"Giana!""Giana!"Diana and Hilda helped Giana inside and settled her into a chair.People liked to say strength appeared when it was needed, but that was only another way of describing endurance. If a woman had the luxury of staying gentle, none of them would choose to grow thorns.They had barely caught their breath and managed only a few hurried sips of water when slow, deliberate applause echoed from outside."That's the Chamberlain women for you. That kind of backbone doesn't come from nowhere."They looked up. Hilda let out a delighted cry. "Amara!"Amara stepped through the doorway at her own pace, completely unhurried."Amara!" Diana and Giana echoed the greeting, but unlike Hilda's excitement, their voices carried something else: wariness.Giana pulled away from Hilda's support and got to her feet. "Amara, what brings you here?"Amara walked inside without waiting for an invitation. She swept her gaze over the room, let out a quiet sound of contempt, and pressed her
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