Chapter 32: Of Shadows, Commands, and Silent Defiance
Lyria's POV
"Do you dare to question me, Lyria?" Jacinta asked me, her voice low and dangerous.
The sharpness that had cut through the chamber only moments before had smoothed into something even more intense, as if she were gazing at an insect that had no right to question her.
I bowed deeper.
"N–no, Your Highness," I said quietly. "I would never dare."
The broken porcelain still littered the floor between us, pale fragments scattered like fallen petals. The overturned stool lay where it had been thrown. The scent of water and crushed flowers from the shattered vase clung faintly to the air.
"I only meant…" I hesitated, choosing my words with care. "I only meant that I was n–not certain what Your Highness was referring to. I d–did not understand what you meant when you asked me why I was n–not present."
Her eyes studied me with unhurried precision.
