Silas didn't speak.
The fire crackled behind him, filling the silence like a warning. Wings stood steady, waiting.
"One guard," Silas muttered finally. "No escort. No word to me."
Wings nodded. "Not unless you count the steward's smug silence. He delivered the order like it was routine."
It wasn't. Nothing Faye did was routine. Not when it came to the court. Not when it came to girls she could shape into something useful.
"She's placing her pieces," Silas said, mostly to himself. "This wasn't about Aylin leaving. It's about showing me she doesn't need my permission to replace her."
Wings didn't reply. He didn't have to.
Lilliana was no threat, not in the way Aylin had been. But that wasn't the point. Faye wasn't looking for strength. She was looking for obedience. Someone who'd smile sweetly, ask no questions, and reflect her ambition without ever casting their own shadow.
And Lilliana… she'd always wanted to matter.
