/-Zara-/

The second delegation arrived five days later.

This time, they brought a hundred guards. And they brought something worse—a High Council decree declaring Naya and Kael "wards of the state" pending proper evaluation.

It was a legal maneuver that stripped us of parental authority. If we refused to comply now, we'd be in direct violation of High Council law. We'd be criminals.

"This is insane," I said, staring at the document. "They can't just take our children."

"They believe they ...