The session ended not with a verdict, but with a delay. "Further deliberation required," they claimed. But I knew what it meant.
Reina had won this round.
I walked out into the cold corridor, the chill a sharp contrast to the heat of the chamber. Beside me, Seriena followed in silence. She didn't speak until the echo of the courtroom faded.
"You should've seen their faces."
"I did. That was the problem."
I expected fear, confusion, even doubt. But what I saw was satisfaction.
Satisfaction that they had a name to circle. Mine.
We returned to our quarters late. Inside, a single letter awaited me—unmarked, sealed in violet wax. I broke it open.
"There is a way to end this." "Meet me. Midnight. The west tower."
No name. But I knew the handwriting.
The prince.