Some nodded faintly, too eager to agree with royalty. Others looked unsettled, torn between what they had seen with their own eyes and what they were being told to believe.
Fin shifted slightly, opening his mouth as if to speak, but Sun raised a hand, halting him without breaking eye contact with Jae.
The crown prince didn't need anyone else's voice to amplify his. His presence filled the air, heavy not because of any technique but because of certainty, because he believed the world would bend to his words.
Jae smirked faintly, brushing his hair back from his forehead. "If it's nothing special, then why are you so bothered by it?"
The courtyard crackled with silence. It was not loud, but it was sharp, like the pause before lightning split the sky.
