The leaders, especially, felt it keenly. They too had expected him to leverage the previous matriarchs sacrifices.
They had braced themselves for it, prepared themselves for the inevitable manipulation.
But he had not. He had not mentioned their mothers, their grandmothers, their ancestors.
He had left them out of it entirely
Realising this, the queen of the mermaids nodded slowly, her tail swishing in the water, her scales catching the light.
"He is different." She murmured to herself. "He is truly different."
The queen of the orcs smirked, a grudging respect in her eyes that she would never admit to aloud.
"Not bad." She cracked her knuckles and nodded. "Not bad at all."
The giants cast approving gazes, almost imperceptible, but unmistakable to those who knew how to read them.
The goblin queen looked expectant, her tiny hands clasped in front of her, her eyes shining with something that looked like hope.
