Violet
My mind was at peace.
Even as every head in the hall turned when I made my entrance.
The weight of their attention hit before I had even taken my first step inside. Hundreds of sharp and assessing eyes fixed on with an intensity that would have buckled my knees months ago.
I continued moving.
The council hall in Voya’s castle stretched wide. It was even larger than the hall the Summit in Fresna was held. The ceiling arched at a normal level, supported by thick stone pillars etched with light fixtures embedded into the upper segnt of the pillars. There were even other lamps lining the walls and ceiling which compensated for the lack of windows.
Unlike the raised platform in Fresna’s hall, a long table curved in a semi-circle in the central open space. The Supre Alphas were seated behind it, including Kael, Rowan, and Voya. And in the many other tables and seats surrounding that centre space were the seated delegations of the Supre Alphas.
And all of them were watching .
I felt their gazes like individual points of heat against my skin. Majority of them sized up like I was a potential threat.
I took my seat at the table directly facing the Supre Alphas and so of Voya’s wolves, including two of the elders sat with .
Rowan, Kael, and Voya wore neutral expressions. Voya would not be the one to preside this trial due to my support from her, along with the fact she was the host.
Supre Alpha Calder’s stern gaze t mine. That old man from the last ti.
It seed he would be the one presiding over this again.
I had expected and braced myself for the familiar tightening in my chest and the flutter of panic beneath my ribs. But sitting here now, with the weight of every gaze in the room pressing down on , I still felt calm.
My eyes moved across the semicircle. I rembered their faces from the last summit.
Then my gaze landed on the representative for Palisa.
My heart seized.
For a sharp mont, I thought and believed that the person seated there was Palisa.
My mind tried to wrestle with the fact as those terrible monts she had forced into my head flipped through my mind. Her mories of those horrendous things she had done to my people.
My breathing grew shallow.
No. I had to be seeing things. I had killed her. Everyone else had seen her corpse then. They had destroyed it.
So why... was this really the daughter?
Was a child supposed to look this identical to their parent...?
The room tilted beneath .
She looked young, almost my age if not a bit older. She had the exact sa bone structure, the sa angled jaw, the sa way she carried herself.
And her eyes...
I was only now realising the slight difference in them.
Where Palisa’s had burned with cruel intelligence and ancient hunger, this woman’s were quiet. Guarded. Carrying a weariness that didn’t belong on a face so young. She looked very exhausted too.
Fana. Palisa’s daughter.
Voya had revealed who would be representing Nal on behalf of Palisa. But knowing and seeing were different things, and the resemblance hit with a force that made my hands tighten in my lap.
My stomach turned, and I had to force myself to look away before the resemblance made lose the composure I had spent weeks building.
Fana’s eyes t mine for a brief second before I turned away. There was no hostility in them. No accusation. Just a steady, quiet gaze that made uncomfortable.
I would have even preferred if she looked hostile.
Not this.
The murmuring that had filled the hall since the delegations arrived fell silent as Voya rose from her seat. Every eye turned to her as she placed both hands flat on the table before her.
"We are gathered for a formal trial," Voya began, her voice carrying easily across the stone chamber. "The matters before us today are significant, and I expect them to be treated as such. There will be order. There will be civility. And there will be resolution before anyone leaves this room."
Her gaze swept the semicircle, landing briefly on each Supre Alpha in turn. None of them flinched, but I saw a few straighten in their seats.
"Before I hand the proceedings off to Lord Calder and we address the primary matter regarding the late Supre Alpha Palisa of Nal and the circumstances behind her death, there is a preliminary issue that must be established for the record."
She turned and nodded to the far side of the hall.
A door opened, and three won entered in single file. They wore pale robes, and two of them carried small ceramic vessels while the third held a large jug.
I stilled.
Was that the liquid totem Voya had talked about?
A low ripple of confusion moved through the delegations. Priestesses were usually called for sacred matters—bonds, blessings, disputes that required divine verification. Their presence at this trial was unusual enough to draw imdiate attention and whispered speculation.
"What is this?" Calder’s voice cut through the murmurs.
A few of the other Supre Alphas frowned.
They had all held a brief eting before this trial. I would have at least expected Voya to have revealed this detail about Kael and Rowan being my mates then.
Don’t tell she still hadn’t revealed this to them?
Voya waited until the priestesses had positioned themselves nearby.
"Violet here is mated to two Supre Alphas. Lord Kael of Fresna and Lord Rowan of Silverwood. The priestesses are here to verify the bonds before this council."
The silence that followed lasted exactly two seconds.
Then the hall erupted.
Voices overlapped, and the careful composure of a dozen delegations cracked simultaneously. Wolves turned to each other, so half-rising from their seats, others staring at with expressions ranging from disbelief to open shock.
Supre Alpha Calder stared at with wide eyes before shifting them to Voya. "What is the aning of this?"
One of the other Supre Alphas frowned. "Are you trying to fabricate—"
"Please, asure your words carefully. I have nothing to gain from fabricating anything," Voya interrupted, her stern voice slicing through the chaos. "I didn’t even ntion that she is my mate. Now, this is precisely why the priestesses are here. To verify this."
User Comments
0 comments from readers