Beatrice barely made it five steps down the corridor before the weight of what had just happened caught up to her.
She had snapped.
At Johanna.
In front of people.
The realization made her stomach twist, though whether it was from guilt or frustration, she wasn't sure. She knew how the court worked. A single moment of temper, a single misstep, and the rumors would spread like wildfire.
And Francois...
Beatrice exhaled sharply, shaking her head. She didn't have time to worry about that. Not when her mind was still reeling from Magnus's letter, from the quiet, looming threat of whatever was happening beyond the palace walls.
The kingdom was stirring.
And she was running out of time. She needed to move.
The letter from Magnus still burned in her mind, its words gnawing at the edge of her thoughts. She knew tensions in the kingdom were rising, but seeing it written out so bluntly, so urgently, made it feel more real. More dangerous.
