"Put the crossbow down, Vane, or I will take your head where you stand," Cassian snarled, shifting his body to completely shield me from the surrounding warriors.
Captain Vane didn't flinch. He kept his gray eyes fixed on Cassian while the rest of the guard held their weapons drawn. "I served your father for fifteen years, Prince Cassian," Vane said, his voice cut with a heavy rasp. "I am not here on the High Council's orders."
"You wear their emblem on your armor," Cassian shot back, his blade steady in his grip. "You led their men straight to us."
I pressed my back against the cold stone wall behind us, my fingers scraping against the ruined masonry as I searched for any way out. My hand hit a carved groove hidden beneath a thick patch of vine—a circular mark matching the Queen’s Seal
