Calculated Gambit

LUCIUS POV

I watched them walk her out of the courtyard.

Her back straight. The guards on either side not holding her — she was being dragged. She'd understood something in the moment I looked at the wall. She was trusting it.

That cost me more than the alternative would have.

My hand found the stone pillar beside me. Brief. Just steadying something.

Then I let go.

Callista caught my eye across th