The Broken Distance

POV KALLIRA

The heavy stone chamber did not empty as quickly as it should have. Even after the linen cloth covered the empty basin and the guards scurried away with the erased truth, the grand room felt suffocating. A few senior elders lingered in the shadowed corners near the carved pillars. They engaged in tense discussions, their hushed voices echoing off the vaulted ceiling. The scent of fear