The council chamber of Frosthold was a place I had entered many times since my arrival in the North. I had come here as a stranger, a southerner, a woman whose presence was questioned and whose motives were doubted. I had stood at the edges of the room, listening to the voices of those who held power, watching the faces of those who judged me.
This time was different.
I walked through the doors with Kaelen at my side, his hand on my arm, his presence a shield against the weight of the stares that followed us. The chamber was full—captains and advisors, warriors and elders, all of them gathered to witness the formal session that would determine my place among them.
