Demyan’s POV
I stood there. Silent. Motionless. Powerless.
The evidence laid bare before the court, the forged letters, the coin pouch bearing the rogue insignia, the twisted reports from the woods, each one more damning than the last. And though every part of me screamed that this was a fabrication, a trap laid with venom and precision, I could do nothing. Not in front of them.
My fists clenched behind my back as the council member presented the final scroll. It bore my father’s seal, falsified no doubt but none dared question it. Even I, with my authority, knew better than to dismiss it outright without proof. I glanced at Pearl or Perin, as the world still believed her to be. Her eyes met mine, confused, betrayed, searching for the voice that had defended her moments ago.
But I had
