When the staff hit again and the tribunal was summoned to recess, the chamber was still reverberating with the echoes of the commotion.

Elaria hardly recalled getting up and strolling along the stone hallways that twisted away from the council floor with Draven. Faces, whispers, and the weight of adversarial stares all became hazy until the guards finally opened a heavy oak door and led them into a private room reserved for the accused to speak with their attorneys.

The door thudded shut, and ...