I was given a clean dress and told to attend the council session without my chain.
Rusk waited outside the throne room. "The council will vote tomorrow."
"On Cora?"
"On whether to confirm her claim."
"And if they reject it?"
"I'll continue to hold emergency authority."
"Until when?"
"Until there's another lawful option."
"There isn't."
"Then the council will have to make one."
I walked beside him, not because I trusted him but because the guards had left me no other route.
The room had been rearranged. The council table stood in a half circle beneath the throne, and Cora waited at its center. I saw two additional men in the second row: the treasurer and the chief archivist. Neither had been present at the earlier meetings.
Cora nodded for me to sit. Rusk remained standing.
"I
