Elena
******Late Night — The Council Chamber, Inner Keep*****
The candles had burned low by the time I realized how long we’d been arguing.
Not shouting.
Not threatening.
Just… refusing to back down.
The council chamber smelled of wax, ink, and tired wolves. Scrolls were spread across the long table, some old enough to have edges worn soft by decades of hands that had never questioned them. Laws. Borders. Rules written by people long dead, meant for a world that no longer existed.
I stood at the head of the table, hands flat against the wood.
“They’re not guests,” I said evenly. “They live here.”
One of the elders cleared his throat. “They were rogues, Your Majesty.”
“They are people,” I replied.
A low murmur moved through the room.
Across the table, Finn leaned back in his cha
