By the following morning, the capital of Lysoria had already decided the council hearing had been the most interesting event of the season.
Not a war.
Not a coronation.
A debate.
But debates involving power had a way of spreading faster than victory celebrations.
In the upper districts, nobles gathered over breakfast tables and afternoon wine to discuss the spectacle they had witnessed.
Princess Isolde had stood before the Temple and answered without hesitation.
Some admired her.
Others were less comfortable.
A young lord leaned across a table inside the Rose Court Salon and lowered his voice.
"She turned the Temple's question back on them."
His companion nodded thoughtfully.
"Bold."
"Dangerous."
A noblewoman beside them stirred her tea.
"The Temple did not lose yesterday," she said.
Both men turned toward her.
"Oh?"
"They positioned themselves," she replied.
"How?"
"They placed a priest at her side."
The words spread through the room quietly.
