Perry's POV
After Elder Augustus departed, I summoned Marcela. Her eyes remained swollen from the tears she'd shed earlier.
She was crushed by her failure to shield Phoebe, devastated that she'd even recommended the queen leave with those three warriors—who'd turned out to be traitors.
Worse still, she'd lost Elder Tricia due to her inability to save his life. Marcela felt too ashamed and terrified to face me because of her failures, but I had no interest in that right now. There was something else I needed to verify.
"My king," Marcela's voice shook as she greeted me.
"Tell me what happened," I demanded, my voice low and frigid. I fixed her with a sharp stare that made the healer tremble.
Stuttering, Marcela recounted everything that had occurred. She made no attempt to conceal her mistakes or justify her poor judgment in allowing those three warriors to take the queen.
