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Three days later, Aria was in the archives, going through old succession records to find precedents for the new laws, when she heard footsteps behind her - hesitant, slow, unsure. She turned to find Chloe standing in the doorway, her usual bright, confident energy gone. She looked smaller than Aria had ever seen her, her shoulders hunched, her hands twisting in the hem of her tunic.

“Can I come in?” Chloe asked, her voice quiet.

“Of course,” Aria said, closing the ledger and pulling out a chair for her. “Sit. You look like you’ve been carrying something heavy.”

Chloe sat, but she could not keep still. She shifted forward,...