Ember
My presence is requested before I can settle in my office the next morning. A junior guard knocks once, tense in the doorway, and hands me the parchment without a word. He turns and leaves before I can ask anything.
I recognize the royal seal immediately.
The King has summoned me.
I read the message twice. There’s no mention of what the meeting is about, but I know. It’s about what happened at the ball.
My pulse begins to race. I take a breath, but it does nothing to slow it. When I arrive, two guards step aside without speaking.
I’m ushered into a formal chamber. The Queen is already seated beside the King, her face unreadable. The King’s posture is stiff, and he does not look pleased.
I bow as instructed. “Your Majesties.”
The King doesn’t invite me to rise. He studies m
