By the time the final members of Dame Sybyll's impromptu court were seated, everyone in the hall realized that something even more unprecedented than the fall of a single town was happening here.
An Inquisitor sitting next to a Witch, whispering to each other as if they were finding common ground. The heir to the Dunn Barony sat next to the one-armed Demon Lord of Airgead Mountain, not just civilly, but offering to pour wine for the Cat Lord and performing the etiquette of the most junior lord present.
By the time Lord Hugo ascended the dais, the people were sitting on the edges of their seats, paying attention to every single word and gesture as though it might hold a clue to their fates.
"You heard?" Roseen whispered to Cossot as the two women stood beside the dais, awaiting any instructions Dame Sybyll might have for them. "They called him 'Sir Hugo', not 'Lord Hugo.' Why would they do that if Dame Sybyll was still going to embrace him and call him 'cousin'?"
