Nobody moved for a long moment after Sean said it.
Three signatures. The King. The Vane family. And someone in this room who had known everything from the beginning and had said nothing.
The silence that followed was not the comfortable kind. It was the kind that makes people look at each other differently, measuring, recalculating, wondering what they missed and how long they missed it.
Silas looked at Sean. "You said someone still here. Someone who has been in this room with all of us."
Sean met his eyes. "Yes."
Silas looked at Nick.
Nick looked back at him, calm and direct, not defensive, not nervous, just waiting.
"Not me," she said.
She didn't need to prove it.
Silas held her gaze for one more second then looked away because he believed her.
Alaric turned from the window. His eyes moved across the room slowly and landed on Sean.
"You already know who it is," Alaric said.
It was not a question.
