Edge of Control

CARMILLA’S POV

The council chamber had mostly emptied, though the chill hadn’t left with the elders. Cold air clung to my skin, and the scent of dust and disappointment still lingered. I stood alone beneath one of the high arches, pretending to read the stonework while I got my bearings back.

I had lost the first trial.

It hadn’t been a massacre, but it was still a blow. The sting of it sat behind