Everyone stands when I enter.
“Majesty," Wyn says.
I take my place.
The dice move once more, the sound of them filling the space before anything else is said.
"We need a route," I say.
"To Veynar?” Trophi replies.
"Yes."
Kentan leans back slightly, watching me. "There are several paths," he says. "None without risk."
"There never are," I reply.
Enovar's posture shifts, subtle but noticeable. “My sources tell me that Rathmor is not as it was," he says.
The table goes quiet.
"In what way?" I ask.
He exhales slowly. “Apparently, the servants speak of it quietly. They say the halls feel wrong, as though something is not where it should be."
"And the attacks?" I ask.
"More frequent," Wyn says. "More organized."
"And Sevrin?"
A pause.
"Unstable," Enovar says. "There are questions now about his judgment."
Something tightens in my chest, though I do not let it show.
I draw in a breath. "They harmed me." The words come out clean and without weight added to them. No one speaks. I do not rush to fill the silence. I let it hold, let what it carries be felt before I continue.
I tell them what happened. Not everything, but enough. Enough for them to understand. Enough for them to feel it.
By the time I finish the air has changed. Wyn's expression has gone very still. Trophi's jaw has tightened. Enovar looks as though he is holding himself back by force alone. Kentan does not look surprised. He looks as though something has confirmed itself.
"Under Alarnan law," Trophi says slowly, "that is not a private matter."
"It is a declaration," Wyn adds. "An assault against the crown is a call for war."
"And the right of punishment lies with you," Enovar says, his voice quieter but no less certain. "If you choose to claim it."
My fingers rest lightly against the table.
"She would be placed in our custody," Trophi says. "Yvara. Mysin. Whoever was involved. It does not matter where it occurred."
I let that sit. The weight of it is clear. “Then it is not only punishment we are speaking of,” I say. “It is power.”
The dice sit untouched between us.
“Colsar is the rightful heir. Both Sevrin and Teorin are illegitimate. They deny it, but it is widely known.”
