The Emperor dragged in a breath through his teeth. Blood ran from his nose down over his mouth. The crown still lay on the steps below him.
"Gloria…" he forced out.
"You are betraying the kingdom."
Gloria looked down at him as if he had said something dull.
"Betraying the kingdom?" She shrugged. "You did that the moment you decided to ally with another species."
The Emperor's eyes widened, then narrowed again, fury trying to climb back through the pain.
"You think the court will accept this? You think my master..."
"And before you say anything," Gloria cut in, "if you think I'm scared of that old man, you're dead wrong."
The hall stayed down.
'Old man?' Gray raised an eyebrow at her words.
His gaze moved from Gloria to the empty space behind the throne, then back again.
'Is she talking about her own grandfather?'
If she was, then the Emperor's last card was not the court, and it was not the elves.
