Chapter 72 Astrid's Shadow

• The royal court had a way of trapping you, its walls as thick with secrets as the stone was ancient. Even the air felt heavier, as though centuries of treachery and ambition hung there, waiting to be inherited by the next would-be power player. And I knew, stepping into that grand hall, that Astrid’s shadow lingered here still. Her influence was woven through the court like threads of poison, tainting the people and the politics with suspicions and whispers.
• I could feel eyes on me the moment I entered. The noblewomen stood in clusters, their whispers trailing into silence as I passed. Older council members openly watched me with thinly veiled judgment, and some younger men looked on with thinly hidden amusement or derision. It was clear: Astrid’s allies were here, holding their line, protecting whatever power they still felt entitled to—and I was the threat they resented.
• Blue, Grey, and I walked down the center of the hall, side by side. They were close enough that I could feel their strength in the tension of their bodies, even as we all tried to maintain an appearance of relaxed confidence. I was thankful for their presence; without them, I’d feel like prey.