The summons came before midday.
A steward in white and silver found me in the guest-wing corridor and bowed. “The High Moon Priest requests your presence in the eastern library. He says the matter cannot wait.”
I followed him. The library was quiet, lined with tall shelves and long tables of polished wood. The High Moon Priest stood near the center, staff in hand. An elderly man with thin white hair and careful posture waited beside him. Alaric was not present.
The Priest wasted no time. “The Council has not yet reached its verdict. That does not change the Goddess’s mark. Until a formal judgment is delivered, you will begin instruction in the customs of the crown. Diplomacy. History. Leadership. If the bond cannot be overturned, the kingdom must not find its potential queen unprepared.
