Elara's POV
I stood there in the courtyard, my heart pounding so hard I could hear it in my ears, and looked at Kaelen kneeling in the dirt with a blade pressed against his throat.
The blade. Against his throat. Drawing blood.
Everything else, Thorin's fury, the council's shock, the guards surrounding us, the entire palace in chaos, all of it faded into background noise. The only thing I could see was that blade. The only thing that mattered was getting it away from Kaelen's throat.
"Release. Him. Now. Don't make me repeat myself."
My voice did not sound like my own. It was steel. Cold and hard and absolutely unyielding. Not a request. Not a suggestion. A command.
The guard holding the blade, one of Thorin's men, I noticed, not one of mine, looked at me with uncertainty. His eyes flicked from my face to Thorin's, clearly unsure whose orders to follow.
