Chapter 68

Chapter 68 Seraphina's POV The council chamber was colder than usual. Not in temperature—but in silence. The kind of silence that settled in just before a storm. The kind of silence that asked questions without needing to speak them out loud. I stood at the head of the long table, hands braced on the edge as I faced the room full of leaders, envoys, and emissaries from every territory still aligned with Blackthorne. Kaelos sat to my right. Callista to my left. Every chair was filled. I didn’t speak right away. Instead, I let them sit in the quiet. Let them feel the weight. Then I finally raised my gaze. “Cassian may have failed to strip my title at the tribunal, but he didn’t lose. Not entirely.” A murmur rippled across the table. “He won something far more dangerous,” I continued. “Time. And sympathy. Enough to muddy the waters.” “He’s already spreading rumors,” Kaelos said. “That the tribunal was biased. That the votes were bought. That we intimidated witnesses.” Callista leaned forw