Adeline POV
The order cracked out across the gate like a whip.
“You will not play with those children again, Myra. Do you hear me?” the Queen Mother said. “They are not your kind.”
I kept my hands steady on my sons’ shoulders. We were already inside the school line; making a scene would only feed the gossip waiting to bloom. Beside the carriage, Myra’s small fingers twisted in the ribbon at her collar. Her chin wobbled.
“They’re my friends,” she cried. “They’re kind, not bad!”
“Enough,” the Queen Mother snapped. “You do not answer back.”
My boys tensed under my palms. Caleb’s breath hitched. Elijah stiffened the way he does when he’s about to defend someone. I squeezed once to calm him down.
“Eyes forward,” I told my sons softly. “We’re going in.”
We stepped through. Behind us came
