“Banished and Broken” 

Cassian

The air in the council chamber was filled with tension, the kind that seemed to press down on your shoulders and make each breath a conscious effort. I could hear my own heartbeat thundering in my ears as I stepped over the threshold, my boots echoing off the stone floor with every deliberate step. Faces turned toward me, some wary, some hostile, but none as sharp as Elvira’s. She sat there like a statue carved from ice, her gaze locked on me, piercing through the layers of lies I’d spent a lifetime weaving.

I swallowed, tasting the coppery taste of fear mingled with guilt. My dad...