King Astarion advanced through the corridors of the palace with a heavy, almost mechanical step.
The torches projected flickering shadows on the stone walls which seemed to follow him, like mute reproaches.
His mind was in tumult.
Bryan's voice still echoed in his head.
His look.
His anger.
His challenge.
Arriving in front of the heavy doors of his room, he pushed them open without announcing his presence.
"Astarion?"
She was there.
Sitting near the window, draped in a dress of nocturnal hues, the queen raised her head. Her dark hair, streaked with a few silver threads, fell in soft waves over her shoulders. His eyes, a deep gray mixed with blue, were lively, attentive... and tired.
"Selene," he said, closing the door behind him.
He ran a hand over his face, visibly tense.
—Your son... crossed the line today.
She frowned, straightening up slightly.
—Bryan?
- Yes. He challenged me. Before the Council.
He dared to raise his voice against me...and worse, he exposed his private life in front of the Elders.
Selene slowly placed her work on the table.
— His private life?
Astarion sighed, annoyed.
— He is in a relationship with a hybrid.
They even have… a child.
At these words, Selene stood up abruptly.
—A child? she repeated, her voice tense.
Explain yourself. Right away.
Taken aback, Astarion looked away.
— I… I saw them in the courtyard.
The little one came to pick him up. She didn't even know that her father was a prince.
Selene remained frozen for a moment. Then his eyes lit up.
—So you met her.
"That's not the point, Selene. The problem is Bryan's behavior—
"No," she snapped.
The problem, Astarion, is you.
He was silent.