Chapter 433 - The Full Account

The council chamber still smelled of last night's oil lamps when Rama and Sekar were finally allowed to sit, fed enough to steady their hands and rested enough to speak without their voices shaking, though neither of those things made the telling any easier. Ardhana sat at the head of the long table with Wibawa at his elbow, brush poised over a fresh sheet of paper, and Wirasena stood near the window with their daughter's small hand held loosely in his, letting her listen because she had already lived through worse than anything the words could do to her.