Kieran's POV
The council chamber was too still.
Not the reverent kind of stillness, the kind that came before wisdom or decision, but the tense, silent ticking of something about to detonate.
Elder Elias sat like stone at the far end of the table, unreadable as ever. To his left, Elder Corwin leaned forward slightly, his fingers steepled beneath his chin. Beside him, Elder Thomas watched with a narrowed gaze, suspicion already clouding his expression. On my right, Julia sat with her back painfully straight, hands clasped in her lap like a princess awaiting coronation.
But this wasn’t a celebration.
It was a war, quietly dressed as diplomacy.
I cleared my throat, the weight of the moment pressing like a mountain against my chest.
“We’ll need to postpone the Sealing Ceremony.”
The si
