Chapter 21 · The Cradle Decree

The guards didn't wait for an answer.

Two of them moved past Seraphine, boots heavy on the stone floor. I felt the baby kick again, sharp and frantic. My blood was still hot under my skin, that Wren fire Edwin had named burning just below the surface.

"Don't touch me." My voice came out steadier than I felt.

The first guard hesitated. Just for a second. He looked back at Seraphine.

She smiled. "The decree is clear. Royal bloodline takes precedence over personal objection. Move her."

Dorian finally spoke. "Seraphine, this isn't—"

"This isn't your decision anymore." She didn't even look at him. "You lost that right when your father stripped your title. I'm acting on the King's direct order."

She pulled a folded parchment from inside her cloak and held it up. The wax seal caught the lamplight. Thorne red. Pressed with Lucien's personal signet.

"Shall I read it aloud?" Seraphine's voice had that edge I was learning to hate. Sweet on top, venom underneath. "Or would you prefer to cooperate?"

I looked at Dorian. He was staring at that seal like it had burned him.

No help there.

Edwin stepped between me and the guards.