‘This peace we have established with the strange ones is not a good thing. They turn wild when they change, forgetting who they are, becoming monsters that destroy our villages and eat our livestock. We have finally cleared the last of the serpents, dragons, and giants from the area. The last thing we need is more. Everyone knows what happened in the agora.’

Before Chloe knew what she was doing, she was moving. She pushed forward through the throng of men, resolutely heading down the steps. Ignoring their stares, she didn’t stop until she reached the floor.

She saw her father, Aristocles, seated near Nilus, so astonished his eyebrows looked as if they were trying to climb to the top of his head. The gray-bearded Harod was stunned enough to forget what he was saying. Consul Nilus had his mouth wide open.

Crossing to the center of the speaking floor, Chloe pointed at Harod and she spoke loudly enough for everyone to hear. ‘They only change if they must, and in this case they were changing to help us.’

‘Clear the floor!’ shouted a tall man on the third tier.

‘Get her out!’

‘Only when I’ve said what must be said,’ Chloe called, turning narrowed eyes on the tall man who’d called out. He folded his arms over his chest and scowled.

Standing in the middle of the sunken floor Chloe spoke for all to hear and gazed out over the consuls around her. ‘Zachary saved my sister’s life. No number of men could have freed her without harming her, but Zachary did, and right now she is alive and well.’

She glared at gray-bearded Harod, who appeared unable to speak.

‘The eldren saved countless more of our people,’ she continued. ‘Zachary knew the risk of turning wild, but he pushed himself to his limit, for us, and no one was harmed.’ Chloe drew in a deep breath. ‘I don’t know if what happened was a punishment or an omen, but I do know one thing.’ She spoke clearly with as much volume as she could now. ‘It had nothing to do with the eldren.’

Chloe scanned the crowd. She didn’t know if her words had had their desired effect. The citizenry appeared more stunned than anything, particularly the consuls, watching her in wide-eyed silence. Even Harod shuffled back to his seat on the gallery’s lowest tier and sat down heavily. The consul next to him raised an eyebrow and Harod threw up his hands.

No one wanted to be the man to confront the first consul’s daughter.