Chapter 98

Two years after the graduated release began, Arianna stood before the Continental Council to deliver what would be her most significant speech—not about crisis or war, but about the future of the federation she'd built.

The council chamber was packed with representatives from every member pack, observers from independent territories considering membership, and the released Forgotten who'd been granted limited participatory rights in continental governance. It was a gathering that would have been impossible five years earlier, when she'd inherited Ravenwood in crisis and the idea of continental cooperation was still theoretical.

"We've accomplished something historically unprecedented," Arianna began, her voice carrying clearly through the chamber. "We've ended...