Beverly's POV

I walked into the formal dining room with my hand wrapped around Bruce's arm and my spine straight as steel. Every step I took hurt. My body still ached from dying and coming back, but I refused to show weakness. Not now, not in front of them.

The Council members sat arranged around the long table like judges at a trial and I was the accused. Their eyes tracked my movement, studying every detail like I was something under a microscope.

Elder Marcus Wolfsbane commanded the head ...