The main gate opened before our convoy reached it. People were already there. Guards. Council clerks. Servants in dark royal uniforms. A line of cameras from the public press enclosure beyond the outer courtyard. So much for arriving quietly. Good. I stepped out of t

The direct-line archive opened to my blood. No key. No guard code. I put my palm against the black plate beside the sealed doors and felt the same warmth that had moved through the Crownstone. The locks released one after another. Seven heavy clicks. Severin did not come

Mira looked smaller without the false belly. Not weaker. Smaller. She sat at the far end of the Crown inquiry room in plain gray clothes, both hands cuffed in front of her. No white dress. No bronze key. No tears prepared for Ronan. Two neutral guards stood behind he