"What kind of provocation?" Kieran's voice is tight.
"They'll question her fitness as a mother. Suggest that divine-blooded children should be raised under Council supervision for their own safety. They'll imply that her rejection by Alpha Blackthorn indicates some fundamental flaw." Helena looks at me directly. "They'll be cruel, Isla. It's their strategy. Make you emotional, make you react, then use that reaction as proof you can't be trusted with your own autonomy."
The anger that rises in me is hot and immediate. "They're going to use my children as weapons."
"They're going to try." Helena softens slightly. "Which is why we prepare. We anticipate every attack, craft responses that are calm and factual, and make you impossible to rattle. By the time you walk into that chamber, you'll
