"Stand down!"
Caelan did not tell them what to do. It came from the stage. Lord Thorne's strained and sharp voice broke the cold quiet. Neither Torrin nor the knife that had fallen caught his eye. He looked at Aerys's closed hand with a pale face.
The royal horn played again, this time louder, from just outside the gates. There was a wave of fear that quickly spread through the pack. An official from the royal family was never seen at the Moonbound Trials. An interruption turned into a sentence.
Aerys did not move. It was heavy to wear. In her mind, she could still hear her mother's song. The hum of the metal was gone, but the air around her felt tense and breakable.
Nyx brought down her practice knife slowly. Her eyes were wide not because she was planning something, but because she w
