Elise's POV
The council hall was colder than I remembered, and it wasn’t just the temperature. The air was heavy with tension, an invisible weight pressing down on my shoulders. The quiet murmur of voices halted the moment the soft creak of my wheelchair broke the silence, its wheels rolling over the polished wooden floor.
I forced myself to hold my head high, even as I felt the stares pinning me in place. Some were full of pity, others brimming with judgment. None of them were welcome. Beside me, Connor walked with steady strides, his presence grounding me, as though it might soften the blow of whatever awaited me.
“It’s just a formality,” he had told me earlier that day. His tone had been calm, but there was a shadow of discomfort in his eyes. “Morgana insisted it was the proper thing
