The silence only lasted a second or maybe two. Long enough for my last words to settle like ash on the glossy floor of the council chamber. Long enough for me to lock eyes with Esteban and see, just for a flicker, that I'd shaken him.
And then, the shouting started all at once.
It wasn't like a crescendo, or like a murmur building into a storm… no. It hit like a thunderclap. One second, there was silence. The next, the entire council chamber erupted.
"You have no right to accuse us of this nonsense!"
"This is slander!"
"She's trying to poison the pack against its own leaders!"
"Emotional theatrics! That's all this is!"
"This is defamation—!"
"She's unwell, clearly delusional!"
"How dare she bring witchcraft into this room…!"
"Unverified claims!"
Voices overlapped. Spit flew. Parchment slapped against tables. One of them actually stood up and pounded the edge of his chair like some kind of medieval toddler.
