The chains were heavy, but the sound of Julian’s laughter was heavier.
"Drag her out," Julian commanded, his voice dripping with an almost intoxicating arrogance as the guards stepped forward to seize Evadne. He didn't even look at her anymore; his eyes were already fixed on the high, arched ceilings of the chamber, as if he could already see his own royal banners hanging from the rafters. "Do not let her southern blood stain the carpets. Throw her into the dampest cell beneath the North Tower and let the frost take her fingers before the gallows take her neck."
Dowager Duchess Vane stepped forward, her stiff velvet skirts sweeping past Alistair’s motionless form with an icy, dismissive rustle. She looked down at the pale, still face of her eldest nephew, her expression entirely devoid o
