MINGAN'S POV
The great hall felt different now. Emptier somehow, despite the crowd of nobles still gathered in their seats. The air buzzed with nervous energy and hushed conversations. Everyone was trying to make sense of what had just happened, but I wasn't surprised. Not really.
I watched the guards help Koda and his newly marked mate out of the hall. The boy could barely stand, his legs shaking with each step. The poison was winning its battle against his system, but he'd accomplished what he set out to do. The girl was alive. Marked. Protected by laws older than most of the people in this room.
Koda had always been impulsive. Passionate. Too much heart, not enough head. But this move, this desperate gambit, it showed he was learning to think like a tactician. He'd backed his father into a corner using weapons Nahuel had forgotten existed.
The old laws. The ancient rights. The foundation upon which Lamia was built.
