|| Lilac’s POV ||

"That’s enough." Madeline plucked the wineglass from my fingers before I could take another sip.

I scowled. "I need this."

"No, you need your senses," Elara said, looping her arm through mine.

"Why?"

Astrid smirked. "You’ll see."

Before I could argue, they were herding me out of the garden, past the straggling guests—most of them my father’s men, their eyes sharp, their postures tense.

"Where are we going? I live here, ...