HAILEY
The council room was alive—boiling like hot oil. Words scarred the air, each sentence a shell in a back and forth of war. Seated around the huge, round table, the so-called members of our coalition sat firmly in smiles that ranged from scorn, fear, and self-regard: witches with their pointed glares, fae with unreadable sneers, the wolves positioning not to growl, and vampires who seemed to be somewhere else entirely.
I stood at the head of the table, back straight, eyes forward. I was not their queen today, as you might want to know—I was the string that held this frayed thing together.
And it was rending.
"Enough," I snapped, voice ringing like a thrown blade.
Instant effect. Silence overtakes the atmosphere.
At last.
I let the silence hang for a moment, then said, "We will
