"Let me be heard." Madame Julie's voice rang out, steady and commanding despite her age.
It carried across the chamber like a crack of thunder, silencing the last murmurs that lingered after the false witness's words.
All eyes turned toward her. Even those who moments ago had been spitting venom at Livia now froze, their faces palled at the sight of the woman standing tall with Ria and Felly beside her.
Madame Julie did not look at the crowd. Instead, she lifted her chin and turned her gaze toward the throne. Her eyes met the Lycan King's golden ones across the hall. For a long heartbeat, the chamber seemed to hold its breath.
He didn't move, didn't speak. But the faintest incline of his head gave her permission. Only then did she shift her gaze to the Elder Council, her expression calm but unyielding.
"You will grant me this chance to speak," she said, not as a plea, but as a command rooted in her history, her strength.
