The next morning, the royal court of Velmora was packed to the brim. Ministers and officials filled their usual positions, but the atmosphere was noticeably different from the previous sessions. Damian had personally demanded the presence of nearly every important figure in the palace, including his girls, the Grand Chamberlain, and several nobles who normally had no reason to attend a routine morning court. None of them knew exactly why they had been summoned, and after the events of the previous night, none of them were foolish enough to question the order.
Hazel, Ruby, Racheal, Mary, Rah, Kor, Alice, William, and the others stood among the officials rather than near the throne. Seeing they had been instructed to take their places like everyone else, caused more than a few confused looks when they entered the hall.
