Chapter 51: The King's Justice

"Failure?" I ask as the guards close in around me. I give the throne room a quick glance, but the exits are blocked. There is nowhere to run. "How have I failed you, Your Majesty?"

My Beta and Gamma have both already been restrained, and I watch, helpless, as they are dragged out the room.

"How?" King Tozen says, rising from his throne. His anger is like thunderclouds on his scarred and stern face. "Did you not attend the Moon Goddess Festival as my representative?"

"I did." My whole body tenses as he descends from the dais. Each resounding step he takes down the marble stairs sounds like another nail driven into my coffin.

"And at that festival," he goes on in a deceptively reasonable tone, "was there not an incident? Insurgents, if I remember correctly."

"That's correct, Your Grace."

He stands before me now, just outside the circle of his guards. His closeness sucks the oxygen out of my lungs, leaving them filled with lead.

"And you don't consider that a failure?" he asks. His brow