SGE His Broken Heart (Sequel to His Darkened Heart)

Chapter 8 Actions are Stronger than Lies

"What about Sophie?" Another ruler blurted, but Rhian couldn't tell where the voice came from. "Wasn't she once loyal to Tedros? Why isn't she by your side now? We must speak with her at once—"

A range of voices arose from the crowd as rulers began to argue amongst themselves, some defending Rhian while others kept asking for Sophie to hear what she had to say. Rhian felt a sudden sense of frustration curl in his gut as he watched chaos unfold. Before a fight could break out, Rhian's fingertip lit up and he shot a flare at the chandelier. Sparks rained down over the rulers' heads and they ducked for cover.

"Cease this arguing," Rhian ordered, his voice sharp as a whip as the rulers slowly arose from their crouched positions to stare up at the king. "Soon, Agatha shall be in my grasp and it is only when she is in my grasp that her and Tedros's fates shall be decided. As for Sophie, she is still adjusting to her duties as Camelot's princess and is very busy planning our upcoming wedding. As soon as her schedule is cleared up, she will speak to all of you. Until than, this meeting is adjourned."

Some of the rulers started to protest but eventually, they all admitted defeat and exited the throne room. Finally alone, Rhian felt his shoulders slacken as he slumped against his throne.

Rhian knew that could've gone better. The meeting could've gone along much smoother than it had and if he'd been a bit more convincing, perhaps he could've persuaded some of the rulers to burn their rings.

But alas, it was too late now. Luckily, there would be plenty of other opportunities to get the rulers to discard their loyalties to the Storian. Rhian could convince them to burn their rings at him and Sophie's blessing, one of the pre-wedding events that's he'd be throwing or at the Festival of Lights. Either way, Rhian had about a week before the wedding to take a few steps closer to claiming the powers of the Storian as his own.

Rhian's thoughts turned to Kei. After hearing that Agatha was missing from the dungeons, Rhian had ordered Kei and a few of his men to head to the School for Good and Evil to capture her and bring her back to Camelot. It was only thanks to a quest map that Rhian had managed to track the runaway princess down.

It'd been last night that Rhian had sent Kei off on his task and by now, it was mid afternoon. Kei and his men should've been back by now  with Agatha in their grasp.

As if on cue, the doors flung open and a battered looking Kei stepped into the throne room, his hair a mess and his eyes downcast like he feared meeting Rhian's gaze.

"Your majesty," Kei addressed him, his tone respectful. But deep in his voice, Rhian detected a hint of unease.

"Report, Kei," Rhian said. "Were you successful in your task?"

Kei finally met Rhian's gaze, and his brown eyes were full of shame that spoke the answer Rhian hadn't wanted to hear.

"What happened, Kei?" Rhian questioned, his voice quivering in barely restrained anger.

"The School's defenses were too strong, Sire," Kei confessed, bowing his head in defeat. "My men tried to break through but were taken out by the magical spells protecting the schools. We couldn't break the enchantments. I'm sorry."

Rhian clenched his jaw, grinding his teeth together in an agonizing manner as he took in this information. A mixture of disappointment and frustration pricked at his heart as he struggled to think of another solution to fix this problem staring him in the face.

Agatha had to be captured. She was still loved throughout the endless woods and with many people still doubting that she could ever be a traitor, it'd only be a matter of time before the princess started gaining allies to build an army against Camelot.