After Meret finished recounting everything—from the strange text message that lured her out, to the training ground, the moment she was ambushed, waking up bound in an unfamiliar place, enduring Cassia’s torment and cruel intentions, and finally the unknown man who appeared just in time to save her—the great hall of the palace fell into an uneasy silence.

Every word she had spoken still seemed to hang in the air, pressing down on everyone present. The chandeliers overhead swayed slightly, ...