The scent of blood from Vanya's murder still clung faintly to the corridors, and even the flames in the torches burned lower, as if weighed by mourning.
The entire kingdom gathered in silence, eyes flicking between Gonzalo and Liora seated on the raised dais. Kael stood before them, his hands bound, his chest heaving with disbelief. The accusation had fallen on him like a hammer, swift and sudden, and no amount of denial had loosened the noose now tightening around his fate.
Liora's expression was unreadable. Her power remained, but her will was not her own. Her eyes followed Gonzalo's every motion unconsciously, her words waiting on his command. The same lips that had once ordered armies to victory now only moved when he allowed them.
Gonzalo sat beside her, silent, his gaze sharp and cold. His fingers drummed lightly against the armrest, calm, almost indifferent, while the hall buzzed with whispers.
