Everyone looked at me as if I had just spat on her face.
But the guards stopped. She had waved them to stay their advance.
I took a breath.
"I made a vow to myself a very long time ago. This neck will break before it bends."
I touched my throat.
"This neck will split apart from ego before it learns to fear anyone. And it has been like this from the very start. From the moment I drew my first breath in this world."
I looked around the room. At all the nobles staring at me with hatred and disbelief.
"Never bowed. Never begged. Not in front of anyone."
I pointed at the count writhing on the floor.
"Not even to him. Not even to his sons when they bullied me for refusing. When they beat me for my defiance."
I swept my gaze across the crowd. "Not to any nobility until now. Not to any king. Not to any emperor."
I looked up. "Not even to gods."
The room was deathly silent. "My knees touch the ground for one woman only."
I paused.
"My queen. My god. My everything."
