The royal court of Veyl was silent.
Painfully silent.
Hundreds of nobles stood in perfect rows, dressed in black, silver, and deep violet. The air was heavy with magic, authority, and the unspoken understanding that saying the wrong thing here could get you executed.
Eli stood in the center of it all.
He immediately knew he was doing something wrong.
Nyx sat upon the obsidian throne, one hand resting casually on the armrest, the other supporting her chin. From the outside, she looked calm. Regal. Terrifying.
From the bond's faint emotional feedback, Eli could feel her irritation ticking upward like a badly calibrated meter.
A lot, he thought. She's irritated a lot.
"Step forward," Nyx commanded.
Eli stepped forward.
Too far.
He stopped abruptly, realizing he was now standing close enough to the throne that several nobles visibly flinched.
Nyx's fingers twitched.
"Two steps back," she said flatly.
Eli stepped back.
Only one step.
Nyx closed her eyes for half a second.
"…Two."
"Oh. Right. Two."
He stepped back again, nearly bumping into a court mage.
A ripple of whispers spread through the hall.
Nyx leaned forward slightly and muttered, barely moving her lips,"You bow. Now."
Eli bowed.
Too deeply.
His forehead nearly touched the floor.
"That's… excessive," Nyx said.
He straightened quickly. "Sorry. First time not being executed."
Several nobles gasped.
Nyx pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Do not speak unless addressed," she hissed quietly.
"Got it."
He paused.
"…Am I allowed to say 'got it'?"
Nyx's eye twitched.
The High Chancellor cleared his throat nervously. "Your Majesty, is this… man truly the one bound to you?"
Nyx lifted her gaze, cold and sharp. "Yes."
A wave of pressure rolled through the room.
Eli felt it too—dark, heavy magic brushing against his skin. Instinctively, he adjusted the flow of energy through the bond, stabilizing it like a faulty circuit.
Nyx froze.
Then slowly turned her head toward him.
"What," she asked softly, "did you just do?"
"You were leaking magic," Eli whispered back. "I… fixed it?"
The nobles stared as the Queen's aura visibly settled.
Murmurs exploded across the hall.
Nyx straightened.
"This," she announced, "is Eli."
Pause.
"…My consort."
The court erupted.
"WAIT—WHAT?" Eli blurted.
Nyx shot him a glare sharp enough to kill dragons.
"You smile," she whispered urgently. "Royal consorts smile."
He tried.
It came out wrong.
Several nobles recoiled.
"That was a threat," someone muttered.
Nyx leaned closer, her voice dangerously low."You are embarrassing me."
Eli whispered back, "You announced me as your consort without warning."
"You bound yourself to me without permission."
"…Fair."
The bond pulsed.
Nyx sighed.
This was going to be a long reign.