Calder stared at me. His mouth opened, closed. He looked at the kings behind me, at the twins in the cradle, at Lila watching him without blinking. Then he sat down.
No one else spoke against it.
The hall stayed silent for a long moment. Then a woman in the back row stood up. She had trained with me in the yard for weeks. Her voice carried clear. "I stand with the queen."
Another voice joined. Then another. The sound grew until the entire hall was on its feet, the pack's voices rising together in a single, steady wave.
I nodded once. The support settled in my chest like a new kind of armor. Garrick closed the ledger. Council moved on to patrol routes and spring planting. Voices stayed low. Eyes stayed on me. When it ended, the pack filed out with a different kind of quiet. Not fear. Not doubt. Something closer to resolve.
