The scream ripped through the air as Bianca appeared on the upper balcony. She had seen the arrest from her window. Her mind, already frayed, could only process one thing: the Emperor's men were taking her last connection to power.
She rushed down the stairs, toward Jorel, her hands glowing with a jagged, unstable blue light.
"You can't take him!" she shrieked. "Tell His Majesty to come here himself! Tell him to look at me!"
The guards didn't engage with her; they were trained to ignore the hysterics of nobles. They continued to haul Viktor toward the waiting carriage. This dismissal was the final spark.
Bianca lashed out, muttering a spell under her breath. A spear of jagged, black-tinted ice erupted from her palm, striking one of the guards in the shoulder. The man cried out as the ice bit through his armor, blood blossoming across the blue fabric.
Jorel's eyes narrowed. "Restrain her. Attacking the Imperial Guard is a capital offense. Treason. Arrest her as well."
