A Hollow Celebration

(Queen Liora's POV)

I knew something was wrong the moment I saw Neva run out of the hall.

A mother senses things. And though I didn’t birth Neva naturally, my heart had always watched over her the way it did for Kaelen. Her pain hit me like a punch to the gut... I wanted to follow her, to ask what had gone wrong, but the moment passed, and the crowd's cheer overshadowed everything.

Sloane stood on