SEEDS OF DEFIANCEXENIA’S POVThe first act of defiance did not come from me.It came from a kitchen boy named Lio.He could not have been older than sixteen, thin and sharp-eyed, always moving too fast as if someone might scold him for slowing down.That morning, the council sent an order that the west wing was to receive no additional food rations until further notice. It was an attempt to cut my circle off quietly, to remind everyone who truly held the resources.But when I entered the study, I found a basket of warm bread and dried fruit waiting for me. A small folded note rested on top:“They said not to, but I don’t care.”CATTY’S POVWhen Xenia read the note, she smiled faintly — not with amusement, but with something closer to pride.“Lio did this,” I said. “He could get in trouble.”“Then we will make sure he is not alone if he does,” she replied.That was when I realized that this was no longer just about survival. People were starting to choose her, even at risk to themselv
THE COUNCIL REACTSXENIA’S POVThe summons came at dawn.A messenger knocked sharply on the study door, carrying a sealed note stamped with the council’s crest.Attendance required. Immediate.I stared at it for a long moment before setting it aside.They were not calling me out of respect. They were calling me because they were afraid.CATTY’S POVShe dressed with no rush, no nervousness.“They will try to provoke you,” I warned her as I tied the dark blue cloak at her shoulders.“They will try,” she agreed. “But I have nothing to prove to them anymore.”She left the study with her head high, and I felt the quiet strength she carried like a shield.RICO’S POVWhen we entered the chamber, Cerra was already speaking.“The palace is divided,” she said, her voice crisp. “And division weakens us. We cannot have two centers of command.”Her eyes slid toward Xenia, but Xenia didn’t flinch.She simply took her place near the back of the room, standing where they had once tried to erase her.
WHISPERS OF LOYALTYXENIA’S POVBy the third day, the palace felt different.The council still held its meetings, still issued orders, but I noticed something subtle: fewer people were rushing to carry those orders out. Tasks that once seemed urgent now felt delayed, as if everyone was waiting to see what I would say first.It was not defiance. Not yet.It was a quiet hesitation, a shift of weight.CATTY’S POVI first heard it in the laundry wing. Two maids stood near the window, folding sheets, whispering in low voices.“Did you hear she’s helping Brin with the village routes?” one said.“She’s doing what the council refuses to do,” the other replied. “That’s what I heard.”When they noticed me, they quickly went silent, but I could see it in their eyes.This was no longer gossip.It was something closer to belief.REYNA’S POVThe letter from the villages arrived that afternoon.Not addressed to the council.Addressed to her.It was a simple note of thanks:“We received the medicine.
THE CIRCLE GROWSXENIA’S POVThe next morning, I was at the table before sunrise. The room was cold and quiet, the fire nothing more than fading embers. I relit the candles and sat there, listening to the stillness.I wondered how long it would take for others to come back — if they would at all. But I did not have to wonder for long.Brin was the first.He walked in without knocking, a bundle of herbs tucked under his arm. He placed them gently on the table. “The winter cough is spreading,” he said. “The council hasn’t approved more supplies, but I will not wait on them. If you want, I will make the medicine myself.”I nodded. “Do it. We will send what we can to the villages.”His face softened. “Good. I was hoping you would say that.”CATTY’S POVReyna came next, carrying a roll of parchment she had taken from one of the scribe rooms. She unrolled it across the table without a word and began marking the southern roads with charcoal.“Two caravans were stopped by hunters near the bor
A TABLE OF HER OWNXENIA’S POVI did not return to the council chamber.Instead, I asked Brin, Reyna, Catty, and Elric to meet me in the study the next morning.There was no ceremony.No grand plan.Just bread, tea, and a single table I had cleared of everything but a map.When they arrived, I told them, “This is where we begin.”I did not mean rebellion.I meant something simpler.A place where truth could be spoken without fear of being erased.CATTY’S POVThe table was small.Not even polished.One leg was uneven, and we had to fold a piece of parchment to keep it from rocking.But it felt different.Solid in a way the council’s table never had.There was no hierarchy here.Xenia sat with us, not above us.And that made the air lighter, the space easier to breathe in.REYNA’S POVThe first meeting was quiet.No agendas.No orders.Xenia asked one question:“What do you see that I cannot?”Brin spoke about the villages. Catty spoke about the staff. I spoke about the whispers still m
BREAKING QUIETXENIA’S POVThe council made their first open move on a cold morning.I arrived for the weekly updates only to find my seat gone.Not moved.Not left empty.Gone.A smaller table had been placed to the side, with one chair, a carafe of water, and nothing else. It was not a gesture of inclusion. It was a statement.Cerra did not look at me when I entered.Graythorne’s face was unreadable.I stood there, not moving toward either table.Not giving them the satisfaction.CATTY’S POVThe room was so quiet that I could hear the scrape of a quill from the back row.Xenia did not flinch.She did not sit in the lesser seat.She just stood there, looking at them, until the silence became heavier than the insult itself.Finally, Elder Verin cleared his throat and said, “We do not need this theater. The Luna remains present.”The tension snapped like a thin string.RICO’S POVWhen she walked out of the meeting, I was waiting in the hall.“They are trying to break you,” I said.She