Outside the grand coronation hall, the velvet lined doors closed behind them with a soft, echoing thud, silencing the murmurs and music of nobility within.
The torch lit hallway was quieter, cooler, but the tension between Abel and Jane burned hotter than ever.
Abel didn't say a word at first. He just kept walking, his grip on Jane's wrist firm but not rough, his jaw tight. Jane, still fuming, tried to shake him off.
"What are you doing?" she snapped. "You saw how she was eating and hiding, how can that be a princess?!"
Abel finally stopped and turned around, his eyes dark with something Jane rarely saw on his face, disappointment.
"Do you even hear yourself right now?" he said, his voice low but cutting. "That was the second princess. Nnenna. And you humiliated her, in front of the entire continent."
Jane flinched.
"But, but I thought she was—"
