“Did the chamber accept?”
“Yes.”
Lysa stared at her.
Then, very slowly, she smiled.
It was gone almost at once, but Sabine saw it.
A knock came.
Lysa opened the door.
Lucien stood outside.
No crown. No sash. No court face left to wear.
Lysa looked between them, then stepped into the corridor. “I will be nearby. Loudly nearby, if anyone asks.”
She shut the door.
Lucien and Sabine stood in the guarded suite with the trial still between them.
For several heartbeats, neither spoke.
Then Lucien crossed the room and stopped in front of her.
“You changed the vow.”
“Yes.”
“You made the chamber remember.”
“I think so.”
“You could have died.”
“I know.”
His face tightened. “You lifted your hand to stop me.”
“You would have moved too soon.”
“You do not know that.”
“Yes, I do.”
His anger flashed. “The floor split.”
“The chamber accepted.”
“The glass cracked.”
“The chamber accepted.”
“Serast could have declared sacrilege.”
“Corvek named it passage first.”
