Quill looked at her.
“Tower notice.”
“Tower notice requires them to remain under witness. It does not specify removal from the hall.”
Linden spoke before Quill could.
“The great hall is no longer secure.”
Every head turned toward him.
Linden had been writing since the world began, as far as I could tell. He seldom spoke, and hearing him do it now was like watching a hidden knife drawn.
Juno stared at him. “Secure from whom?”
Linden’s expression made it clear he disliked being questioned.
“From the… extraneous witnesses,” he said.
Ah, that.
Too many people had seen too much. The room had become dangerous because the truth had spread into it.
Astra let out a bark of laughter.
I adored her even more for it.
I wished even harder this wasn’t going to end as unpleasantly for us all as I expected it was.
Ashford looked ready to put himself between her and the entire Council, which was gallant and stupid and made him newly less irritating than it had been this morning.
I needed to stop becoming fair-minded. It was ruining my better qualities.
“Where are you taking us?” Astra asked.
Quill turned to her.
“The west antechamber.”
Of course.
One word, and everyone in the hall remembered Delphine Moreau.
I saw it happen. First-years looked toward the west door before they could stop themselves. Rev went still. Cosima stopped looking like she had answers.
Astra’s fingers flexed under Ashford’s hand.
Ashford bent his head toward her.
She said something I couldn’t hear.
He answered just as quietly.
The Pull translated nothing.
Some things should stay theirs. That irritated me too, obviously, but given the situation, I was having a generous half-minute.
The steward near me tried again.
