Chapter 19

Maeve’s POV

I had been confined to my chamber for a full day. Aria and Elysia came by every few hours to update me on court proceedings. So far, the council hadn’t reached a verdict—that was encouraging, but it didn’t change the fact that I had no way to prove my innocence. Not one shred of evidence supported me. With every passing second, my nerves frayed further.

A soft knock at my door jolted me from my anxious reverie. I looked up, and Elysia entered, her face drawn and uneasy. “It’s time,” she said. I pushed myself off the bed and smoothed the folds of my dress. “Everyone has gathered in the court.”

I drew in a sharp breath. The Winter Howl Pack’s council had summoned me for trial—Draven had insisted on it, despite his doubts about my guilt. Oddly enough, I was grateful to him for granting us this delay. Perhaps it would buy us more time to find the real owner of those poisoned arrows.

Elysia escorted me down the corridor to the great hall, where