Caius said, “Maren Hale, you stand charged with knowingly withholding food and authorizing deprivation as punishment.”
The heat flared so hard I stopped hearing the rest.
My vision broke apart for a moment. Not black. Not empty. The hall stayed there, but another sense seemed to rise over it, not sight exactly and not memory either. I smelled iron from the chains. Wax from the candles. Damp wool from coats. Fear from the crowd, layered and sour and living. I smelled Caius too, close and familiar, clean air and smoke and something that made the panic in my body hesitate before it could become full panic.
I grabbed his arm.
I didn’t think before I did it. My hand moved on its own and closed around his sleeve, fingers pressing into the fabric like I needed proof that the room had not tipp
