Olivia’s POV
The road to the council felt longer than it already was, as if every mile stretched us thinner. The morning air bit at my cheeks; my hands were numb inside my gloves, but the chill gave me something else—focus. Cold cleared the mind. It sharpened thought into a weapon.
Lucas rode beside me, silent but present, and his silence steadied me more than any speech could. Marcus and two warriors flanked us like living ramparts. Ava rode a little behind, the packet from the mill stowed beneath her cloak. We had turned a courier in the middle of dawn, pulled string in the right pantries, and wrenched at the seams of Emily’s tapestry of lies. That was the plan. Find the seam, pull it wide, let truth spill out and stain her craft for what it was.
It was simple on paper. Simple never s
