The council chamber had not been this crowded in years. The sun was still low outside the narrow windows, pale light cutting across the long table where the kingdom's most powerful nobles sat. The air was thick with tension, the kind that turned whispers into weapons.
Lysara stood along the wall with the attendants rather than at her assigned seat, her hands clasped tightly before her. She usually didn't bother to attend Court assemblies even though she was already a Lady by her own right and ladies-in-waiting were mandated to attend court deliberations—but Sir Adrian had summoned all witnesses and attendants tied to the queen's household. That included her.
The noise was deafening. Voices overlapped, men and women shouting across the long marble floor, their faces flushed with outrage or confusion.
"She was seen with the King's goblet before the toast!" one of the lords barked, his rings glinting as he gestured.