LUCY
"Father, if you still struggle to believe her, the priests of Ashkara can be involved."
Tavric's voice cuts through the returning stillness with the same unhurried calm he has maintained throughout.
His eyes move briefly toward the section of the hall where the Ashkara delegation sits—nobles and citizens wearing the signature blank expressions of their region, that cultivated mask of mystery passed down through generations.
Keepers of wolf magic. Trusted by the Goddess with secrets that travel from one era to the next. Terribly good observers of everything they appear not to be watching.
The Supreme says nothing to the suggestion. He turns his heavy, piercing gaze toward my father instead. "King Karon. Is it true? Was the Princess pregnant?"
My father nods slowly. In the harsh light of the hall, he looks decades older than he did when I left. "When she lost it, we believed it came from the pain of the bond rejection. The breaking of the connection."
