She Was Supposed to Stay Broken, So I Let Her Think She Had novel · Chapter 29 of 40

Chapter 29: The Place She Never Left

'My standing was never extinguished. What will you do now?' I ask Kael, with Cass holding the challenge papers and the petitioners still watching.

The room does not settle. Eln remains at the panel table, and the clerks keep their hands near the record. Beyond the high windows, autumn leaves scrape across the glass.

Kael faces me. He does not answer for the room. That matters more than the pause.

'I will ask the panel to convene a formal review of your claim and Vessa's testimony,' he says. 'You will be heard on the founding record.'

Lirien's concern arrives before her words. I see the smile form, then hear the careful breath she takes to make it look natural.

'I only want the review to be fair,' she says. 'The bond-reading is part of the history everyone relied on. Surely it should be re-certified under Eln's authority before the panel considers anything else.'

A low amber shimmer gathers around Lirien's head. Her spoken words continue, and a second voice presses beneath them.

If they look at the bond-reading first, they will never reach Vessa.

The petitioners shift. A clerk's pen touches the page. Lirien's hands remain folded at her waist, her expression mild enough to invite gratitude.

I keep still and let the thought pass through me without changing my face. It is a clean measure of what she needs from this room.

← Chapter 28 · All chapters · Chapter 30 →

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