The hall shook less with sound, and more with the tightening of unseen strings, pulled taut around every heart present.
Velrosa's refusal to denounce Ian had shattered the opening rites. Now, every noble, every Council member, watched her with new calculation — admiration for her brazenness, or hatred for her foolishness.
Lady Morravel did not so much as flinch.
"The First Claim shall be heard," she said coldly.
From the crowd, a figure moved: tall, wrapped in rich burgundy silks stitched with golden embroidery, his smile as thin and oily as a blade dipped in poison.
Lord Faelric Vallis.
Scion of House Vallis, a serpent in nobleman's skin.
He bowed low — too low — before the Council, before the gathering of the great Houses, and finally before Velrosa herself.
The mockery in it was razor-sharp.
