Lyra's POV
I rose from my chair slowly, the words spilling from my lips before I could stop them.
"I disagree."
The atmosphere in the room shifted instantly. Every pair of eyes turned toward me. The council elders. My father and my stepmother. The unfamiliar woman and her companion. Even the guards stationed near the entrance straightened their postures, their focus drawn to me.
My father's voice sliced through the sudden stillness. "Lyra."
The warning in his tone was razor-sharp. But that man had lost his authority over me long ago.
I refused to look in his direction. My attention remained fixed on the head elder's weathered face. On the deep lines etched between his eyebrows. On the way his mouth had compressed into a disapproving line.
"The Kingsley family should have been present today," I stated. My voice projected further than I had anticipated. More controlled. "But they were terrified for their safety."
