One step inside, and the rules changed.
The private council chamber was smaller than the main one. More intimate, which somehow made it more threatening. No portraits, no audience seating. Just a circular table and five chairs.
Three of them were occupied.
Lady Katheris sat at the center, flanked by two council members I recognized but had never spoken to directly. The woman who'd watched my ambush wasn't among them. Neither was Theron or any of the more neutral members.
This wasn't an official council meeting. This was something else entirely.
"Miss Bennett," Katheris said, gesturing to the empty chair across from her. "Please, sit."
I remained standing. "The messenger said the council requested my presence. I count three members. Where are the others?"
"This is a private consultation. Not all matters require the full council's attention."
"And who decides which matters qualify?"
