The beast knights would be all right.
She was nearly certain of this.
The royals would not attack them — not because of affection, but because attacking the beast knights was strategically pointless when the actual contest was between bloodlines and their human backers. And the beast knights, without a clear authority structure above them, would do what they had been trained to do: maintain their posts, follow their protocols, protect the physical structure without intervening in the political contest.
'You're certain about Shen,' the system said quietly. Not a question. Reading her.
"I'm not certain about anything," she said. "I'm operating on the best available probability assessment."
'But you're worried about Shen specifically.'
She was quiet for a moment.
"Shen is perceptive," she said. "More than most. He notices things. In a situation where noticing the wrong thing at the wrong moment—" She stopped. "The probability is acceptable. I've assessed it."
