Outside the courthouse, the street was boiling with noise.
A few guards in the colors of House Hoar had arrived, their boots clattering against the stone as they pushed through the gathered onlookers. They demanded entry, shouting over one another, but the courthouse guards barred their way.
"The session is sealed. We already had a disturbance today, and no other will be allowed," the lead officer said, his voice flat. "No entry without order of the court."
The Hoar men didn't budge. "We have business inside," one snapped. "A matter of our House."
"Then take it to your Speaker," came the reply.
The Hoar guards exchanged glances but offered no explanation. They knew they couldn't give one that would hold.
Inside, the noise barely reached.
The judge's voice was calm, authoritative, and stern. He quieted the court so that none dared to say another word.
"Sonder, was it?" he said. "Step forward."
She obeyed.
"You have been named as a witness in this proceeding. Before you speak, do you swear that every word you give is true to your sight, your hearing, and your hand?"
"I do," Sonder said.
"Then tell us," the judge continued, "in your own words, what you saw."
Sonder took a breath and told him what she had seen: finding Vhereli in a hidden room in the seat of House Hoar.
The judge studied her face. "You claim this was by your own discovery?"
"Yes."
"No one from House Nesh instructed you to enter House Hoar?"
Sonder hesitated. Her eyes flicked toward Thiliel. The matron met her gaze and gave the smallest shake of her head.
Sonder looked back to the judge. "No one told me to," she said. "I went on my own."
The judge's expression didn't change.
A sort of weight settled on Sonder's heart in that moment.
She had sworn to tell the truth, but breaking that oath was better than breaking faith with Thiliel.
If she named Nesh in this, if she told the judge that Thiliel had sent her to spy and break into Hoar's seat, it wouldn't just destroy the Lady's standing. It would destroy Sonder's chance at everything she'd come for.
Grimalkin.
That name alone was reason enough. She couldn't lose her chance, not when she was this close.
So she stood there, her face calm and her voice steady, while the truth sat heavy behind her for Vell's sake.