¬ Slin
I stepped onto the platform, joining Ines and the rest of my attendants.
Mother stood at a distance, her expression unreadable, while Keane waited beside her.
The teleportation rings detached from the stone floor and rose around us in alternating patterns. They spun with a low hum that vibrated through me. Ines stood at my side, his hands clasped behind his back, his expression as stoic as ever.
This would be the first time I was being sent to another nation without her, and she had spent the past few days drilling protocol into my skull until I could recite it in my sleep.
Keane simply stared. His eyes held that distant gleam I had grown to dread. The one that had replaced the warmth of my childhood. He had insisted on coming to Vore, even though Mother had told him to wait.
"Ready, Your Highness?" Ines asked quietly.
I straightened. "Yes."
