The palace had a way of spreading news.
Not through official channels. Not through formal announcements. But through the quiet, invisible network of servants and guards who saw everything, heard everything, and whispered everything to anyone who'd listen.
By evening, everyone knew.
Lady Isolde Ravencrest, chief lady-in-waiting to the Regent Empress, had been arrested by imperial command. Dragged from the preparation chamber. Locked in the eastern holding cells like a common criminal.
And the Regent Empress had done nothing to stop it.
That last part was what made the story truly scandalous. Vetra Helena Nivarre, the woman who'd ruled Nevareth through sheer force of will for decades, had been powerless to protect her most loyal supporter.
Or so it seemed.
Because hours after Isolde's arrest, when reason with Soren proved unsuccessful, something shifted.
