She had been installed on a platform in front of the quarter-circle rostrum where the judges would sit. She stood elevated above the surrounding spectators, forced to stand while the chamber filled. They had lined up before dawn by the thousands, and the chamber had filled quickly.
She stood exposed above the crowd, her gaze fixed to the chair that Yashodha Vayal would occupy, attempting to meditate. Members of the Guardian Assembly began to file in, last among them the four protégés, and finally the interim Protector herself, Yashodha.
A last entrant hurried to the quarter-circle rostrum to fill the fifth protégé seat.
Jayani went white. The seat had been filled by Malik Kafur.
Somehow she kept her gaze on the Protector, her mind swirling with the implications.
The low rumble of asse
