Heena rose to her full height, the chair scraping back like a drawn sword. She stepped forward, placing herself between Ashton and the two consorts, her unbuttoned shirt forgotten, her posture radiating absolute authority.
"Maybe you're forgetting something," she said, voice soft but laced with venom. "I never gave you the position of 'husbands'. You've always been consorts. That's 'it'."
Kieran opened his mouth—
"And as for 'demoting' you to concubine?" Heena continued, smile turning razor‑sharp. "Dear consorts, I don't think it's wrong at all. The things you've done... if I dragged every last one into the light, even eight generations of your families dying horribly wouldn't be enough to wash the stain clean."
