SEANThe council hall smelled of old wood and sharper things: anger, fear, expectation. Every bench was filled with a face that either wanted me toppled or my head on a platter. I could feel it in my bones, the room had split clean down the middle, like someone had struck it with an invisible blade. Left for me, right against me. The day before had been loud. Today would be louder.Ryan sat three seats over, his back rigid, that thin tightness around his mouth I’d seen when wolves lied. At first, I thought he had come to stand with me. I’d always assumed him steady, but then I watched him slide, slowly, purposefully, across the aisle and sit with the opposition. The sound of his chair scraping against stone felt like a blade being drawn.A cold sensation washes through me. I’d counted hands wrong. I’d let my guard down. How many more would turn?Torin, carved from too many winters, raised his hand, and the room dropped into a brittle quiet. “We begin,” he said. His voice was an old
Last Updated : 2025-09-27
LOGIN
