{Lisa’s POV}

The hall had gone tense the moment Lena stepped forward. I had thought her arrival was already enough to send chills through me, but watching her being granted an audience was another wound altogether.

She carried herself like she belonged here, her stride deliberate, her chin tipped up with smug confidence. She looked at the Elders as though she had them wrapped around her little finger. Which she probably did… But I thought all of those working with or for Lucien were dead?

My stomach twisted as she opened her mouth.

“One of the top candidates has forfeited by breaking the rules,” she declared. Her voice rang out...