#Chapter 64 – Rumor Has it

Lila I knew something had shifted the moment I stepped into the hall. It was in the silence that followed my footsteps. The way the girls at the end of the corridor stopped talking the second I came into view. A glance. A smirk. One of them leaned into the other’s ear like they couldn’t help themselves. Emma caught up to me by the tea table, her tray nearly toppling from how quickly she moved. “Hey,” she said too brightly. “You didn’t eat yet?” I gave her a look, and her smile faltered. “I tried but I can’t stomach it.” I kept my head high through morning etiquette drills and lunch. Let them stare. Let them speculate. I didn’t care—at least, that’s what I told myself as I moved through the day like smoke slipping through cracks. It wasn’t until I returned to my room that I saw it. A single fold of newsprint, just barely tucked beneath the threshold of my door. The palace seal inked in red at the corner. Official distribution or trial-related news. I picked it up sl