After a long, agonizing march, Evangeline finally reached the Threshold of Purification. As the heavy doors groaned open, she stepped inside only to find herself the central spectacle of a grotesque theatrical display—a sacred ritual witnessed exclusively by the highest bloodlines of the Imperial family.
The air in the grand hall was freezing, yet thick with unspoken malice.
Evangeline paused, her imperial posture unyielding under the dark fur stole. She raised her chin, her dark eyes scanning the raised dais before she offered a chillingly perfect, calculated bow.
"Greetings, Your Majesty. Empress Refina. Empress Laurette."
It was a subtle, lethal insult. Even though Laurette was the reigning Empress, Evangeline had intentionally addressed Refina first, deliberately changing the hierarchy of the court just to stab at Laurette's fragile pride.
