33 Meryn

Cleaned and dressed in Astreonan finery, Meryn’s party arms themselves covertly while Venna confirms the castle offers escape routes but guarded exits that feel like containment. Meryn cautions restraint, leaves Saela with Fredrich, and answers Felippe’s summons to a formal audience.

In the opulent hall, Meryn meets King Lucien Brightbane, ageless and meticulously adorned, crowned with an opal like a Goddess Tear. Stark presses for respect; Lucien’s shallow bow blurs courtesy and slight. Meryn sits beside Lucien to hear him, despite Stark’s advice to take the far end.

For “entertainment,” Lucien presents a duel: Sintar, a Siphon champion, versus the human woman Meryn’s group previously tried to save. Lucien reframes blame for the landlord’s death onto the human, dismissing Stark’s confession under diplomatic immunity. After a short head start, Sintar overwhelms the human, drawing three blood marks to win.

The court applauds as servants also parade scantily clad companions. Sintar claims a victor’s right by licking the human’s blood, while the woman sits vacant on her lap. The scene disgusts Meryn, who recalls her foresight of blood. Lucien pointedly locks eyes with Meryn and bites a consort’s neck, flaunting predation and power.

Meryn leaves the hall with hard clarity: Astreona’s court glamorizes dominance, commodifies humans, and Lucien wields a Goddess Tear, signaling deep resources and threat. The encounter reshapes the stakes of negotiation and steels Meryn against manipulation.