The charter session was scheduled for midday.
They always did it that way—under open light, high windows thrown wide, banners displayed like reassurance. As if sunlight itself could make a thing honest just by touching it.
By the time I arrived, the chamber was already half full.
Faculty in muted robes. Guild observers wearing polite expressions like masks. Church representatives seated together, hands folded, posture immaculate. Nobles along the upper tiers, some curious, some bored, some already calculating returns.
Seraphina took her place without ceremony.
House Valdris colors were absent—no sigils, no heraldry—but her presence was unmistakable. A quiet statement: I am here even without armor.
Miriam sat two seats away from me.
She looked composed. Pale, but composed. The suppression lattice lay hidden beneath her skin, elegant and cruel in its subtlety. I could feel it faintly, like a wrong note humming just below hearing.
Valentina Cross entered last.
The room stilled.
"This session is convened to formalize the charter recognizing Mr. Theo Ashford as an independent medical authority under academy jurisdiction," she said evenly. "Before we proceed, outstanding concerns will be addressed."
A Church elder rose smoothly, white and gold robes catching the light.
"We request clarification," he said, "regarding recent allegations of coercive influence and ethical deviation."
I didn't look at him.
I stood.
"You will have clarification," I said. "But not the kind you're used to controlling."
A ripple went through the benches.
Valentina lifted a brow. "Proceed."
I turned—not to the elder, not to the Guild—but to Miriam.
"Professor Thorne," I said. "May I?"
She nodded once.
I placed my hand lightly over her wrist.
The warmth rose instinctively—and struck the lattice.
Not hard.
Not enough to trigger.
Just enough to make it visible.
The air shivered.
A faint geometric pattern surfaced over Miriam's skin, lines of pale gold intersecting in precise symmetry. Gasps broke out across the chamber.
"That," I said clearly, "is a Church-issued compliance lattice."
The elder's face went still.
"That is a fabrication," he said sharply.
"Then explain the signature," Lyra's voice cut in from the side gallery. She leaned over the rail, eyes bright. "Because it's yours. Same harmonic, same suppression protocol. Even uses your favorite fail-safe loop."
Murmurs swelled.
Valentina's gaze sharpened. "Elder?"
He opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
Miriam spoke then, voice steady despite the hum under her skin.
"I was visited this morning by a Church courier," she said. "He placed this lattice under the guise of inquiry. It does not harm me. It restricts him."
She gestured to me.
The implication settled like ash.
"You marked a faculty member," Valentina said quietly. "Without consent. Without disclosure. Within academy grounds."
The elder recovered enough to snap back, "It was precautionary."
"No," I said. "It was leverage."
Silence fell.
Then someone laughed.
Soft. Disbelieving.
A noble in the upper tier shook his head. "You bound a healer by marking his patient."
Valentina straightened. "This council recognizes the act as a violation of charter neutrality."
The elder's composure cracked. "You cannot prove intent."
"I don't need to," I replied. "I just need to ask one question."
I looked directly at him.
"If I attempt full removal right now—will your observers be alerted?"
He didn't answer.
That was answer enough.
Valentina's voice rang out. "The lattice will be logged as hostile interference. Church observers are suspended pending investigation."
The chamber erupted.
Arguments. Shouts. Scraping chairs.
Seraphina stood.
House Valdris might not have been on her sleeve—but it was in her spine.
"Any further action against Mr. Ashford or his patients," she said calmly, "will be treated as action against my house."
That quieted half the room.
Isolde shifted at the perimeter, gauntlet brushing sword hilt. Not a threat.
A reminder.
Valentina raised her hand.
"This charter stands," she said. "And so does its protection."
She looked at me.
"Do you wish to proceed?"
I glanced at Miriam.
At the lattice humming beneath her skin.
"At the condition," I said, "that this lattice remains intact until the investigation concludes."
The elder's head snapped up. "You—"
"I want it on record," I continued, "that you chose control over care. And I want every healer who looks at this to know exactly what that means."
Valentina nodded. "So recorded."
The elder sat down hard.
The light through the high windows felt harsher now.
Not cleansing.
Exposing.
The system chimed—low, final.
[Charter Granted]
[Church Authority Challenged]
[Public Trust Surge Detected]
[Warning: Next Retaliation Will Be Indirect]
I sat.
My hands were steady.
Sunlight wasn't gentle.
But it showed everything.
And for the first time, they were the ones squinting.