The chamber bled out as if it were a wound. Councilors spilled into side halls in heated clumps, their voices low but tinged with panic. Some turned round and looked at me with what seemed to be a mixture of suspicion and awe, as if they were not quite sure whether they should applaud or run.
I didn’t move. My hands were still shaking though I pressed them hard at my sides, as if to conceal the tremor. The shadows within me slithered like animals, restless and angered by their confinement.
Wren was nearby, close enough to feel the slow cadence of his breathing. He hadn’t uttered a word since the storm broke.
Arabella, naturally, remained. Her gown rustled against the marble as she made a circle around me, like a vulture tasting the last warm beat of a dying beast.
“You’ve surprised the
