Further suggestions:

Name Etheon the first time you mention him. Otherwise there's the man who loved her, and then Etheon, and we have to wonder a moment if they're the same man.

Nits:

How did he know the accusations were aimed at the king's head? How about "at the king."

he cut in, -> he cut in.

I don't think he'd say "Because I executed children?" Think about who he is. If he's a sociopath, he might just shrug it off with "Children aren't useful." If he has a conscience he's beaten down, he might offer an excuse. But as it is it seems the only point in him saying this is to inform the reader. Let us see what _his_ reason is, too.

I was slightly confused at "the man who loved her", I would suggest that you make sure that the connection is understandable. One other thing that I was slightly confused over is the King. I was under the impression that the king and Etheon were the same person.

Otherwise, good job!

In contrast to the first opening, this one gives me much more a sense of place and purpose. I know much more about the characters and the situation which is what allows me to care. Ironically, suspense is created by knowing exactly what is going on and caring -- rather than being unsure about what is going on.

Now that I've said all that, I'll go through the new opening and give further suggestions for improvement:

"Ivorria’s voice was usually musical and light, but that night it sent chills down the spine of the man who loved her."

"sent chills down the spine" is not my biggest concern in this sentence. IMHO, this is one of those things that, if it sounds cliche, only does so because it is such a perfectly appropriate image so much of the time. I've had chills run down my spin...we all have...and when that happens to your characters you should say so. I've always been of the opinion the cliches are bigger than one line and that cliched phrasing only becomes a problem when it overwhelms your story.

That said, I think this is one of those sentences that can get better with a little more practice. It's not actively bad it's just not actively good, and I think it is particularly important for first sentences to sing. For one thing, I think this is one of those sentences that would be stronger if you found a way to eliminate the being verb...was. A comma would do it here: "Ivorria's voice, usually musical and light, ..."

Also, even though I don't mind the cliche, I tripped over the "sent chills down the spine of the man who loved her" part because it's just so many words to describe a simple thing. You could reduce it to "sent chills through the man who lvoed her" or "chilled the man who loved her" or you can tell us about the man loving her in another sentence and just say her voice was chilling.

" Even muffled, as Etheon heard it through the door, it came across sharp and harsh as she hurled accusations at the king’s head. "

Once again, I think you may be using too many words. "as Etheon heard it through the door" is the part that really sticks for me. I seem to recall a similiar sentence in the previous version and the difference here is the name...I'm glad you are putting his name in sooner in the story and I think before you use another pronoun to describe him you should use his name, but I don't think you need either pronoun or name in this sentence. "Even muffled by the door, it came across..." The part about hearing it through the door is redundant. Your POV character must have heard it through the door or it wouldn't have been muffled by the door.

In a separate issue, "sharp and harsh" is grammatically incorrect, I believe. If I'm reading this sentence right than those are adverbs use to describe how the voice came across, in which case it should be "sharply and harshly" although, if it were me, I would pick one.

“How heartless, brutal, and unfeeling a man can you be? I’ve not said a word against you in the past, my lord, but have turned a blind eye to the cruelties you use to run this kingdom, but I cannot ignore what went on yesterday…it is beyond anything human.”

KIn the second sentence here, it seems that the speaker says the same thing twice..."I've not said a word against you in the past" and "have turned a blind eye to the cruelties you use to run this kingdom" I would try to combine that into one though. As this seems to be an educated woman, I would believe her to be well spoken and concise. I also suggest the word "inhuman" to sum up "beyond anything human".

“Because I executed children?” he cut in, ***should be a period***

“They ***there??*** are now just that many less griping ***are you sure gripping is the right word?*** cursing peasant mouths to feed.”

***new paragraph...always change paragraphs when you change speakers or actors***Nothing but an audible gasp from the lady.

***new paragraph*** He went on, “And what would you have me do otherwise?”

Well he sure is a bastard, isn't he?