Chapter 16 – Talia’s POV
For a moment, no one moved.
It was like the entire room had forgotten how to.
The elders who had walked in so confidently only minutes ago were already stepping back, one after the other, their shoulders stiff, their eyes flicking toward the door like they were calculating how fast they could get out. Even the seer, who had just been trembling on the floor, had gone quiet.
And Vermont stood in the middle of it all, his gaze locked on the ropes still tied around my ankles.
I shrank back slightly without meaning to.
I had seen him angry before. But not like this.
“I did, I tied her up.” Abena lied, stepping forward.
For a brief second, I thought Vermont would explode.
He didn’t. He just looked at her for a long minute, as if contemplating how to deal with hi
