Chapter 93
Chapter 93
Lila
Another night, another ballroom.
+ lingered near the edge of the hall, just inside the arched entrance, not quite part of the celebration. My dress deep forest green that Emma incinted brought out my eyes–felt too tight across the chest. I kept adjusting the neckline, checking my braid, my posture, anything to keep my hands buty.
Damon wasn’t here. Again.
I tried not to care. Tried not to let the absence dig into me like a missing piece. He had duties, obligations. I was used to being second to politics. But tonight, I felt it more than ever before.
Emma appeared at my side with a drink I hadn’t asked for and a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “If you’re going to stand here brooding, at least hold something to keep your hands busy.”
I took the glass. “I’m not brooding.”
“You’re vibrating like a rabbit before a thunderstorm,” she said gently, awkwardly offering to loop her arm through mine. “It’s just a party.”
I accepted the offer and was grateful that at the very least I might not have lost my best friend. We were both trying to mend this fence.
The court had turned out in full force. Nobles lined the marble staircases and lounged against crystal–studded pillars. Even the Elders had dressed for th occasion, seated at the front table in long formal robes, stiff and unreadable.
Talia was laughing beside her Pack’s delegation. Nora stood in the center of it all, smiling with sharp eyes, brushing her fingers along the sleeve of an Elder’s son like he was a harp string.
I didn’t know how she did it–how she made conversation look like conquest.
She caught me watching and tilted her head, raising her glass with a wink 1 looked away.
“Do you feel it too?” I murmured to Emma.
She frowned. “Feel what?”
“Like something’s coming.”
Her grip on my arm tightened briefly, then loosened. “We’re all exhausted. You made it to the finals, Breathe for five minutes.”
I wanted to. Gods, I wanted to.
Instead, I downed half the drink and tried to pretend the fizz on my tongue could settle the storm in my stomach.
A hush rippled through the hall as Jackson rose from his seat, raising one hand. The music slowed, then stopped. All eyes turned forward.
“It is with solemn pride,” he began, “that the Council recognizes our three finalists–chosen not only for their performance in the trials, but for the strength of character, grace under pressure, and readiness to stand at the side of our King.”
My name was called second, just like before.
I stepped forward onto the polished dais. My heels didn’t echo like Nora’s did. My smile wasn’t as sharp. But I held my head high. Talia flanked my righ Nora my left.
Nora turned slightly toward me, still smiling. “You look beautiful tonight,” she whispered. “I suppose that helps.”
I blinked. “Helps?”
Chapter 93
“With what’s coming.”
Before I could respond, she stepped forward toward the center of the platform
“Before we toast to the future,” she said, voice clear and melodic, “I believe the court deserves transparency. After all, our King should choose from candidates who respect the sacred tradition of this selection. Not ones who violate it.”
My blood went cold. A murmur swept the room. Nora turned, slow and theatrical, and looked directly at me.
“There is a candidate here who entered this competition carrying secrets. Who violated not only her oath, but her honor.”
I felt the moment shift. And fisted my hand at my side to keep my hand from lifting to the side of my neck where Damon had marked me
Nora’s words floated above the crowd like perfume–sweet, insidious, clinging. A dozen gazes shifted toward me, then a hundred.
Whispers bloomed like wildfire, and I stood
- me.
at
expression perfectly poised, a picture of calm righteousness.
the center of it all, rooted in place, my pulse thundering so loudly I thought the floor might crack beneath
She took another step toward the Councit table, her
“I hesitated to speak,” she said, lifting her chin slightly. “Because I didn’t want to believe it myself. But I witnessed something… undeniable.”
Her eyes flicked to me again–specifically, to my neck. The braid. My braid. It had slipped slightly to the side.
My fingers flew to it, pulling it forward, heart slamming against my ribs. The skin beneath felt like it was burning, though I knew the mark had faded. But it was still there.
Gasps stirred from the nearest rows. People craned to see what she was talking about. I backed up half a step without meaning to.
“I saw the mark,” Nora said, her voice soft, reverent, as if this were a funeral and not a performance. “A mating mark. Not just any mark–but one hidder One protected.”
“Impossible,” someone muttered.
“Is she mated?” came another voice.
“No,” Nora said smoothly, “not officially. Which is what makes it a violation. According to the rules of the selection, no candidate may engage in intima contact–let alone bond with anyone–while participating. It compromises the King’s right to choose freely.”
I opened my mouth–but no sound came out. Every instinct screamed at me to speak, to deny it, to explain. But how could I?
I wasn’t who they thought I was. And if I revealed the truth now, everything would unravel–my father’s scheme, and the fact that Damon had marked not Elena Ashford, but her bastard half–sister pretending to be her.
Nora didn’t pause.
“And I regret to inform the Council that I’m not the only one who knows of this betrayal.” She lifted a folded parchment, sealed in crimson wax. “A wit has come forward. A Rogue named Liam. During Lady Elena’s time outside the palace gates, he claims she sought comfort in his company. That they were lovers.”
My stomach dropped.
Shouts. Gasps. Someone called for quiet. The Elders murmured amongst themselves, eyebrows drawn tight with scandal. Jackon’s expression remai eerily neutral, but his fingers tapped once, sharply, against the table.
I forced myself to speak, to say something, anything–but my voice caught in my throat.
Was Damon back? Was he watching this?
14:57 Thu, 5 Jun G
Chapter 93
No. I would have felt him. Wouldn’t I?
The parchment was handed to one of the guards, who brought it to the Council. As they read, Nora turned to me with a sorrowful expression that didn’t
reach her eyes.
“I wanted to believe it was a mistake,” she said quietly. “But I couldn’t stay silent.”
It was almost admirable–how thoroughly she played the role of the concerned noblewoman. Her timing. Her posture. The perfect balance of righteousness and regret.
And I had no way to fight her. Because silence was safer than the truth. And so, I stood there, mute, while the Elders conferred.
After what felt like hours, Jackson rose.
“Elena Ashford, you are hereby placed in custody until this matter is investigated fully. Until then, you will be removed from the selection and sequestered under Council order.”
The guards moved toward me.
I didn’t flinch. I couldn’t. Every part of me had gone numb.
I searched the crowd one last time, desperate, foolishly hoping–for Emma, for Asher. For Damon.
No one stepped forward. Not one hand was raised in protest.
My breath left me as two guards took me by the arms–not roughly, but with a finality. The cold metal of the cuffs grazed my wrists like shackles made of
shame.
And then they walked me out, past the nobles, past the banners, past the stunned faces.
Through it all, I kept my head high.
Because it was the only thing I could think to do.
