Sylceris took a breath, held it for a moment, and then started talking.
"The Umbral Blade has been planning something for a long time," she said. "Longer than I've been at this academy. Longer than most of the operatives here have been involved. What happened at your wedding, the assassination attempt, that wasn't the plan. That was a handful of zealots acting on their own, thinking they could accelerate the timeline. The real plan is bigger. Much bigger."
Aegis stayed still, her arms crossed, her expression neutral. She didn't interrupt. She didn't react. She just listened.
"The Starlight Ball," Sylceris said. "Three weeks from now."
[Oh, fuck.]
"Every Great House leader will be in attendance. Duchess Evangeline, Duke Cindergrave, Lady Cassandra, all of them. Plus Princess Talia, the Headmistress, senior faculty, church officials, foreign dignitaries."
