Rosalind paced slowly in front of them while Verity and Thalia were still trying to process everything they had just heard. The room felt heavier now, as if what she had revealed had changed the air itself.
"You don't think that was just a bluff from him to stop what was happening?" Thalia asked quietly, her voice low but unsure.
Verity shook her head slowly. "No, that didn't feel like a bluff. He doesn't seem like the reckless type. He must have said it out of anger, but it still felt like it meant something deeper," she said carefully.
"Exactly," Rosalind agreed immediately, stopping in front of them. "The king didn't seem like himself either. He was shocked, and we all know Alaric is not someone who gets shaken easily, but he was shaken yesterday. I think there is something both of them are hiding."
