The first shout came from a man near the front. "Where is the queen?"
Then another. "Did you betray us?"
Another, from somewhere farther back. "Are demons ruling Celestia now?"
Lara shifted behind her.
Sarisa did not turn. She only lifted one hand higher.
Her chain magic flickered around her wrist, silver and controlled, not striking, not threatening. Just present. A reminder that she was not powerless. That she had never been.
The crowd began to quiet.
Slowly.
Unwillingly.
But they quieted.
Sarisa drew in one breath.
"My people," she said.
Her voice carried through the courtyard, amplified by the balcony's old magic. The same balcony where her mother had once announced festivals, treaties, victories, laws.
The same balcony where Sarisa had stood as a child beside the queen, learning how to smile without moving too much.
Now she stood alone at the front.
No.
Not alone.
Never alone again.
"I know you are afraid," she continued. "I know you are angry. I know many of you woke today to rumors so terrible they seem impossible."
A murmur moved through the crowd.
Sarisa let it pass.
"Yesterday, before witnesses from the Celestian realm, the Demon Realm, and neutral kingdoms, evidence was presented against Queen Marena."
The use of her mother's name hit the courtyard like a dropped stone.
Not Mother.
Not Her Majesty.
Queen Marena.
"She has been accused of crimes against sacred law, royal law, and life itself. Forbidden experimentation. False testimony. Theft of demonic essence. Abuse of a child created through illegal magic. And plans to use my blood without my consent to create an heir bound to her will."
This time, the crowd did not merely murmur.
It broke.
Gasps, cries, denial, horror. A woman near the middle stumbled, caught by someone beside her. Several guards exchanged shaken looks.
A priest covered his mouth with both hands. The noble houses nearest the stairs began whispering fast, their polished control unraveling thread by thread.
Sarisa waited.
She forced herself to wait.
Her heart was beating so hard she felt it in her fingers. Lara was still behind her, silent as a blade. Malvoria stood farther back with Elysia, Raveth, and Veylira, letting this be Sarisa's moment.
That mattered.
It terrified her.
It also strengthened her.
When the noise dipped again, Sarisa spoke.
"I did not want to believe it either."
The courtyard stilled.
For the first time, her voice trembled.
Only a little.
Enough to be real.
"She is my mother. She raised me. She taught me duty. She taught me that the realm must come before desire, before comfort, before fear." Sarisa's fingers tightened on the balcony railing.
"But duty is not obedience to corruption. Loyalty is not silence before cruelty. And love for one's realm must never mean sacrificing its children."
A different kind of silence fell now.
Heavier.
Listening.
"The queen has not been executed. She has not been hidden. She is alive, detained, and will face trial before a lawful tribunal. The evidence will be examined. Witnesses will be heard. Those who helped her will be arrested and judged according to law."
Someone shouted, "And you? Are you queen now?"
Sarisa looked toward the voice.
"No," she said clearly. "Not crowned. Not yet."
The honesty startled them. She saw it ripple across their faces.
"I will not steal the throne in confusion. I will not do what she did and call force destiny. Until the formal coronation can take place and the council confirms emergency succession, I will serve as acting sovereign of Celestia."
A murmur rose again, but not as violently.
Sarisa continued before fear could reclaim them.
"I am not asking you to forget your fear. I am asking you to watch what I do with mine."
The crowd seemed to lean toward her.
"My first acts will be these: secure the archives, protect the innocent, arrest those involved in the queen's forbidden projects, and ensure no child, noble or common, Celestian or not, is ever treated as a vessel for another person's ambition."
Her voice strengthened.
"The realm will not fall because truth was spoken. The realm falls only when lies are allowed to rule."
Behind her, Lara's presence warmed through the bond, fierce and proud.
Sarisa lifted her chin.
"You have seen my mark."
A wave of whispers.
"Yes. I am mated to Lara of the Demon Realm."
The courtyard erupted again, but Sarisa did not wait this time.
"And I chose it."
That silenced them harder than any chain could have.
"I was not forced. I was not enchanted. I was not stolen into love. I chose her because she stood for me when my own mother tried to turn me into an instrument. I chose her because she protected my daughter. I chose her because she saw me not as a crown, not as a womb, not as a duty, but as a person."
The crowd was quiet now.
Truly quiet.
"I know many of you fear demons because you were taught to. I was taught the same. But fear taught by liars deserves to be questioned."
Malvoria, behind her, whispered, "Oh, I like her."
Elysia probably elbowed her.
Sarisa's mouth almost curved, but she held herself steady.
"I will protect Celestia. Not by closing it tighter around old prejudice, but by making it stronger, cleaner, and braver. I will not ask you for blind trust today. I will earn it."
A child's voice rose from somewhere near the front. "Is Princess Aliyah safe?"
Sarisa's heart cracked open.
"Yes," she said, softer now. "Princess Aliyah is safe. So is the child used in the queen's false trial. They are both under protection."
A sound moved through the crowd then. Not joy. Not relief exactly. Something gentler. A loosening.
Sarisa placed one hand over her heart.
"I will speak with the council now. By nightfall, a full statement will be released. By tomorrow, arrests will begin. By the end of this trial, every person in this realm will know the truth."
She let her gaze move over them all.
"I cannot promise an easy road. But I promise you this: I will not rule through fear. I will not hide behind sacred words while committing profane acts. And I will not abandon Celestia."
Silence.
Then one person knelt.
An old woman near the fountain, trembling, hand pressed to her chest.
Then a guard.
Then a priest.
Then another.
The motion spread slowly, unevenly, not like obedience, but like a decision traveling from body to body.
Sarisa stood frozen.
Below her, the crowd bowed.
Not all.
But enough.
Enough to begin.
When she stepped back from the balcony, her legs almost gave out.
Lara caught her at once.
"You did it," Lara whispered.
Sarisa breathed shakily. "Not yet."
"No," Lara said, smiling. "But you started."
The council chamber waited.
It was colder than the balcony, and far less forgiving. Twelve council members sat around the silver crescent table, faces pale, furious, frightened, calculating.
For two hours they questioned her. About evidence. About succession. About demon involvement. About Lara. About the queen's detention. About law, optics, stability, trials, borders, bloodlines.
Sarisa answered.
Not perfectly.
But firmly.
When they tried to corner her, Veylira supplied legal precision. When one councilor insulted Lara, Raveth smiled until he apologized.
When a loyalist accused the Demon Realm of staging everything, Malvoria asked whether he preferred to read the queen's signature aloud himself. Elysia spoke rarely, but each time she did, the room settled.
And Lara stayed beside Sarisa through all of it.
At last, the eldest councilor rose.
He looked old enough to remember better rulers and tired enough to want one.
"Until formal coronation," he said, voice rough, "the council recognizes Princess Sarisa as acting sovereign of Celestia."
One by one, the councilors stood.
Some reluctantly.
Some with visible relief.
All of them bowed.
Then, together, their voices filled the chamber.
"Long live Princess Sarisa."