The morning after the Voluntary Offering Night passed in quiet reflection. Women moved through the gardens and salons, testing the new balances Aiden had granted and revoked.
Cat and Lulu spent hours in their private chamber, talking and laughing without performance. The freedom felt precious, but every shared glance with their husbands now required spoken truth.
Elara tested her night of solitude by spending an afternoon alone. The revocation weighed on her. When Lord Voss served her tea, she forced herself to watch him fully and say aloud,
"Thank you, my husband." Her body still hummed from Aiden's touch the night before.
Alliances strengthened in whispers. Elara, Bri, Lira, Cat, and the two Lulus met with Isolde in a shaded corner of the garden.
The silver fractures on their chains and necklaces were now openly visible. Thin veins of anti-magic caught the light like living silver thread. They no longer tried to hide them.
