#Chapter 157 - Confession

Lila Most of the nobles were either in session with the council or lingering in the great hall for the afternoon meal, leaving the east wing strangely hollow. My guards followed at their usual distance; two males in muted black uniforms, steps heavy but unhurried. Their silence was its own kind of leash. I told myself walking would help. My body was restless, coiled with energy I didn’t have the strength to spend, and the air in my chambers had grown stale. The walls seemed to breathe with me now, which was disconcerting. I needed space, or at least the illusion of it. I turned a corner toward the southern passage, hoping to catch the draft from the open windows there. The stone beneath my bare feet was cool, grounding, though each step made my knees tremble with effort. That was when I heard them. Two voices, female, drifting from the alcove just beyond the archway ahead. Their tones were low, conspiratorial, but I caught the soft lilt of amusement in their words. N