The tightness in my chest returned shortly after Selene and Maya helped me sit down. This time, it wasn't the toxin, but rather the weight of the words I had caught before being abducted. The memory throbbed like a bruise under my ribs.

The voice of Edwin. the consent of the council, their choice.

A flood of resentment rose up my throat at the mere thought.

Selene placed a cup in my hands that contained a bitter herbal concoction meant to get rid of the residual poison. Maya remained ...