The words struck like a blade.
I sucked in a breath. “What?”
Clay stiffened. “I cannot.”
Torin arched a brow. “You protect her still?”
“I follow the law,” Clay replied. “Only a council of elders has the authority to imprison or release her.”
Torin scoffed. “Convenient.”
My hands curled into fists. “You want to release her?” I asked. “After everything she’s done? After the lies, the manipulation, the chaos?”
Torin turned back to me. “She is a distraction. A symbol. Keeping her imprisoned only feeds the unrest.”
“And letting her go feeds what?” I demanded. “Her lies? Her ambition?”
“She has already served her purpose,” Torin said coolly.
That was when it hit me.
“You’re afraid,” I said slowly.
Both men looked at me.
“You’re afraid of what she knows,” I continued. “And you’re afr
