The Price of Freedom

KAELIA'S POV

My declaration sent shockwaves through the massive hall. The silence that followed was heavy and suffocating. Every lord, every advisor, and every guard stared at me in pure horror, as if I had just spit on their sacred altar. Nobody dared to breathe.

Lady Odelia broke the tension. She stepped out from the shadows near the king's dais, adjusting her intricate silk gown. "Your Majest