The question hung in the humid air of the solar, heavy and suffocating. "Where were you last night, my King? I find myself quite curious."
Julian felt a cold, sharp spike of tension pierce through his chest, but years of practicing saintly deception did not fail him. Not a single muscle in his face moved. His piercing blue eyes remained calm, and his hands rested loosely on the armrests, maintaining his mask of flawless composure.
However, beneath that surface, his calculated mind was analyzing the trap. If Evangeline had truly been inside his private chambers, she knew he wasn't in the chapel. In the court of a tyrant like her, an easily disproven lie was a death sentence. There was no point in fabricating a holy alibi anymore.
