I raised my chin, breathing hard. “They tried to rob me of that.”
Alice didn’t smile. She didn’t move. But I saw something flicker in her eyes—pride. Recognition. A queen seeing another woman claw her way to freedom.
“Thank you, Lyra,” she said, then finally turned to the elders and my parents. “Now. Your turn.”
Elder Viona, draped in a purple mantle of tradition, stood with a long sigh. “She is young. Emotional. The mating bond has clearly unbalanced her—”
“Unbalanced me?” I laughed again, louder this time, and my power spiked. Candles on the wall flickered, shadows crawling up the stone like living vines. “I’ve never stood straighter in my life.”
“You dare threaten this council?” Oran snapped.
“No,” Hunter said, stepping forward at last. “But if any of you even think about threaten
