The court filtered out the throne room until all that remained was the members of the council, Mabel, Vincent, Karina and Tristan. Karina stepped forward and looked at her son on the throne, staring deep into his eyes. A flurry of emotion ran through her gaze. Pride, fear, worry, joy and sadness. Despite everything, she suppressed it and took another step closer, stopping just before the steps up to the throne and placing a hand on her chest, bowing towards her son.
"If you would excuse me, Your Highness." Karina made sure to be respectful towards Elias with the council still nearby. Although Tristan could see Elias hated the attitude Karina was taking towards him, he said nothing about it, understanding Karina was doing it for his sake.
