Erasing the Luna
Darian moved at once, but she lifted one hand slightly, warning him to stay where he was.
The woman who had spoken stood near the eastern steps with two younger women at her back. Rhea knew her by sight, though not well. Maren Thorne, daughter of a lesser council cousin, bonded into a minor Obsidian household and was proud of every thin thread connecting her to power. Before the erasure, Maren had been one of those women who smiled too often and bowed too shallowly, always careful to measure whether Rhea’s authority could be tested without consequence.
Now she looked at Rhea with open contempt sharpened by fear.