley smirked inwardly as the queen’s eyes widened. That realization—that she was utterly, thoroughly dood—was now plain in her expression.
Ti to drive the nail in.
"I don’t know what’s happening really," Riley said with a weak but earnest lilt, "but I understand you’ve gotten desperate to find the Codex. But I know you’re aware that nothing would be solved if Kael keeps going on a rampage like this just because you refuse to release ."
He dropped the word Codex deliberately, watching Rowan’s face shift. For a heartbeat, the prince’s expression smoothed, but worry soon crept back in.
Good.
Let them think he only knew about the Codex and the kidnapping. If they believed that was all he had overheard, their next move might not be as vicious.
The queen’s voice cracked, her composure finally splitting. "Y-you! You have to get back to , because that weakness and pain won’t go away otherwise. Like you said, we’re desperate. So it’s just a little insurance. B-but it will be fixed the mont he—it’s found!" She fumbled over her words, correcting herself, but the tremor in her tone betrayed her. It was no real threat.
At last, Rowan stepped closer, kneeling slightly to et Riley’s gaze. His voice was heavy, regret thick in every syllable. "Riley, I apologize for this. I didn’t think it would co to this. While I can’t stop you from telling the dragon lord everything, you need to be aware that what has happened to you now isn’t sothing he can solve for you."
Riley’s eyes narrowed, but he stayed quiet as the elven prince tried to make it seem like staying silent about this matter would be the best choice for him.
Rowan pressed on. "If he takes you away in anger, then you won’t get what you need to survive longer. I know it doesn’t make sense, but please keep in touch with my mother daily. I apologize, truly. The mont the dragon lord helps us track the Codex, we will release you both. It is the least I can offer for what you have endured."
To hell with you, Riley thought bitterly. Who in their right mind would release soone who knew every rotten secret they had been hiding? Information like this could ruin them across the continent. They would never let him walk out alive.
But Riley knew better than to spit that truth in their faces. So instead, he dropped his gaze, softened his tone, and muttered, "T-thank you. I don’t know if it’ll be possible... but I’ll try to convince him..."
Inside, though, he was already planning the exact opposite.
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