Wren's POV
Elder Thane brought his cane down on the floor a second time. Silence filled the hall so complete that my own pulse was the only sound I heard.
"Step forward," he ordered. "I will not say it again."
At last my legs worked. All the eyes in the room tracked me as I left my spot in the corner and crossed to the stage. That short distance stretched out longer than any walk of my life. Celeste stayed frozen in the place Kade had left her. Her hand still hung in the air from when she had seized his arm. The white and gold dress she wore suddenly looked like clothing for a part she could no longer play.
"Give me an answer," Thane said. He stared at me the way a man stares at something that just crawled up from the earth.
"There is no answer needed," Kade spoke before I found words
