Then she felt the trap.
She couldn’t actually see the layout. She didn’t know the exact mechanics of it. But the sheer weight of it was undeniable this wasn’t the held breath of a cornered animal waiting for the knife. It was the held breath of a predator waiting to snap its jaws shut. Ashenveil wasn’t waiting to get slaughtered. Ashenveil was waiting to slaughter.
Aria opened her eyes, the dark room rushing back.
“They are ready for her,” she breathed.
“What do you mean.”
“Vael. Helsa. They aren’t sitting around waiting to get ambushed. They are waiting to drop the hammer. I can feel it. The kingdom isn’t terrified. The kingdom is hunting. Vael set a trap, and Selene is walking straight into the teeth of it.”
Kael leaned in, scanning her face in the gloom.
“You are absolutely sure
