The council chamber followed her long after she left it, not the words or the decisions, but the feeling of being seen while still not being understood.
Silver walked the corridors slowly, her steps measured, as though moving too fast might fracture something already unstable inside her. Ronan stayed beside her, close enough that she could feel his warmth without it pressing in on her.
For once, the presence didn’t help, she felt off, not panicked or dizzy, just wrong.
“You did well,” Ronan said quietly as they passed beneath an archway heavy with carved runes. “You didn’t let them talk over you.”
Silver exhaled. “I don’t know if that makes me stronger or just more exposed.”
Ronan smiled faintly. “Both can be true.”
They reached the courtyard, the sunlight spilled across the stone, i
