The stone beneath my knees was freezing, rough edges biting through the thin, torn fabric of my pants, but the ice settling inside my chest was far worse.
Crouched inside the suffocating, dust-choked darkness of the stone ventilation passage, I pressed my cheek flat against the rusted iron grate. My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird, each rapid thud echoing in my ears as I tried to control my ragged breathing. Sweat mixed with the dried blood on my forehead, stinging my eyes, but I didn't dare move a muscle to wipe it away. Below me lay the private balcony alcove behind the High Sovereign Chamber and the voices rising from it were laced with sheer, unadulterated panic.
"I won't do it! You can't make me! I would rather die!" Tanya’s shriek shattered the heavy silence, sha
