-Mayla-
My father was as I had expected, though I had hoped that Laelia’s uncle being human would be enough to sway him. But that didn’t seem to be the case.
I stared at him for a long moment as he sat there in his chair, smiling. He always seemed to enjoy having the upper hand, or perhaps he just wanted to demonstrate how little value he placed on me.
“What do you want, Father?” I asked. “You already seem to have everything.”
“Everything except my daughter,” he replied.
“What?”
“Yes, my daughter is not at home where she should be,” he said.
“You handed me over to the queen!”
“She was the queen,” he said calmly. “Did you expect me to refuse?”
“I expected you to put up more of a fight!”
“Well, I had a business to attend to.”
“Yes, your real ‘child’ that you like to care for an
