Lyra POV

Lyra's eyes flash, and some people sitting in the lower levels whisper nervously.

"It doesn't matter how long you know somebody, it's about knowing that they're of good character," she hisses.

"He assisted me and my pack when we needed it most. The Council wouldn't stop it, but we managed to make deals with groups of rogues. Due to your incompetence, almost a hundred people were poisoned, and more than three hundred lives were ruined. If you did your job, we wouldn't have had to work with rogues," she snaps.

Some of the crowd is audibly in agreement with her.

One of the men bangs his gavel on...