“They’re coming for you — even here, in the heart of the council chamber.”
The words dropped into the council hall like cold water. For a moment the murmurs swallowed themselves and the room felt smaller, as if the high windows and banners leaned inward to listen. I turned toward the servant who had spoken, though I already knew her face — pale and shaken, hair pinned too tight, hands trembling with the weight of news. Her eyes darted from Rowan to me and back again like a trapped bird. The chamber filled with a brittle, electric silence; every breath felt loud enough to betray a secret.
Rowan’s smile thinned the instant he heard that one sentence. The practiced warmth drained from his face and left only a ruler’s focus, sharp and controlled. He straightened as if someone had tugged at t
