Kaelen's POV
The council chamber was different the next morning.
Not the room itself. The room was the same. The long table, the carved walls, the high windows, the portraits of dead kings staring down at us. But the people were different. They had come back. The new council members, Marcus, Dmitri, Vera, sat in their seats like they belonged there. Lord Harwick sat at his end, still and watchful. Corvus stood near the wall, his arms crossed, his face unreadable.
Elara sat at the head of the table. The crown was on her head. Her hands were folded. She looked like a queen.
I sat beside her. Not in a guard's position. Not deferential. Beside her. Where a king consort sat.
The morning light fell across the floor. The candles had been snuffed out. The fire in the hearth was low. The room was warm.
Corvus stood. He spoke without notes.
