" Oh, stop playing victim. You had this coming. "
Elizabeth laughs, throws her head back and laughs and laughs and laughs until her stomach is sore and tears are beading in the corners of her eyes. Laughs because gods, he’s more right than he knows, a thousand times more, because she wishes he was wrong, because he’s right, she’s been playing the victim and manipulating them for her own gain.
Laughs, because crying is weakness and even if it’s all she wants to do, she has to laugh and mock and smile with sharp teeth instead. “Oh, King,” she says, and it sounds almost wistful, almost kind. “I’ve had this coming for millennia now. You’re just the latest in a long line of people making it happen.”