Theron's eyes narrowed slightly, studying her now with a different kind of focus.
Aveline wasn't looking at him.
Her chin was lifted, her shoulders squared, her entire body brimming with defiance as she faced Flora, like a girl who had just thrown the biggest stone she could find and dared the world to do something about it.
And then it clicked.
Ah… Of course…!
A slow, almost amused exhale left him, the tension in his shoulders easing.
It was not truth. She had used a weapon. She hadn't uncovered anything. She had chosen the most outrageous, untouchable claim she could think of, and thrown it like a dagger.
Because if they mocked her, she would mock them harder. If they called him nothing, she would crown him everything.
Theron's lips twitched.
Reckless… Ridiculous… Entirely her.
Flora's laughter cut through again. "The crown prince?" she scoffed. "How convenient. Why not say he's a god while you're at it?"
They laughed more.
