"It's the Grand Duke. I've seen him transform into a white wolf…" Jessamyn's voice trembled as she bowed, her fingers nervously fiddling with the hem of her cloak.
The lie had taken all her courage, and now the weight of her words hung heavily in the luminous air of the council chamber.
Her master's gaze bore into her, intense and searching. Jessamyn maintained her composure to make them believe she was not lying.
The atmosphere shifted subtly, the air crackling with an almost palpable energy. Jessamyn could feel the presence of the elders intensify, as if they were communicating silently with her master, their collective thoughts swirling around him like a storm.
For a long, breathless moment, the world seemed to hold its breath. Jessamyn's heart pounded in her chest, her thoughts racing.
