"Lyssa, are you insane?!"
The screech cut through the orchestral music like a serrated blade. Vivienne surged forward, her face a mottled mess of purple and ashen white. She'd completely lost the mask of a Duchess, her expensive fan snapped in half within her trembling grip.
"Do you wish to make the Prince a tyrant before he even wears the crown?" Vivenne shrieked, her eyes darting to the King, begging for an intervention. "You… You are bewitching him! You are turning a future Sovereign into a monster who would exile a Saintess for a common insult! Your Majesty, surely you see this! She is poisoning the very blood of the monarchy!"
Selene and Elara stepped up behind her, their faces tight with a mixture of practiced disdain and a very real, very pathetic fear.
"She cannot be allowed to wear the crown if she is already planning to set the kingdom in flames," Selene added, shutting her fan.
